Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards
Melinda Daubitz
The Child Care Center of Evanston
Melinda Daubitz works with prekindergarten children, ages four to five, at the NAEYC-accredited Child Care Center of Evanston. For the past 14 years, she has worked at the Center fostering the shared community values of cooperation and respect for one another. Daubitz embodies the Child Care Center's mission by working to help children of all socioeconomic backgrounds gain the skills they need to succeed in school. Committed to teaching values through the program Character Counts!, Daubitz subtly role models the six pillars of character: respect, caring, responsibility, citizenship, trustworthiness, and fairness.
"I am so proud to see the children, especially the older ones, confident in themselves and very ready to go to kindergarten," notes Daubitz. "I want them curious, eager, and ready to move on. When the children demonstrate that they are ready to learn, ready to go, ready to explore more, that is probably my greatest satisfaction."
Her interest and genuine concern in the development of her community is expressed not only in the compassion she displays in the classroom, but also in her involvement outside the classroom. Previously, she coordinated 23 home day care sites for the Child Care Center of Evanston. Presently, she serves as a mentor for college undergraduates, and also as the co-chair for the parent support group at the Child Care Center.
Having been a single parent for many years herself, Daubitz has particular compassion for the stresses on families in today's society. Daubitz explains, "I have become more comfortable and confident that families are the heart of child care. My focus is on the needs of the family, be it the child's family, 'staff family', or my own at home." To that end, she has created an 'Emergency Closet' to provide necessary supplies for families and frequently stays late to prepare dinner for the families who attend evening meetings at the center.