This is a year of celebration in Colleton County—a year marked by important anniversaries and another season of growth. While local farmers nurture watermelons, tomatoes, and peanuts in our fields, Grow Early Learning continues to cultivate something equally valuable: locally led early childhood education programs that help young children and families thrive.
Alison McCullough recently marked 11 years of leadership with the Head Start program. Alongside her are many devoted parents, educators, and community members, including Angela Walker, the Early Childhood Education Disabilities Coordinator, and Laura Gonzalez, a mother who first served as the President of the South Carolina Policy Council, and now is the Family Health Coordinator. Angela was a teacher of Laura‘s children and has also been with the program for 12 years. Alison and Angela are both working as leaders within the program, and Laura is now part of the team, providing the same holistic support services to families that she also received as a Head Start parent. All three women have been vital in developing partnerships to support the parents through education, nutrition and health services, and ensuring farmworker children meet all the requirements for school readiness.
For 20 years now, Grow Early Learning has invested in Colleton County, offering high-quality childcare and preschool to the children of farmworkers in those fields. With three classrooms of babies, toddlers, and preschool students, supporting that pivotal role of brain development until children go to kindergarten, the center, its staff, and parents have been getting hundreds of little ones ready for school. There’s always room for more little ones, team members to find a great place to work, and other community collaborations to develop.
From book mobile visits from the Colleton County Library to vision screenings, partnerships are vital to the goal of school readiness. A partnership with First Steps has ensured that the agricultural families are supported -- even in the off season – and offers home visits and enriching family centered community activities for parents with young children. Additionally, the Lions club has done vision screenings for the past two years. This is a huge benefit for our community because they offer these services after hours when people are done working.
As Grow Early Learning celebrates 20 years of serving Colleton County, we remain grateful for the dedicated staff, families, and community partners who make this work possible. Together, we are helping children build a strong foundation for success while strengthening the future of our community—one child, one family, and one growing season at a time.
About Grow Early Learning:
Grow Early Learning provides high-quality and comprehensive Head Start services across ten states to almost 3,000 farmworker children each year. Enrollment opportunities are available for agricultural families with young children; the center can be contacted by telephone at (843) 866-2051. For more information on this mission-driven work, please visit: www.growearlylearning.org
