Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards
Mildred Ebietomiye
Ounce of Prevention Fund Educare Center
5044 S. Wabash, Chicago
Infants & Toddlers
“When you walk into Mildred Ebietomiye’s room, the children are engaged not only with materials, but more importantly, with each other,” says Sue Reynolds, Master Teacher and Early Head Start Manager at the Ounce of Prevention Fund Educare Center in Chicago. “This group of 20- to 30-month-old children can only be characterized as a family. They’ve been given the gift of trust in the unlikeliest of places, a full day, year round child care program that serves teenage mothers in what is left of the Robert Taylor Homes,” adds Reynolds.
Ebietomiye has implemented an effective relationship-based model in which children enter the program as infants and remain with the same caregivers until they turn three-years-old. This allows the children time to develop secure attachments with their caregivers, which she sees as essential for emotional and cognitive development.
“The children in our program represent a population that’s at a marked economic disadvantage,” says Ebietomiye. “I believe in their inherent goodness and talents, and this is the lens through which I view their behavior.”
Age-specific activities are carefully planned for her students. Children are presented with new words on a regular basis. She enhances their gross motor abilities by setting up safe obstacles for the children to climb on, jump over and crawl under. While some educators might become upset when a child paints beyond their paper and easel and on to the table or door, Ebietomiye excitedly acknowledges this as an indication of expanded creativity. “Ms. Ebietomiye has the ability to make diaper changing, tooth brushing and meal time a positive adventure for the children,” marvels Shannell Marshall, an Educare teacher assistant.
“Mildred instills high morals and values in the children by teaching them to be caring, kind, tolerant, and sensitive individuals,” says Onedia Beemon, whose daughter has been with Ebietomiye for two years. “Mildred treats all of the children as if they were her own.”