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Natoria Walker - HS Parent to HS Teacher · Look Who's Talking

• 0:00
  You are listening to Look Who's Talking.
• 0:18
  I am Cameron Minter.
• 0:19
  I am your co-host and our wonderful Head Start director, Jessica Coffie.
• 0:25
  Hey y'all.
• 0:26
  She's in the building.
• 0:27
  She is your host.
• 0:28
  What's going on?
• 0:29
  What's going on, Jessica?
• 0:30
  Not much, Cam.
• 0:31
  Not much.
• 0:32
  Just trying to, you know, stay cool from your peak.
• 0:37
  You know what's going on?
• 0:38
  You know what's going on for me?
• 0:41
  What?
• 0:42
  Having a holiday in the middle of the week.
• 0:44
  Okay.
• 0:45
  Getting my mind back right.
• 0:47
  Listen, I kind of feel like today is a Monday again.
• 0:50
  I don't know what it feels like to me, but it don't feel like what it is.
• 0:55
  I know.
• 0:56
  It's Friday Eve though.
• 0:57
  Oh it is?
• 0:58
  It's Friday Eve.
• 1:00
  It is.
• 1:01
  Cheers to the weekend.
• 1:04
  It's almost here.
• 1:06
  Well, yeah, it's almost here.
• 1:09
  So I don't know.
• 1:11
  I'm looking forward to the weekend.
• 1:13
  Nothing major going on, but just, you know.
• 1:17
  I know.
• 1:18
  I'm just, you know, it's hot outside.
• 1:21
  It's draining me.
• 1:22
  It's a journey.
• 1:23
  But guess what it is?
• 1:24
  What?
• 1:25
  Summer, summer, summertime.
• 1:26
  I know, right?
• 1:27
  Summertime.
• 1:28
  I need to, I haven't listened to that song in so many years.
• 1:32
  You have to.
• 1:33
  When you get in your car today, you have to listen to it.
• 1:37
  I'm going to look that up.
• 1:38
  It'll change your mood.
• 1:39
  That's what we should have played before we started this show.
• 1:43
  Yeah, yeah.
• 1:44
  Just to get you, get you back right.
• 1:47
  Get you back right.
• 1:48
  Cause I'm more in a, I was born by the river.
• 1:51
  That's what I'm talking about.
• 1:55
  Not that one.
• 1:56
  This is tight.
• 1:58
  Okay.
• 1:59
  What?
• 2:00
  Honey.
• 2:01
  Okay.
• 2:02
  This, this sun is draining me, Cam.
• 2:05
  It's draining all I have.
• 2:06
  I know, right?
• 2:07
  All I got.
• 2:08
  I know, right?
• 2:09
  You said your air condition broke now.
• 2:12
  This time last year.
• 2:13
  I bet that was terrible.
• 2:14
  How long were you down?
• 2:15
  Less than 24 hours.
• 2:16
  Honey, I didn't care how much that cost.
• 2:17
  Oh, this ain't going without no heat.
• 2:18
  No, I mean no air conditioning.
• 2:19
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:20
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:21
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:22
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:23
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:24
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:25
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:26
  No, no air conditioning.
• 2:27
  No, I mean no air.
• 2:28
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 2:29
  Uh-uh.
• 2:30
  I had my wig on.
• 2:31
  I was sweating.
• 2:32
  You can't be sweating no wig, Cam.
• 2:34
  It was too hot.
• 2:35
  Oh, girl.
• 2:36
  It was too hot.
• 2:38
  I couldn't do it.
• 2:39
  Okay, so which is worse for you, being too cold or being too hot?
• 2:46
  Too hot.
• 2:47
  Too hot.
• 2:48
  Yeah.
• 2:49
  I think.
• 2:50
  You know, in my younger days, I would have rather been hot than cold.
• 2:54
  But now, uh-uh.
• 2:57
  If I'm sweating, oh, and I can't go sleep sweating.
• 3:00
  Oh, I can't either.
• 3:01
  There's something about being hot that just brings the evil elements out of you.
• 3:09
  Don't be evil.
• 3:11
  Don't be evil.
• 3:13
  No.
• 3:14
  Yes, you're very easily agitated.
• 3:16
  It's close to hangry.
• 3:18
  Yes, yes.
• 3:19
  You know that feeling when you hangry?
• 3:22
  That's what hot will make you do.
• 3:24
  I know.
• 3:25
  Hot will make you say some things that you will later on have to apologize for.
• 3:29
  You've been thinking about it for a long time, but kept it under wraps.
• 3:32
  Listen.
• 3:33
  It got hot and.
• 3:34
  D'oh!
• 3:35
  It will come out.
• 3:38
  It will come out.
• 3:39
  That's terrible.
• 3:40
  That's terrible.
• 3:41
  Yeah.
• 3:42
  I can't.
• 3:43
  I'd much rather be cold.
• 3:44
  Uh-huh.
• 3:45
  Because I think I can pile on enough.
• 3:47
  Oh, yeah.
• 3:48
  Covers and stuff to get warm.
• 3:50
  But once you take off the clothes and you still hot.
• 3:55
  Yeah.
• 3:56
  Yeah.
• 3:57
  When my friends and family come over my house, they're like free.
• 3:59
  Like I have like baskets of blankets.
• 4:01
  Oh.
• 4:02
  Because they're like.
• 4:03
  No, it's too cold over here.
• 4:05
  Well, OK.
• 4:06
  So we during the day is on 72, which is cool in my house.
• 4:12
  Uh-huh.
• 4:13
  But then at night, we drop it down.
• 4:15
  I drop it down to 66.
• 4:17
  66?
• 4:18
  66.
• 4:19
  Damn.
• 4:22
  You should wake up with crystals on your eyelashes.
• 4:25
  See?
• 4:26
  You talk about it, but you'd be like, ooh.
• 4:29
  Yes.
• 4:30
  66?
• 4:31
  No.
• 4:32
  Oh, yeah.
• 4:33
  So mine stays on.
• 4:34
  But you have upstairs and downstairs.
• 4:35
  Uh-huh.
• 4:36
  See, I don't.
• 4:37
  I have a wrench.
• 4:38
  And the one upstairs just stays on 71, period.
• 4:39
  I'd be like, don't y'all touch it.
• 4:40
  Yeah.
• 4:41
  I fixed it to know if you've been touched it.
• 4:43
  Mine stays on 70, and 70 is warm in the summer.
• 4:49
  I mean, cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
• 4:54
  Yeah.
• 4:55
  At 72 is our good zone.
• 4:57
  No.
• 4:58
  70 is too high for me.
• 5:01
  Like sometimes I might knock it down to 69 just to get a good.
• 5:07
  You know, you want your teeth.
• 5:08
  If your teeth don't chatter, it's not cold enough.
• 5:10
  So you know, do you turn your thermostat down when you go to sleep?
• 5:14
  I don't touch it.
• 5:16
  Oh, wow.
• 5:18
  The only time I touch the thermostat is if I'm hot, and I'll turn it down.
• 5:22
  It does not go above 70.
• 5:24
  Are you the type that because you hot, you turn it down 10 degrees?
• 5:29
  I choose two.
• 5:30
  Wow.
• 5:31
  I think, you know, I'm not sexist, but I just think it's women.
• 5:34
  That's how women do it.
• 5:35
  I choose two degrees, but then I'll have my fans on too.
• 5:39
  Yeah.
• 5:40
  Yeah.
• 5:41
  We're fans and everything.
• 5:42
  So, well, that's good.
• 5:43
  Well, that's good to know.
• 5:44
  Oh, honey, you don't make me hot talking about it.
• 5:45
  Oh, I'm hot now.
• 5:46
  See?
• 5:47
  Somebody help me.
• 5:48
  All right.
• 5:49
  And that air is not coming on until the show is over.
• 5:56
  Hey, I think it's time for a coffee break.
• 5:59
  Okay.
• 6:00
  We can do that.
• 6:01
  So for this coffee break, I want to just let everyone know excellence is not being the
• 6:17
  best.
• 6:18
  Excellence is doing your best.
• 6:20
  There's a difference.
• 6:21
  You don't have to be the best at everything, but as long as you put forth your best effort,
• 6:28
  that's all that matters.
• 6:30
  I'm not a preacher.
• 6:32
  Is reaching excellence, in my opinion, is reserved for God.
• 6:38
  There's no one that's going to be excellent.
• 6:40
  However, I know when I'm giving my best.
• 6:44
  I know when I'm sliding through.
• 6:46
  I know when I can do more.
• 6:48
  So it's important to always give your best and let the rest work itself out.
• 6:55
  See, sometimes I'll be slacking because I know I don't be giving my best care.
• 6:58
  Right.
• 6:59
  I mean, but you know that you're not.
• 7:01
  You know what I'm saying?
• 7:02
  And if anybody ever checked you on it, in the back of your mind, you're like, yeah, I
• 7:06
  know I could have did more.
• 7:08
  In the back of my mind, that's what I'm going to say.
• 7:10
  I ain't going to say nothing.
• 7:11
  I ain't going to say nothing.
• 7:12
  Who are you?
• 7:13
  I did the best I could.
• 7:14
  Who you talking to?
• 7:15
  I did.
• 7:16
  I did.
• 7:17
  Oh my God.
• 7:18
  I did that.
• 7:19
  Never mind.
• 7:20
  Look, I won't say I did my best, but I'm going to say I did that.
• 7:23
  Right.
• 7:24
  I did that thing.
• 7:25
  What you talking about?
• 7:26
  Yeah.
• 7:27
  Okay.
• 7:28
  So in other words, you're giving out some help, but I ain't taking it.
• 7:32
  Anyway, it is time.
• 7:35
  What is this show about today?
• 7:36
  So I'm excited because we have a Head Start parent who morphed into a staff member.
• 7:45
  Look at that.
• 7:46
  There's a morphin in the house.
• 7:48
  Okay.
• 7:49
  We have Natoya Walker with us, who is a Head Start parent and a Head Start staff member.
• 7:56
  Welcome her.
• 7:58
  Hello.
• 7:59
  Welcome.
• 8:00
  It's so nice to have you on the show.
• 8:02
  So Natoya.
• 8:03
  Yes, ma'am.
• 8:05
  You have been a part of the agency since, who was it first?
• 8:12
  Your daughter was a part?
• 8:14
  So my daughter, she's now 13, but yes, she did go here when she was in Head Start.
• 8:21
  And so she went here at the age of five and then I had a gap.
• 8:28
  And then my son, who is now in Head Start, and this is his final summer, unfortunately,
• 8:35
  but he has been here since 2021.
• 8:40
  And this will be his last summer.
• 8:43
  And now I have my third.
• 8:46
  She is here as well.
• 8:47
  She's currently in early Head Start.
• 8:49
  Okay.
• 8:50
  So she's been here for a few months.
• 8:54
  And Natoya's cam is one of our new staff.
• 8:57
  She's been here a whopping three months.
• 8:59
  Wow.
• 9:00
  How about that?
• 9:02
  So there must have been, you know, that's really impressive because there was something,
• 9:11
  you first have got to be comfortable with people with your children.
• 9:16
  So that's a whole set of criteria by itself.
• 9:20
  And then to bring other children and then to say, you know what, I want to be there.
• 9:26
  What was the process for you in coming, deciding to work here at Community Action Council?
• 9:33
  So well, first of all, I've always had a love for children.
• 9:37
  I'm the youngest of four, but at an early age, I got nieces and little cousins very
• 9:43
  quickly and with them coming along, you know, I just took to them.
• 9:48
  They took to me.
• 9:49
  And so I've always had a passion and a love for children and just helping people period.
• 9:55
  And then as I got older, I decided to go into early childhood education in high school.
• 10:02
  And so I actually worked in childcare at the age of 17.
• 10:07
  So I co-opted out of high school, was in childcare then.
• 10:11
  I did that for a few years and then I decided to venture out and see, you know, what else
• 10:17
  was out there for me.
• 10:18
  Went back to school, got into the medical for a while.
• 10:22
  Well, while I was in the medical, that's when I got my son in.
• 10:26
  And so my son started here.
• 10:29
  And just since he's been here, I like you all said, it can be a very nervous thing.
• 10:35
  Starting your child who's barely communicating at that time.
• 10:39
  So he had been a little over two when he started.
• 10:44
  And I was very nervous about it.
• 10:45
  You know, you just don't always know who you're putting your child in the hands of.
• 10:51
  But instantly, everyone here became like family.
• 10:56
  From the jump, I was like, OK, he's good.
• 11:00
  I was like, he's going to be just fine.
• 11:02
  And everyone since he was two has always felt welcoming.
• 11:07
  It's always felt more of, you know, like a homey environment, like he's getting dropped
• 11:11
  off at grandparents.
• 11:13
  And so I just love that from the get go.
• 11:16
  And so over the years, me being in other fields, they were OK.
• 11:23
  But I just really missed that passion.
• 11:26
  And you know, working somewhere I loved and doing something that I loved and truly enjoyed.
• 11:32
  And so it just became a time where I seen if you all had positions open and you all
• 11:39
  did.
• 11:40
  And so I chose to leave my previous job and get back into it.
• 11:45
  And ever since then, I've been in my element.
• 11:47
  So you are you a head start early and start early head start early.
• 11:50
  Yes, I'm an early head start.
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  That's a special gift right there.
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  You really hands on with those kids.
• 11:57
  Yeah, for sure.
• 11:59
  For sure.
• 12:00
  So tell us, you know, back when your first child was in head start, how did you hear
• 12:07
  about Head Start?
• 12:09
  Actually I had a friend.
• 12:11
  She's got a few children herself and a couple of hers are older than my oldest daughter.
• 12:18
  And so she was going here first.
• 12:21
  And she said the same thing that she really loved it.
• 12:24
  She felt, you know, like family.
• 12:27
  And so I took her word, of course, you know, being my best friend.
• 12:32
  And I decided to get my daughter enrolled.
• 12:36
  And I loved it then, you know, she they were in the old building at the time.
• 12:41
  But even over there, everyone felt, you know, like home.
• 12:45
  And she loved it.
• 12:46
  And she was only here one year because at that time, you know, I felt comfortable when
• 12:51
  she was of age and she could speak to me and communicate with me.
• 12:55
  And so with her, I went ahead and waited until she was only there for one year.
• 13:02
  But that whole year, she enjoyed it.
• 13:04
  And so then when it came to my son, you know, because there's an eight year gap between
• 13:10
  them.
• 13:11
  So when it came to him and him wanting to or me wanting to get him into early head start,
• 13:16
  I was like, well, I was very comfortable then.
• 13:18
  Yeah, I know things may have changed.
• 13:20
  So, you know, I was a little nervous, but the same feeling I got when she was five is
• 13:27
  the same feeling I got when he was two.
• 13:29
  Right.
• 13:30
  So have you been at the same center all this time?
• 13:33
  Or yes, different center.
• 13:35
  No, it was it was this center.
• 13:36
  They were just at the old building with her.
• 13:39
  Yeah, with her.
• 13:40
  They were at the old building.
• 13:41
  So you've known Tracy all that time.
• 13:44
  It's been some time.
• 13:49
  So I want to know, like, tell us about some of the benefits that you feel like your family
• 13:56
  has received since being a part of the program.
• 14:01
  So I guess I didn't necessarily really need anything with my daughter, but with my son.
• 14:08
  When he first started, they did immediately look into speech therapy for him.
• 14:14
  They looked into it.
• 14:15
  They tested them.
• 14:17
  They did the extra steps for that, but he ended up actually not needing it.
• 14:22
  But as time went on, we did realize that it would be very beneficial for him to do play
• 14:29
  therapy.
• 14:31
  And so he has been in that for a couple of years now, and he is still in it to this day.
• 14:36
  He just had a session today.
• 14:38
  And I can tell you, with that play therapy, he has come a long way, a long way.
• 14:45
  How did you feel?
• 14:48
  Sometimes we have to have conversations with parents when we might say, hey, your child
• 14:53
  may need a little bit of help or a little additional assistance.
• 14:59
  How did you feel about that?
• 15:01
  So initially, I guess anyone hears the word therapy, they're like, whoa.
• 15:07
  But when they approached me with it, his teachers have always had, they've always been very
• 15:15
  truthful with me.
• 15:16
  So they let me know if there's something going on, but they also always tell me the positive.
• 15:22
  And so it's always been a balance.
• 15:26
  And when they approached me, informing me of them believing he needed it, like I said,
• 15:34
  first hearing the word therapy, I'm kind of like, oh, you sure?
• 15:39
  But I took that into consideration and I realized, OK, this would only help him, not hurt him.
• 15:47
  And so I was like, well, the least I could do is give it a try.
• 15:50
  And they were providing it.
• 15:53
  And so I'm like, well, let's try it out.
• 15:56
  And I'm glad I listened.
• 15:58
  And like I said, it has been a tremendous help for him.
• 16:02
  I tell you, those are some scary moments that we have with our kids and needing anything.
• 16:08
  You know what I'm saying?
• 16:09
  Because if it's something that we can provide, we jump on that.
• 16:13
  But I got to lean out for somebody else.
• 16:15
  It gets a little difficult.
• 16:16
  Of course.
• 16:17
  Tori, we're going to take a quick commercial break and we're going to talk more with you
• 16:23
  right after the break.
• 16:24
  You are listening to Look Who's Talking.
• 16:36
  This past year has highlighted the strength of Community Action Council.
• 16:40
  Every day, our staff works together to help families recover from this crisis.
• 16:45
  We're educating children at home and in person, helping parents who lost their jobs, and helping
• 16:50
  households avoid eviction.
• 16:52
  Our work at Community Action Council has never been more important than it is right now.
• 16:57
  So why not join us?
• 16:58
  We have employment opportunities requiring a range of skills from entry level to advanced.
• 17:03
  Buy online at commaction.org.
• 17:07
  Community Action Council's Head Start programs are now enrolling for the 24-25 school year
• 17:12
  in 15 counties, including Lexington.
• 17:14
  Head Start offers high quality early childhood education for qualifying families with children
• 17:19
  between the ages of six weeks and five years old.
• 17:22
  Spaces are limited and filling up quickly.
• 17:23
  So to help ensure your child receives the Head Start advantage this year, start your
• 17:28
  application today by calling 859-233-4600 or go online at commaction.org.
• 17:36
  That's C-O-M-M, Action.org.
• 18:06
  And you are listening to Look Who's Talking.
• 18:15
  And we are here with Head Start teacher, Ms. Tori.
• 18:18
  Can I call you Ms. Tori?
• 18:20
  What do the kids call you, Ms. Tori?
• 18:21
  The kids call me Ms. Tori.
• 18:23
  That's what I thought.
• 18:24
  Okay.
• 18:25
  So what I want to ask is how does your role as a Head Start parent differ from that as
• 18:36
  a Head Start teacher?
• 18:39
  So it differs because as a teacher, well, first of all, as a parent, you know, I've
• 18:45
  needed the services and I've benefited from them, my son specifically, and it's just helped
• 18:54
  us, you know, learn different ways for him of learning and coping with things.
• 19:00
  And so when I became a teacher and, you know, I have witnessed, you know, children need
• 19:06
  the same things.
• 19:07
  And so I kind of know the signs and I have been able to basically tell parents how it
• 19:18
  helped me.
• 19:19
  So again, you know, you approach your parent and you suggest some form of therapy and they
• 19:24
  kind of get red flags like why.
• 19:27
  But I've been able to tell them of my personal experience and how it's helped.
• 19:32
  And so that kind of eased them like, okay, you know, she's done it.
• 19:36
  She says it's beneficial.
• 19:38
  And so it's actually worked for them and they have gotten into it as well.
• 19:43
  Good.
• 19:44
  That's awesome.
• 19:45
  So being on the other side of the curtain, that's a little different.
• 19:50
  It is.
• 19:51
  Yeah.
• 19:52
  So how, you know, what have what made you decide that this is where I want to work?
• 19:59
  I mean, because you in child development, there's a million other places you could have
• 20:03
  been.
• 20:04
  Is there anything specific about Community Action Council that made you decide to work
• 20:08
  here?
• 20:09
  They just have always seemed like they care.
• 20:12
  Like I said, they're very family oriented.
• 20:15
  And no matter what it is, if you are in need of anything, they are going to find a way.
• 20:22
  And I've always noticed that.
• 20:23
  And like I said, not just myself, I have a friend that goes or who's brought her children
• 20:28
  here and she's still here as well.
• 20:30
  And no matter, it doesn't have to be therapy.
• 20:34
  It anything if you are in need, Community Action is going to go out of their way to
• 20:39
  find a way to help you.
• 20:41
  And I've always really appreciated that.
• 20:44
  And so I wanted to be a part of that.
• 20:47
  That's awesome.
• 20:49
  What I love about the program is the training.
• 20:54
  They go out of their way to try to bring everybody together, make sure everybody's on the same
• 20:58
  page.
• 20:59
  Right.
• 21:00
  Have you gone through a training yet?
• 21:01
  You've only been here three months.
• 21:02
  So no, probably some very minimum training, but the all staff.
• 21:07
  Yeah.
• 21:08
  Oh, no, I've not been through one yet.
• 21:10
  It's coming.
• 21:11
  Staff.
• 21:12
  Yeah, it's coming.
• 21:13
  That's I mean, that's that's really, you know, a lot candid, very specific to the teachers
• 21:21
  and staff of figuring out what's working.
• 21:26
  Information is passed through and well, and to also see how big the agency actually is
• 21:32
  because, you know, when you're at one location, you see everyone here.
• 21:36
  Right.
• 21:37
  But the fact that we have over 450 staff that all come together.
• 21:41
  Wow.
• 21:42
  And I was like, oh, hold up.
• 21:44
  We're huge.
• 21:45
  Yeah.
• 21:46
  I didn't know.
• 21:47
  Is that right?
• 21:48
  Fifteen counties, actually.
• 21:49
  Yeah.
• 21:50
  So, you know, being able to see that part of things is neat because you're like, oh,
• 21:58
  I usually only think about my center.
• 22:01
  Right.
• 22:02
  Or maybe centers in Fayette County.
• 22:03
  But we touch so many different centers and places and speak so many different languages.
• 22:10
  You know, we're trying to be as diverse as possible and hit as many folks as possible.
• 22:17
  Yeah.
• 22:18
  Yeah.
• 22:19
  It's something that I really enjoy.
• 22:20
  And, you know, I've been here going on 18 years.
• 22:23
  So 18 years.
• 22:24
  I've got a lot catching up to do.
• 22:28
  Oh, yeah.
• 22:29
  Oh, yeah.
• 22:30
  But yeah, it's a great place to work.
• 22:32
  And so if you are looking for work, we're talking about it.
• 22:38
  Community Action Council is hiring.
• 22:39
  We are hiring.
• 22:40
  This is the place to be.
• 22:41
  Yes.
• 22:42
  You heard it yourself.
• 22:43
  If you're interested, dial 859-233-4600 and we will get you started.
• 22:52
  Right?
• 22:53
  Yes.
• 22:54
  We actually, Cam, should be having some open interviews coming up soon at Malone's.
• 23:02
  You're going to do that?
• 23:03
  Oh, yeah.
• 23:04
  We're going to do it again.
• 23:05
  So hopefully we'll get some staff in, some teachers.
• 23:09
  And, you know, do what they do.
• 23:12
  Yeah.
• 23:13
  Yeah.
• 23:14
  That's a nice way of recruiting staff is we get Malone's and we'll offer you a meal and
• 23:22
  an opportunity to sign up to be a part of the team.
• 23:28
  Great time.
• 23:29
  Great time.
• 23:30
  All right.
• 23:31
  Back to the show.
• 23:32
  Back to the show.
• 23:33
  You know what?
• 23:34
  Since we digressed, let's go on and get the head start.
• 23:36
  Highlight word of the day.
• 23:40
  The head start highlight word of the day is opportunity.
• 23:43
  Opportunity.
• 23:44
  There it is.
• 23:45
  There it is.
• 23:47
  Right in line.
• 23:50
  So Tori, it's been a whirlwind.
• 23:53
  It's been three months.
• 23:54
  And yeah, so you said your son came in 21.
• 23:59
  That was right during the pandemic, right?
• 24:01
  It was.
• 24:02
  It was.
• 24:03
  It was a challenge, you know, just getting through the pandemic.
• 24:07
  And see, even then during the pandemic, when he first started, I couldn't come in the building
• 24:12
  yet.
• 24:13
  And so that made me nervous as well.
• 24:16
  So he started and we were met at the front door.
• 24:21
  And then it was just from there.
• 24:23
  That was it.
• 24:24
  And then we were met at the door at pickup.
• 24:26
  But even then, like him coming out and him talking to me when we got home, like I just
• 24:31
  knew he was happy.
• 24:33
  And so it just made again everything even more easy flowing during that time as well.
• 24:39
  I was going to say, so from the time you had your first child in our program to having
• 24:45
  your son, that was a big change because you couldn't even see the classroom at the time
• 24:52
  because of some of the COVID restrictions we had.
• 24:55
  And the facility changed.
• 24:57
  We moved across the street.
• 24:59
  So where you were familiar with the previous center, you had no clue.
• 25:03
  Right.
• 25:04
  Right.
• 25:05
  Right.
• 25:06
  So tell us, are there things that, you know, as a teacher, you were like, whoa, I didn't
• 25:13
  know they did this as a parent.
• 25:15
  I've definitely learned about a lot of other resources.
• 25:20
  And then even like, you know, you were just speaking a minute ago, before I started over
• 25:25
  here, they send you to shadowing for two weeks.
• 25:29
  And so at the other location that I was at, that was awesome, first of all, because you
• 25:34
  got to be hands on.
• 25:35
  And sometimes people learn a lot better doing things hands on.
• 25:39
  So I really appreciated that.
• 25:41
  And then being over there, there were four different languages in that classroom.
• 25:47
  And so, you know, they make sure they label everything.
• 25:50
  And you know, they try to incorporate other books and other songs and stuff in languages
• 25:55
  so that everyone has that equal learning.
• 25:59
  And so just stuff like that, I thought was so amazing for them to take that time and
• 26:04
  actually do rather than just sticking with English.
• 26:07
  Right.
• 26:08
  And so I thought that was awesome.
• 26:09
  What would you say to a parent who is like, how is this different than daycare?
• 26:17
  Because daycare, I feel like, you know, you get children in and you're just watching them
• 26:23
  and you just, you know, they're here until their parents come.
• 26:26
  But with Community Action, like we are actually here to teach them.
• 26:30
  We are actually here in early head start, we are getting them ready for head start.
• 26:35
  And head start, we are getting them ready for school.
• 26:38
  And so like they really do take the curriculum of each day.
• 26:43
  And we're teaching them, we are truly taking that time and teaching each child something.
• 26:48
  And not every child learns the same.
• 26:51
  So if this child needs, you know, something more, we are even providing that to make sure
• 26:58
  that child is learning as well and trying to get everyone on the level that they should
• 27:03
  be.
• 27:04
  And so again, that's something that I value and appreciate as well.
• 27:07
  And then just like with my son, even though this is his last summer, I was provided a
• 27:14
  huge packet that I didn't even know, you know, they do just have all kinds of summer learning
• 27:19
  material to keep him learning until he goes.
• 27:23
  So even though he's graduated, they still went that extra mile to provide information
• 27:29
  and just a huge packet for him to do all summer.
• 27:33
  And he's been working on that just a few things each day.
• 27:37
  And so that, you know, as well is going to help further his education when he does start.
• 27:42
  So I think one of the things is different from you said you had a 13 year old that was
• 27:46
  in the program and now is graduation.
• 27:50
  Is that how was that?
• 27:53
  That was it was so special.
• 27:56
  Just had us my whole family tearing up because when she was here, they did do a little something,
• 28:02
  but we just came over, you know, to the facility and just celebrated.
• 28:06
  Whereas now they actually treated like a graduation and like that was just mind blowing to my
• 28:13
  whole family, but we all make sure we attended and we thought that was so special.
• 28:17
  We love that.
• 28:19
  Absolutely.
• 28:20
  Yeah.
• 28:21
  That was introduced what five years ago.
• 28:23
  Yeah.
• 28:24
  Six years ago.
• 28:25
  It was right before COVID happened.
• 28:28
  Yeah.
• 28:29
  And so that's amazing.
• 28:30
  The first time, the very first time we sold out, really, and we claimed that was we sold
• 28:39
  out that gym and parents came in with signs and balloons and everything.
• 28:44
  We was like, Oh my God, this is something real.
• 28:48
  We didn't know how big it was actually going to be.
• 28:52
  So yeah, that one was like, Oh, what did we get into?
• 28:58
  We knew that it was going to be something more than what we had imagined.
• 29:02
  When we saw one of the kids, a family member had made them graduation invitations and it
• 29:10
  was circulated, like it was going viral on Facebook.
• 29:13
  Oh my goodness.
• 29:14
  And we said, Oh, hold up.
• 29:18
  This is some serious.
• 29:19
  We outgrew the first location the very first time.
• 29:22
  I'm so glad y'all chose to do that and have continued it because it's a very special moment
• 29:28
  to share.
• 29:29
  It really is.
• 29:30
  And you know, to me, it also felt like, wow, this is the first time we are able to get
• 29:36
  children excited about going to the next level because they were so excited about graduation.
• 29:43
  And you know, so I think that was, yeah.
• 29:46
  And it's preparing the mindset that, okay, you are now leaving here and you're going
• 29:52
  somewhere else, but you are equipped.
• 29:56
  You can handle it.
• 29:57
  You can do it.
• 29:58
  Well, Tori, I am so glad you was on the show today.
• 30:01
  We're so glad that you joined the family.
• 30:05
  You in the house on both sides.
• 30:08
  I don't plan on going anywhere.
• 30:10
  All right.
• 30:11
  All right.
• 30:12
  Well, you have been listening to look, who's talking, tell your friends, share the show.
• 30:19
  Let us know what you think about the show.
• 30:21
  How about that?
• 30:22
  Huh?
• 30:23
  Perfect.