BEEBE, Ark. — Community can mean a handful of different things and can be found in just as many places— and many teachers in Beebe have found that community right at their workplace.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beebe School District stepped up to offer teachers an affordable childcare opportunity just steps away from their classrooms.
"I'm so glad that we have something here, you know, through the district," said Shelby Ruesewald, parent and teacher.
Paired with maternity leave, this opportunity continues to make all the difference for a handful of Beebe educators to feel supported.
In a classroom that serves as a daycare, there are kids either playing with toys or learning their ABC's. These students are watched after by childcare workers in rooms at the Beebe Administration Building, with many of the kids' parents working as teachers just feet away.
"I have one son here in the childcare program and he’s three in the toddler room," explained fifth-grade teacher Jessica Difani.
Difani and Ruesewald are both teachers for the Beebe School District who have kids in the district's childcare program.
The program has been around for more than two decades, however, after the pandemic a long list of issues emerged.
It became obvious for Shannon Marshall, director of the childcare program, that teachers needed special accommodations, so the district made it possible for their own teachers to get priority on their childcare waitlist.
With a long and growing list, not only do teachers get preferred enrollment into the program, but the district also added two new infant/toddler classes in 2021 due to that teacher need.
“They were starting to add to the waiting list,” Marshall said. “After the addition in 2021, we opened another toddler room in 2023. We serve children ages six weeks up to four years of age and have a Pre-K program, we charge $140 a week.”
Marshall added that the fee covers their childcare workers’ salaries and the children's meals once they’re no longer bottle-fed.
The preferred waiting list and quality care of this affordable childcare option eased Ruesewald’s mind as a new mom.
“That was my first baby, so I didn’t know all the ins and outs of childcare and from day one I felt behind, but this eased my nerves on everything,” Ruesewald described. “My son learned his alphabet within the first two weeks of school. The childcare workers care so much, it’s amazing.”
If affordable, quality childcare isn't enough, the district is doing even more for mothers.
"Our district is just one of 27 in Arkansas that offer paid maternity leave,” Marshall said. “It is a seamless transition for them.”
For Difani, the option for maternity leave and affordable childcare made all the difference, so she wants other districts to step up for their teachers too.
"This profession is female-dominated, so schools taking up the paid maternity leave and providing childcare is the bare minimum," Difani added. “Take care of their employees because feeling like I’m seen by my district was a huge deal for me, and it's what is keeping me in the community that takes care of me."
In January 2025, the Beebe School District will open an additional infant class to respond to more teacher need.
Marshall said recruitment and retention of teachers is a big thing anywhere right now and they will continue to do what they can to hire and keep quality educators.