A shortage of quality, affordable childcare is well-documented as a barrier for many parents, especially women, to have a job. Either they cannot find childcare, or it’s too expensive.
However, workforce participation is just one of the societal benefits of excellent childcare. The young students experience benefits decades later. A study published in 2021 found that students who attended preschool were more likely to go to college and less likely to have disciplinary challenges than their classmates who did not benefit from pre-K.
“Zero to three are the most formative years,” said Chelsey Wright, a teacher at OTC’s Early Childhood Education Center. “We’re learning more and more that what happens to little kids molds them into who they will become as adults.”
Chelsey began her early childhood education career when she was still a child herself. She was just 17 when she started taking classes at Ozarks Technical Community College as a Hillcrest High School senior. Even before studying early childhood education at OTC, Chelsey was passionate about caring for little kids.
“I always helped my mom with my little sister and in the church nursery,” Chelsey said.
During her senior year of high school, Chelsey won the State SkillsUSA competition, which earned her an all-expenses-paid scholarship for the second year of her associate degree. Once she graduated, at 19 years old, Chelsey started working in the Early Childhood Education Center.
After a few years off from school to have her son, Chelsey earned the Missouri T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship, which stands for Teacher Education And Compensation Helps, and finished her bachelor’s at Missouri State University. She recently completed her master’s through the same program, which provides financial support for students pursuing early childhood education.
“Working toward her master’s in leadership and management in Early Childhood Education has taken Chelsey’s leadership skills to the next level,” said Jennifer Crouch, director of the Early Childhood Education Center. “She not only excels in her Lead Teacher role, but she is also an excellent mentor of the college students she works with.”
Now, Chelsey is the longest-tenured teacher at the ECEC (Early Childhood Education Center), with 16 years of experience. She wants people to know that a quality preschool education is far more than glorified babysitting.
“The foundation of learning is for the children to feel safe, connected and loved. If we don’t help them with social and emotional skills, they will struggle to learn,” Chelsey said. “Before we engage in a lot of cognitive learning, we get the kids to use their words, learn to take turns and be gentle with their friends.”
Often, a young preschooler snatches a toy away from another student. Chelsey says it’s gratifying to see a child ask for a turn or watch a child who would just watch from the sideline begin to play with their classmates.
“Sometimes you wonder if it’s ever going to ‘click’ for a kid,” Chelsey said. “Then, one day, they get it. It’s incredible.”
The skills these preschoolers learn at the ECEC won’t stop being useful once they reach kindergarten. It will make them better students and adults.
“The foundation we’re building now is giving them more tools in their emotional toolbox to handle what life has to throw at them,” Chelsey said. “Others can’t make you mad or upset. You’re the one who has to decide how you will handle hard emotions.”