There’s a commonly held misconception that child care centers universally equate to daycare. In other words, these centers are seen as babysitting services and the teachers as glorified nannies. While we can’t speak for other providers and organizations, this view couldn’t be further from the reality at Bright Horizons®.
Our organization, which has over 36 years of experience as an innovator and leader in the family care and education space, believes child care centers have a much deeper function than keeping an eye on children while their parents are at work. And our teachers are much more than babysitters; they play a crucial role in fostering early childhood development.
The role of a child care center
A key driver behind any child care center is certainly to give parents a safe, high-quality, and nurturing environment for their children. These centers offer a crucial lifeline to working parents, giving them the peace of mind needed to work knowing their kids are being cared for by trusted and trained professionals.
However, a great child care program goes beyond mere daycare, providing the children in its charge with a robust curriculum designed to help them thrive as students and as individuals as they navigate kindergarten and beyond.
The importance of teachers in early childhood development
At Bright Horizons, teachers are the heart of our program — they have the skills, passion, and dedication to make early education their career and help your child learn, grow, and thrive.
Rather than teaching a stodgy, outdated curriculum, our licensed teachers work with each child to figure out what makes them tick, and then zero in on those very things to support their unique growth and development.
Through a proprietary framework called Discovery Driven Learning®, our teachers help children learn, solve problems, and interact with the people and world around them through hands-on modules and activities.
Early childhood intervention
Early childhood is a pivotal time in the life and development of every child. This is when they're at their most curious, discovering the world and beginning to develop the interests, habits, and interpersonal skills that will continue to blossom as they do. But without proper teacher intervention and interaction at this crucial stage, children can get tripped up by any of the common pitfalls of early childhood development.
Here are a couple of real-world examples that show how our teachers have successfully intervened to help children navigate challenges in early childhood. Names have been changed to protect each individual’s privacy.
An observant teacher
Three-year-old Jenny loved her teacher, Melissa. Yet every day, Jenny would erupt into tears when her mother, Elizabeth, dropped her off at the center. Separation anxiety was certainly a factor, but not the underlying problem. Elizabeth was baffled. Jenny was always so happy and bubbly at home but was struggling to adapt, even in an environment she loved.
Melissa believed she had the answer. She paid attention to each child's development and noticed that Jenny was struggling socially. She wasn’t making friends easily and had trouble blending into new groups.
And Melissa knew why.
She took the time to sit down with Elizabeth and told her that she thought Jenny had some trouble with speech articulation, which made it hard for her to connect with her peers.
Elizabeth and her husband were so close to their daughter that they were blind to this problem. They inherently understood her idiosyncrasies so well that they didn’t even realize she had speech issues. Quickly, they got Jenny in to see a speech pathologist to help correct her issue before it could impact her development.
Melissa’s attentiveness helped her identify Jenny’s unique challenge and suggest a solution to improve her social-emotional growth.
An individualized approach
Jack was about to start his first day of preschool. Jack was an only child, so his parents chose Bright Horizons to give their son the opportunity to learn and play with other kids. However, Jack was too old and big for the toddler room but would be the youngest and smallest in the preschool classroom.
Jack’s parents wanted to make the shift to preschool but were concerned about the transition to a bigger class with bigger kids. That’s where Jamie, the preschool teacher, stepped in.
Jamie began visiting Jack in the toddler room to give him a familiar and friendly face in the preschool classroom. Even so, when he eventually made the full-time move to preschool, there were growing pains.
Jamie took the initiative to update Jack’s parents via My Bright Day®, the Bright Horizons app, about Jack’s progress and mood. Observing Jack’s passion for letters, numbers, and puzzles, Jamie made sure to encourage these activities and pair Jack with children who had similar interests.
It took a few weeks, but Jack eventually adjusted and thrived in his new environment— and the time Jamie took to get to know Jack made the transition easier.
Professional development for teachers
At Bright Horizons, we understand just how impactful teachers like Melissa and Jamie are to the growth and development of the children entrusted to our care. Because of this, we make every effort to invest in our teachers and further their careers. In 2018, we became the first early learning organization to pay for teachers to go to college, and we continue to blaze new trails.
From our nationally recognized eCDA Child Development Associate credential to the free associate and bachelor's degrees offered via our Horizons Teacher Degree Program, we continually invest in the teaching profession, with the goal of providing the very best for both the children in our centers, and the teachers in our field.
The investments seem to be paying off, as turnover is 2-5x lower for teachers enrolled in Bright Horizons development programs versus those not pursuing a degree or certification. Keeping our amazing teachers in-house is essential to providing families and children with consistent, high-quality early childhood education and intervention to help every child in our program thrive.
Learn more about Bright Horizons' early childhood development programs and our passionate, professional teachers.