florida’s early learning system: coalition success stories...
submitted by the Early Learning Coalition of Duval County
We’re proud to present a new feature for CONNECTIONS, dedicated to celebrating the positive impact our programs have on the lives of Florida’s children and families. Each month, an early learning coalition will share a success story that underscores our mission: Children ready to learn, Floridians ready to earn.
Lieu Rhodes, a single parent of four, changed the lives of her family forever by searching for and finding quality education for her children. After completing high school and starting her college courses, Lieu put her education on hold to join the United States Army. As an active duty member of the military, Lieu was accustomed to having her children attend NAEYC accredited child care centers at the military base where she was stationed in Kansas. “Because I had them in quality child care, I didn’t have to worry where they were,” said Lieu.
When she moved to Florida as an Army Reservist, however, as a non-active duty single parent she wasn’t able to send Eryn, her 3-year-old, to a child care center at the military base. In her search for educational child care, she had to enroll Eryn in an unaccredited child care program. This did not provide Lieu the flexibility to finish college, nor provide the education she wanted for her daughter.
After seeing a flyer about child care assistance, Lieu called the CCR&R department of the Early Learning Coalition of Duval. The coalition staff enrolled her daughter in Success by 6, a program the coalition operates together with the United Way of Northeast Florida. Success by 6 allowed Lieu to send her daughter to a quality child care center of her choice until she reached kindergarten. Because the coalition developed a system known as the Guiding Stars of Duval to help day care programs transition into early learning child care centers, Lieu had help choosing a center where Eryn would not only be supervised, but also prepared to learn.
