The past twelve months have been filled with change and growth, even among our staff. We’ve started a new blog series to help you get to know our staff and why they’ve chosen this important work. This month’s blog was written by Kim Radcliffe, Director of Marketing and Community Engagement.
Why early childhood?
You could say it was in my blood.
I come from an early childhood background. When I was very young, my mother took a significant pay cut to leave her position as a shift manager at the local Dairy Queen. She did this so she could put her degree to use as a childcare center director. Her risk and hard work paid off as later she was promoted to Program Manager at a non-profit that focused on early care and education. After completing her master’s degree, she became the department manager of the Early Childhood Education program at the local community college. There she shared her knowledge and experience with the next generation of early educators, including myself.
Due to my familiarity with early childhood education and the many programs related to it, I was often shocked by what people didn’t know. Whether it was what early learning looked like in action or what programs were available, there was always information to share. As an early childhood educator, I would often share with my families ways they could support their child’s development or upcoming opportunities that might be of interest. As an NC Pre-K Program Specialist, I would help families apply for placement. Often during my time with them, I would connect families to another resource that they needed but didn’t know where to find.
It seemed to be a perfect fit when I joined the Public Education Department at the Partnership two years ago. As I felt I had already been working on educating the public for years. For many families, they don’t know what they don’t know; they only know they have a need that they cannot meet themselves. Being able to give them the information and resources they need to help themselves is a gift that gives both ways. And at the end of the day knowing that I made somebody’s burden easier to manage is one of the best feelings.
