Q & A With...Gloria Hayes

Gloria Hayes has been the director of Good Shepherd Child Development Center since 1976. A second center, East Shore Child Development Center, opened two years later in 1978. Both are state-funded centers, receiving 46% of its operating costs from the Department of Social Services. The program is also funded through School Readiness (15 slots available at East Shore), fundraising, Care4Kids (14 children between the two centers), the child and adult food program through the state, and parent fees. Hayes started as an early elementary school teacher, moving to preschool to help accommodate her young family’s schedule. Thirty-four years later, Hayes still loves her job.

Q: What is your background in early care and education? How did you first start off on this track?

A: “Initially, I taught first and third grade in Ansonia and Stratford. As my children came along, I realized the amount of time it took to do my job properly left me little time with my own child. So I went from teaching to substituting in both towns so I could work while my husband was home with the baby. He worked at night. We had one car – I would pull into the driveway, not even turn the car off and he would come out of the house and go to work. After that phase of life, we moved from Ansonia to Milford and our second child was born. As our older child was getting ready to go to kindergarten, I told my husband if we kept this system up, he would never see his daughter. So we came up with a new system. I actually opened the phone book and called all the Milford preschools and asked if they were looking for a new teacher. And one was – Tiny Tot – it’s not in business anymore. I worked at Tiny Tot for seven years and another private preschool in Stratford for two years. While I was doing this, I was also attending meeting for preschool staff in Milford where we would discuss our challenges. One of the directors there said she was moving to Florida and her job would be open. She wanted to recommend me for the job. That was at Good Shepherd. I was hired on Aug. 16, 1976.”

Q: I understand Good Shepherd has a new facility? How did that come about?

A: “In 1984, Good Shepherd moved to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church [the former church location needed its space back]. It took us two years to find a new, suitable, licensable place. In 1992, we were approached by the Milford Childcare Consortium to look into opening an infant/toddler program. These were business people who were losing employees because there was no one to watch their infants or toddlers. They approached every preschool in town, and we were the only ones interested in investigating. They gave us some seed money, and we approached the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven. [The Foundation] gave us money to hire a consultant and we looked for other sites, but [ultimately] asked permission from St. Peter’s to renovate the space, which they agreed with. We hired a fundraising consultant to help write grants, and I also wrote grants for renovation money. In 1994, we opened the first infant/toddler room. The second room opened a month later. In 1998, we opened a third infant/toddler room. We stayed there for 22 years. In June 2004, St. Peter’s asked us to relocate [again because the church needed its space back]. We spent a year looking for property to relocate to. We couldn’t find a space suitable to renovate for children. We decided to explore building a new building. It was a four-year process. We got a $3 million CHEFA loan with the help of Rep. Jim Amann, as well as money from the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, Milford Childcare Consortium, Children's Investment Partnership, the Community Development Block Grant, state bond money and other small foundations. The estimated cost to build was $2.5 million, but it ended up costing $4.8 million. We bought land from the Archdiocese of Hartford behind St. Gabriel’s School. We moved into the building in October 2008. By taking the CHEFA loan, we had to increase the number of children we served. We went from 54 to 92 children. The building is wonderful because the architects listened to us. There are bathrooms adjacent to every room. There are floor-to-ceiling windows so that all children, no matter what level of development they are at, (from babies to preschoolers) can see outside. There are glass doors so you can see into every room and a great room for large muscle activities, no matter what the weather is like outside.

Q: How important is the actual infrastructure a child frequents to his or her overall learning?

A: “One of the things I learned when I was doing research for the new building, the Children’s Prevention Partnership had literature that said if your facility wasn’t arranged or structured for children, it impacted the interaction between the child and the adult. [Buildings geared toward children] enhance the educational environment. We never had air conditioning in any of the previous buildings. During the warm months, children and staff had a hard time with their comfort levels. It made it hard to learn. Learning is adversely affected when things within the building aren’t working correctly. [In our old building], the children had to use stools to reach the toilets and sinks and someone had to hand them paper towels. Now, that’s not a problem, as the sinks and toilets are child-sized. It also helps with potty-training.”

Q: Recently, DSS sent out “Maintenance of Effort” checks to providers all over the state. Did you receive your check? How do you plan to use it?

A: “We did receive our check – [approximately] $7,900. One of the things DSS suggested in using the money was to increase the quality of the outdoor and indoor play areas. We already spent it on new carpeting for a preschool room and new mulch for the outdoor play areas at both centers.”

Q: The check must be nice to have, but how difficult was it last year for you when the C4K program had the restricted eligibility? 

A: “It prevented new people from coming in. In the long-run, when we look at 2008 and 2009, a hole will show up in the figures.”

Q: What is the best part of your job? What is the worst part of your job?

A: “The best is to be able to walk into a room and see the smiling faces of the children every day. Whenever I get discouraged, I walk into a classroom. The worst is worrying about money. Will there be enough money to keep us in business? Will I be able to hire the right staff with the right credentials? Will I be able to retain staff?”

Q: What is your feeling on the state of the young child in Connecticut today?

A: “They are better off in terms of a system. When I started, there was no School Readiness program. In the beginning of School Readiness, we worried about it being another underfunded program. There are more slots now available. There is a lot more collaboration now amongst stakeholders – that has certainly improved over the years.”

Q: Do you think the state needs a more seamless system of early care and education?

A: “Yes. I think the system [as it is] is too cumbersome. It needs to be more one-stop service. More information needs to be available to families – at places people go to on a regular basis – such as churches, doctor’s offices and grocery stores.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

A: “It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help children and families. It’s both a privilege and responsibility to work with children this young. This is the foundation for all of their future learning. We’re preparing them for school and life. It’s important that they have a positive experience.”