By ABIGAIL SMITH/Staff Writer
The hum of a CD player filling the room is a joyful melody echoing off the brightly colored walls of a classroom. The room is alive with the vibrant energy of nine toddlers’ tiny feet pattering on the floor as they dance.
The sounds are familiar to Grace Smith, an early childhood education teacher at Tyler Day Nursery. She doesn’t flinch as one child tugs on her sleeve and another knocks over a cup. With practiced calm, she moves from one task to the next — changing a diaper, soothing a crying child, offering a hug — while keeping one eye on the room full of little ones.
For many, having to take care of a class of nine toddlers sounds like a nightmare, but for early childhood education teachers at Tyler Day Nursery this is the standard.
The job of caring for children of low-income parents continues.
‘I’M GRATEFUL’
One grandmother, one hotel room, two grandkids, and a plea for help.
Jacquita Bethea’s, TDN’s executive director, listens as the woman on the phone explains her desperate need for childcare.
Mrs. Quita, as she is better known as, has heard stories like this one before.
“I want the kids (of parents and grandparents in need) to be somewhere where they’re learning and safe, and what better place to be than in my care?” Mrs. Quita says.
Tyler Day Nursery from its early days through today.
Betty Smith recalls how TDN became a lifeline when she unexpectedly gained custody of her grandson.
“I got custody of him at the spur of the moment and didn’t know where to turn,” she says. “When he was about 4 months old, I decided to enroll him alongside my granddaughter at Tyler Day Nursery.”
She has no regrets.
“I couldn’t have made a better decision. Now, at 5 years old, he’s moving on to kindergarten, and I’m grateful for everything Tyler Day Nursery has done for him,” Smith says.
‘I STILL GET NERVOUS’
TDN was founded in 1936 by the Tyler Council of Church Women, which saw a need to support working families who needed childcare. TDN is believed to be the oldest continually operated daycare in Texas for low-income families.
“Every background that was represented here in Tyler at that time had at least one representative from that religion to come together to form Tyler Day Nursery,” Mrs. Quita said.
In the beginning, attending TDN cost between $5 and 60 cents, with some parents trading goods for care. The average cost of childcare today in Texas is about $1,300 per month for one child, according to the Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing.
“TDN works to fight against the rising prices to help parents find a loving, safe and affordable center,” Assistant Director Patrice Allen says
Tuition is based on a sliding scale according to a family’s household income.
TDN also receives funding from:
- The Tyler Council of Church Women
- The United Way Agency
- Churches/synagogues
- Foundations and nonprofits
- Civic and social groups
- And individual donors
An Annual Fund Drive provides most of the operating income beyond program income and United Way funding, according to TDN.
“That’s where the grant writing and donations come in,” Mrs. Quita says.
She refers to the process of seeking funding help as her “Dog and Pony Show.” Every year, Bethea to for a grant from United Way, a global network that supports organizations that meet community needs.
“I’ve done this (grant application process) probably 16 times, and it hasn’t gotten any easier,” she says. “I know I have to do this every year, but I still get nervous.
She also must make a presentation to UW representatives each year. She never looks forward to it.
“My armpits do the worst sweating when it comes to United Way grant and presentation time,” she says.
Mrs. Quita is passionate about finding the funding TDN needs.
“I don’t think it gets any easier when you care,” she says.
‘WHAT WE DO MATTERS’
Mrs. Quita is not only in charge of the financial side but also the teachers, who are, according to her, the “backbone of the facility.”
Early childhood educators don’t make much money.
The annual gross income for early childhood educators is $32,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Smith has been in the early childhood education field for seven years, beginning at age 18.
“Teachers aren’t getting paid what they need to be paid,” Smith says.
Even with young children, teachers deal with behavioral problems
“I have noticed that children are having a hard time expressing their emotions correctly, and their attention spans are smaller than they used to be,” Smith says. “They feel like they need to be entertained more than they needed in the past.”
Shadadrian Ford, who is in charge of class of 1-year-olds, has been volunteering at TDN since she was in the 10th grade. But her history with the facility goes back further. She was once a student there.
Ford is very well the important tole TDN plays in helping families.
“We’re the reason why people get to go to work every day,” she says. “If it wasn’t for us, a lot of stuff wouldn’t get done. The world probably would not be going around right now.”
As a mother of one, with another on the way, Ford says her commitment to early childhood education has created financial challenges for her.
“I have to limit what I can do, what I can spend, what I can get,” she says. “And I just feel like I shouldn’t have to do that because I know how to save money, and I’ve been a dedicated teacher for over 10 years.”
Despite these challenges, the educators at Tyler Day Nursery show up every day.
“The rewards, though, are immeasurable,” Smith says. “We stay because we know what we do matters. Seeing the kids grow, watching them learn, that’s what keeps us going.”
‘NO BETTER WAY’
Mrs. Quita is looking at options that would lead to instructors receiving a a 401(k) and for the daycare to pay a larger percentage of the teachers’ health insurance. She must work with TDN’s board of directors to make these changes happen.
She is also pushing for improvements to the TDN facilities, including adding a library, where parents can check out books to read to their children at home, more classrooms and a computer lab.
It is all about the children and the joy they
“Some people pay good money to start their day with Starbucks,” Mrs. Quit says. “But I get to walk into a classroom and have a group of children run up and tell me they love me. There’s no better way to start your day than that.”
