Last weekend, members of the Hilton Head Sunset and Hilton Head Rotaries held their annual ROCS day (Rotarians Offering Community Service) and The Children’s Center was the beneficiary of those hard-working Rotarians. Working both inside and out, more than 20 people stuffed over 200 enrollment packets, assembled 100 child development binders and moved 20 years of wood chips – and that was all before lunch! Thanks to all who provided service to our community!
Why it Matters
Research has proven that learning and mental development begin immediately after birth. During the first three years of a child’s life, essential brain and neural development occur and children greatly benefit by
receiving education before kindergarten.
A study conducted by the Abecedarian (ABC) Project in North Carolina evaluated two groups of children for an extended period of time, those with formal pre-school education and those not receiving any formal education.
According to their findings, children with formal education scored higher on reading tests during subsequent school years. It was also shown that the children who did not receive any formal education in their pre-kindergarten years were more likely to struggle with substance abuse and delinquent behaviors in their early adult years.
The conclusions drawn from most research about early childhood education are that individuals and societies greatly benefit, in terms of social, economic, and other benefits from it. Greater emphasis placed on early education is one strategy to alleviate substance abuse and criminal behavior that plagues many adolescents and young adults. The economic benefits, for example, can be immense when the emphasis is placed on early childhood education. James J. Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, Nobel Memorial Peace prize winner and expert in the economics of human development, concludes “Evidence shows that supplementing the family environments of disadvantaged children with educational resources is an effective and cost-efficient way to provide equal opportunity, achievement, and economic success. We can invest early to close disparities and prevent achievement gaps or we can pay to remediate disparities when they are harder and more expensive to close. Investing early allows us to shape the future – investing later chains us to fixing the missed opportunities of the past.”
Making a Difference is Easy!
Harris Teeter’s Together in Education Program offers the opportunity to re-engage your support through our local grocery stores. Please help The Children’s Center by linking your VIC card and choosing The Children’s Center. It costs you NOTHING and we receive additional funding to support our mission. Visit www.harristeeter.com and click on the “Together In Education” link under the “Community” tab to re-load The Children’s Center as your school of choice. Our school code is 5734. Even if you were linked to The Children’s Center in the past, you must re-link annually at the beginning of each school year!
Another way to help is by connecting your Amazon purchases through Amazon Smile. Simply shop at Amazon Smile and select The Children’s Center as your charity of choice. Type The Children’s Center Hilton Head in the search bar to make your selection. To learn more about Amazon Smile, click here.
Are you a Kroger Shopper? To enroll sign in or create an account at www.kroger.com/
Meeting Our Newest Doctor
Ms. Tymeshia Gadson has been Education Manager at The Children’s Center for almost three years. Her leadership and vision has made a significant impact on the quality of education provided in our classrooms.
Before joining The Children’s Center, Tymeshia taught preschool for 10 years and worked as an Assistant Director for nearly 2 years. Tymeshia was very active in her church. She was the church secretary, sang on the choir and taught Sunday School. Currently, Tymeshia is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta, and very involved in serving the community.
Tymeshia’s background is filled with Early Childhood Education (ECE). She attended York Technical College and received her ECD 101 Credential, as well as her Associates Degree in ECE. Next, she relocated to the Upstate area and attended USC Upstate to receive her BS in IDS. Later on, Tymeshia decided that she wanted to embark more on the administration side of ECE. In 2015, she graduated from Walden University with her Masters in ECE Administration, Management and Leadership. This has been very helpful in her current job of Education Manager at The Children’s Center. Finally, Tymeshia recently completed her Doctorate in ECE. We all congratulate her on a JOB WELL DONE!
In her spare time, Tymeshia enjoys long walks on the beach, reading romance stories and spending time with her family. Every day she is continuing to work on ways to increase the amount of positive social change in The Children’s Center. Realizing that the parents are the child’s first teacher, Tymeshia tries very hard to involve the parents in several of the events that occur within the center. Furthermore, her door is always open to hear the news that parents need to share and hand out treats to the children. Tymeshia plans to be in the field of ECE for many years to come.
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