Lisa Mullins didn’t plan to go into early childhood\neducation when she left her job at a Department of Defense-run factory in 2014.\nShe quit because she simply wanted more time to spend with her kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I missed the field trips. I missed holidays. I missed all\nthe stuff,” she said. “I didn’t know what was going on because I worked long\nhours.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after, however, Mullins became a substitute teacher\nat Henry Elementary School in Franklin County, where her children attended\nschool. A year later, she was offered a paraprofessional position with the\nschool’s pre-K program. Becoming a paraprofessional, Mullins said, allowed her\nto spend more time with her children before they moved on to middle school. It\nalso helped her discover a passion for early childhood development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“After working there for a while, you kind of figure out\nwhich age group you like,” Mullins said. “The little ones were my favorite.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, Mullins has worked hard to obtain additional\ntraining that could benefit her students. She’s earned both a Career Studies\nCertificate and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Early Childhood\nEducation from Virginia Western Community College. She’s also pursuing a\nBachelor’s of Independent Study degree at James Madison University, which will\nallow her to instruct pre-K through third grade classes in Virginia.\nEventually, Mullins said, she hopes to become a teacher, something that\nwouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of the Davenport\nInstitute for Early Childhood Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I worked in a factory for 15 years and made probably\nthree to four times what I make now. When you take that much of a pay cut,\nthere’s no way you can fund yourself to go back to school,” Mullins said.\n“Davenport offering the money is the only reason I chose to go back. I couldn’t\nhave done it otherwise.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founded by Ben Davenport, a Pittsylvania County\nbusinessman and entrepreneur, and his wife, Betty, the Davenport Institute aims\nto improve the quality of early childhood education in Southwest Virginia. Upon\nits launch in 2016, Ben Davenport seeded the institution with $1 million, which\nhas been used to create a program in partnership with the Virginia Foundation\nfor Community College Education and Virginia’s Community Colleges. That program\ninvites teachers who work with young children aged 0-5, like Mullins, to pursue\nlow- or no-cost certificates and degrees in early childhood education from four\narea community colleges: Virginia Western, Danville Community College, New\nRiver Community College and Patrick Henry Community College. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kim Gregory, who serves as director of the Davenport\nInstitute, said that the Davenports have always cared deeply about childhood\ndevelopment and education in the region. Through his work with the Virginia\nEarly Childhood Foundation, however, Ben Davenport has especially become\nconcerned about the availability of affordable, quality childcare in Southwest\nand rural Virginia. In the Commonwealth, private early childhood programs are\nnot required to hire staff with a specific level of educational attainment,\nmeaning that some employees have received no formal education on child\ndevelopment or teaching strategies for young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If it’s privately funded, a private childcare program or\na faith-based program, there are no minimal teacher education qualification\nguidelines,” Gregory said. “And since more children in Virginia are served in\nprivate early childhood programs, most children are in classrooms with\nunderqualified teachers. Our youngest children need and deserve better. This is\na critical time in their brain development and school readiness.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program, which is now entering its third year, covers\nthe costs of tuition and educational materials for applicants who are already\nworking in early childhood education. Funds are provided after a participant\nhas applied for federal financial aid and for two related scholarships that\nfund early childhood education in Virginia — one offered through Virginia Early\nChildhood Foundation’s Project Pathfinders program and the other through the\nVirginia Department of Social Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through funding from the Davenport Institute, students can\nearn either a Career Studies Certificate in early childhood development or a\nsimilar certificate with an emphasis in infant and toddler care. Both courses\nrequire the completion of six courses, meaning most students finish the program\nin three semesters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to covering educational costs, the Davenport\nInstitute provides students with job coaching and mentoring opportunities. The\nprogram makes it easy for students to apply what they’re learning in real time;\nduring some portions of the program, faculty members observe students in their\nclassrooms and come up with strategies for improving their educational\ntechniques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, Gregory said, 42 students have served as Davenport\nScholars; 11 have graduated. Those graduates can then apply, as Mullins did, to\nbecome a Davenport Fellow. The courses they took during their certificate\nprograms can be used during the fellowship to complete an associate degree at\none of the participating colleges. Participation is not limited to\nparaprofessionals and other entry-level positions in early childhood education;\ndirectors are also encouraged to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Davenport Institute hosted its first cohort in\n2017, Virginia Western Davenport Navigator Sue Clark said that the program had\nto reach out proactively to early childhood programs in hopes of recruiting\nparticipants. Now, she said, programs are starting to inquire about how they\ncan get their employees involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“A lot of times we’ll get a call asking me to come and\npresent the program to a group of teachers,” she said. “And sometimes it’s just\nan email saying, ‘Will you reach out to this teacher? They’re interested.’ “<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to guiding her to a teaching career, Mullins\nsaid the certificate and associate degree programs have allowed her to become a\nbetter parent. Her courses have given her a better understanding of what the\nworld is like for small children and granted her more patience at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When you’re the parent that is here in the afternoon to\ncook supper and put the kids to bed, that’s all you see. You don’t understand\nhow to respond to the kids. It’s just cut and dry,” she said. “Through all this\nschooling that I’ve gotten, it’s kind of helped me form a better relationship\nwith my own kids.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mullins said the program has also given her confidence in\nher ability as an adult learner, as well as earned her the respect and\nadmiration of her employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m told every day how proud they are,” she said. “They\nknow I’m making a good impression on my children because I’m setting an\nexample. And it’s a good feeling to be my age, to go back to school and be\nsuccessful and all that.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"