Each Child. Every Community.

In celebration of Family Engagement Month, Smart Start and our collaborative partners are taking this time to recognize and celebrate the important role of families in the education and well-being of their children. Smart Start is working across the state to elevate the voices of family leaders and support them in advocating for their children and their communities. Throughout November we have invited family leaders and Smart Start Local Partnerships participating in the Family Engagement & Leadership work to share their stories, and we will feature them here. To learn more about Smart Start’s Family Engagement & Leadership initiative, visit the FEL section of the website. 

Diane Nelson and Family

When a parent is in the thick of the early years with their child/ren, and stays home with them, the parent’s other skills, abilities, and experiences often get overlooked. Why? Well, if you looked at me two years ago, you’d see a harried mom of two young boys – 3 years old and 6 months old at the time. Becoming a mom a little later in life -my first was born the year I turned 39 and my second when I was 42 – I struggled to have the same excitement for the day-to-day rhythms as I did when I had a career. I enjoyed so many aspects of my professional life: problem-solving, relatively quick feedback and accomplishments, adult conversation and behavior, and autonomy. I felt like my identity pre-kids was getting lost, especially since I lived very far from where I had my professional life.

That all changed when someone at The Family Place – a free, local organization for family play and much more – took an interest in learning about my “life before kids” professional and life experiences. We had many short, casual conversations that unfolded over time. When the opportunity arose for professional work on a grant in my skill area, they knew I had the skillset and asked me to consider it. They also knew I would have some child care challenges and helped me work through them, including letting me bring my children with me to many meetings.

Co-leading the work on Transylvania County’s Family Engagement Action Plan, I learned so much about the amazing resources available to families in our county and made many new friends and connections. Being relatively new to the area, the work gave me a deep appreciation and gratitude for being able to raise my boys in this community and finally made Transylvania County feel like home. Hearing from a variety of families also opened to my eyes the inequities in opportunity based upon geographic location, family structure, and socioeconomic status. It gave me a desire to participate in and lead efforts to address those inequities in partnership with the families.

This new work is still in its baby stages, but it’s so exciting and hopeful to think about what our community could look like and how all our children could thrive in school and life, if all families had the desire and opportunity to use the many excellent child development resources in our county. Please send good thoughts our way as we pursue reaching underserved families. If you have ideas or would like to reach out, please email info@getset-tc.org