Hi, I'm Freya, and this summer, I'm a marketing and communications intern at KHCC! KHCC is filled with so many hardworking, smiling faces, and I wanted to showcase a few of them in honor of the 45th Anniversary.
Below, I have interviewed and photographed Ziograin "Zio" Correa, our ELNY Education Director / ECS Assistant Director / EHS Director, for the "IMPACT STORIES" series.
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How did you find KHCC?
"I had heard of the organization five years ago, but never looked into it. Then two years ago, [I] contacted and visited. At the time I thought I couldn't fit need the program's needs, then the following year, I was contacted again, and I felt as though it was the right time for me to step in and to be the ECS assistant director and the Early Head Start director."
Why have you stayed at KHCC?
"Just working with children is my passion, and here, we have the range of pregnant mothers until they're five. I've always had an interest working with children in this range because it's so concise and if I can have an impact in this range then this is the place to get that done."
What’s one of your favorite memories from your time here?
"There’s a lot, but the Week of the Young Child in April, we really got to show the growth of the child. A lot of our concerns were could we have a parade with our children and would our teachers be prepared? To my surprise it was the most that I had seen that the children could follow instructions, remain engaged, and participate with very little redirection. The children were walking around holding props remaining engaged the entire event from beginning to end, and it so was smooth. To see how teachers could get the children to the point where they could function independently in the hallways when we thought that wouldn’t be a possibility. So to me and the program, that was a big, big achievement. Children will be children. They were even proud that the work had paid off. Specifically the three's!"
What have you learned through being here?
"Oh my gosh I've learned a lot! Although I bring expertise of child development, I learned to work with teachers, who have a number of roles. We have the home visitors, infant educators, head start teachers, the teachers, and the classroom staff. I believe there are different ways we can educate children with the support of their families meeting the developmental milestones. It's not up to the teacher alone which is what I originally thought, but there's different departments here that help the children get to those milestones. It takes a village to support a child; it's not up to a teacher only. That's how my perspective shifted through being here."
Where is your favorite place on site and why?
"The classrooms ironically- I don’t spend enough time there. The way the center is set up for learning and the teachers have set it up so you get to see most of the learning in there."
To learn more about KHCC's Early Childhood Services, visit the Program page.