Column from Judy Harrington at the Upper Gwynedd Child Learning Center

Head Program Coordinator, Infant 1&2 at Upper Gwynedd Child Learning Center

I have been an early childhood educator for over 18 years now and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I have watched many parents during this time balance work and home life and have admired many of them. In march 2001, I became one of those parents. On top of the joy of welcoming a baby girl, there was the fear of how am I going to work and care for her? How am I going to be able to afford quality child care on one salary and a child care workers salary at that? About 2 weeks after having Rhiannon and realizing that I needed to return to work sooner than later, I found out about the Apple program (also known as Child Care Information Services) out of Doylestown, Pa. I quickly called and enrolled my daughter and was happy to be accepted relatively quickly.  My daughter Rhiannon started care at 7 weeks and I was able to work full time so that I could provide for both of us. At 13 months, Rhiannon was accepted into the program where I work (Upper Gwynedd Child Learning Center) and she was able to receive a quality education tat was affordable. Rhiannon graduated from the kindergarten program at UGCLC last June.

In 2003, my center offered staff the opportunity to attain our CDA. The center was able to help pay for the majority of this class with the help of a grant through the State of Pennsylvania and it really defrayed the cost put onto the teachers.  Upon graduating from the program at Montgomery County Community College, I was introduced to the TEACH program. Walking away with the brochure, I put it aside but kept thinking about it. I sent in my application after a while and was accepted into this program in 2004-2005.  What a benefit this was to me and to the other staff I introduced to the program! Now, I could continue on with my education and the majority of my expenses were covered by PACCA. On top of this, they provided time away form work – paid! So that I could work on my online classes or attend a class. On top of that, they help cover the expenses of books, which can run upwards of $200 for one class at a time. I have since switched to Northampton Community College and am about 5 classes away from graduating. I will continue on with the program, moving on for my bachelor’s degree once I graduate and eventually my hope is to attain my Master’s Degree.

I know this is a little longer than one paragraph, but I wanted to convey how the state of Pennsylvania has helped me both as a parent and an educator as well as how important it is to continue funding these wonderful programs. I take pride in my work and in the quality program that I help to provide along with the guidance of my center and Bright Horizons. Because of all of these factors, it has helped keep me in a field that I truly enjoy and love – that of early childhood education and infant care.

Julie Harrington

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