A Life-Changing Experience

When Rita Crawford walked through the door of Thompson Child Development Center in 1998 as a new teaching assistant, she knew her view about early childhood had completely changed. "This wasn't the kind of child care program that I had exposure to," she explains. "Each child had the opportunity to explore, giving them the ability to learn a sense of independence. Every minute of the day was always used as a teachable moment. It was a shocker for me."

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring and Coaching

But Crawford instantly became a fan and worked to learn everything she could. After a year assisting in the toddler class, she became a lead teacher in a 2-year-old class where she found her niche.  When Thompson became part of The Duke Endowment's Model Child Care initiative in 1999, Crawford was a natural fit for a mentor teaching role at Seigle Avenue Preschool in Charlotte, spending several hours each week coaching teachers and sharing the best practices she learned at Thompson.

"Some of those teachers had the same ideas about child care that I had before I came to Thompson," says Crawford. "To work together and share best practices was a wonderful experience." Today, Seigle has a five-star rating from the state.

Training Helps Build Relationships

Crawford went on to become an Inclusion Specialist for Cabarrus County, where she helped child care centers incorporate and address the needs of children with a wide variety of behavioral concerns, including autism, ADHD, and affects of living in high-risk homes. "This was a close-knit community, and I had to prove myself. I used strategies from my classroom and mentor teaching and it worked. As I gained the trust of and build relationships with the teachers, directors and Smart Start staff, the work grew. We saw kids with huge behavioral concerns correct their behaviors."

Today, Crawford is Thompson's Parent Educator, working directly with families referred by DSS or the courts to help parents retain or regain custody of their children, but she still recalls the impact of her work with child care centers. "Thompson Child Development Center has granted at-risk children an opportunity to accomplish educational and life success, and teachers at other child care centers have been eager to establish a positive partnership that extends that opportunity to even more children."