“I just have to take the time to say thanks to you and the Y staff. As a parent I have never seen a more dedicated, better trained and overall great staff. Every morning I’m greeted by the smiling faces of Ms. Boldin and Ms. Harriston.  Then when I head to the classroom we have Ms. Chin and Ms. Lawrence engaging the children, making them feel welcome, not to mention the major improvements my son has accomplished so far this year. Then when I pick up my godchild from Elgin in the evening, Ms. Hamilton and Mr. Evans are amazing in making sure she is ready and giving me an update to her day. I have never seen such an organized and well maintained staff. Please keep up this amazing job. I’m so thankful to be a parent of the Y Head Start student. “

That was an email recently sent to our Y Head Start team in Baltimore City from Stephinol Lewis.  It was entitled “Outstanding Job!!”

With a child and stepchild in two of our 18 Head Start preschool sites in Baltimore City, Ms. Lewis is in the unique position to know our program doubly well, so her comments hold a lot of weight and can be considered a highly informed compliment to the talented teams of Y early childhood professionals to whom she refers. Ms. Lewis’ observations reinforce and validate something we’ve long known: that our work in the early childhood field, both in the Head Start and traditional Preschools we run across the region, has been and continues to be a shining star and unparalleled resource for young children and their families throughout Central Maryland.  With school readiness scores that consistently outpace state averages, backed by consistently outstanding audit and Net Promoter scores, it’s no wonder that an engaged parent like Ms. Lewis sees and appreciates the incredible high quality program and strong early start her children are experiencing.

Hats off to Roikensha Craig, the very talented Executive Director of Y Head Start in Baltimore City, and to the dedicated team of Y Family Advocates and Teachers referred to in Ms. Lewis’ letter. Their outstanding professionalism and leadership contributes to the success of hundreds of young children year after year.  I can hardly imagine any greater accomplishment for educators or satisfaction for a parent.

All the best,

John

P.S. In case you missed it, this story was featured on CBS’s Sunday Morning program.  It’s about a program called Urban Warriors, a youth violence prevention initiative developed and run by the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.  Hats off to their CEO and my friend, Dick Malone, whose organization has stepped forward to work vigilantly to make a difference in a great city beset with escalating violence. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/urban-warriors-stemming-the-tide-of-street-violence/

John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland