Deborah Hughes, BSW, is the director of Kiddie Prep School, which is sponsored by Grace Point Church of the Nazarene in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She has been involved in early education for 21 years.
Share with teachers—hang in staff lounge
I was sitting in a workshop at ACSI’s 2001 director conference in Colorado Springs, minding my own business. The workshop, presented by Dr. Milt Uecker, was constructing Appropriate Early Education Curriculum. All of a sudden I sensed God’s presence, and I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Pay attention. I have something I want to say to you.” I knew that God was talking to me. I listened to everything that Dr. Uecker had to say; I even ordered the tape. In a nutshell, the Holy Spirit was saying, “Honor the children.”
After that workshop I went to another one, ACSI Preschool Accreditation: The Inside Scoop. Again, the Holy Spirit began to talk to me. I sensed that God was saying, “Be in search of excellence for the children.” I listened to Leanne Leak and D’Arcy Maher talk about how the ACSI accreditation was comparable to that of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), with the exception of ACSI’s Christian component. I took all the information they gave us on accreditation, and I returned home. As I examined the information in my office, I had so many thoughts such as, “How can we afford this? This is a ton of work. How will I sell the rest of the staff on this?” I thought of every excuse not to pursue it. The Lord, however, would not leave me alone. I knew that I knew I was supposed to do this.
I have to be honest and tell you that there were times when I felt incredibly overwhelmed and intimidated as we jumped into accreditation. However, I always felt the Holy Spirit telling me, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, paraphrase). The Lord would once again remind me that it was about the children—what is best for them. Then the Lord did an amazing, affirming thing. The more we worked at making our program excellent, the more children He brought, until finally we had a waiting list for every classroom. Then He brought me wonderful teachers. I had so many people wanting to work for me that I was able to pick the cream of the crop.
The Lord would once again remind me that it was about the children—what is best for them.
Looking back on the last couple of years, I have to give God all the glory. God used ACSI to help us examine ourselves from a Christian perspective and make the necessary improvements to honor the children. As I walk around the building and see how far we have come, I cannot help sensing that God is smiling down on us. Matthew 18:10 comes to mind: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (NIV). That verse tells me we have angels in our building in more ways than one.
Hughes:Accreditation Journey