Hester knew her passion from a young age. “Let me put it this way,” she says. “For my 13th birthday, I got a baby doll, and I loved it. I’ve loved babies and kids forever.”
With over 40 years of experience as a preschool teacher, Early Learning Corps was the perfect opportunity for Hester to get back in the classroom and build incredible relationships throughout her four years of service.
After moving from southern California a few hours north to the San Joaquin Valley, Hester wanted to get know her new community and do something meaningful. Becoming an Early Learning Tutor would let her use her passion and experience only a few minutes away from her home. The opportunity was too good to pass up.
“I’ve been a preschool teacher since I was eighteen. I’ve worked with little ones for 40 years now,” she says. “I was like, oh my gosh, are you kidding me? It was five minutes from my house, so I was very excited. Next thing you know, I am immersed in the classroom, and I am loving it.”
Hester supported a preschool classroom at Foothill Elementary in Prather, California. She talked, sang, played, counted, read, and wrote with students to help them build their early reading and math skills and prepare them for kindergarten.
“I got to sit and play games with them, chitchat with them, to be personal with them, to really talk with them about whatever their interests were or whatever was going on for the day,” she says. “That was one of my very favorite things, getting to be personal with all the kids and really get to know them and have that great connection.”
In addition to providing individual and group support to students to her students, Hester also supported her classroom teacher with overall classroom operations. Because she has decades of experience as a teacher herself, she formed a strong bond with her teacher.
“We had a great mutual respect for each other,” she says. “She is an amazing teacher, has an amazing class. We had a great time working with each other and off each other. I would ask her opinions about what kids she thought needed help, and she would ask my opinion too. It was a very great, mutual, respectful relationship.”
With Reading Corps, Math Corps and Early Learning Corps tutors all serving at her school, Hester enjoyed connecting with other tutors. She says the cohort of tutors all supported each other and bonded throughout the year.
“We had our own room with specialists on one side then us tutors have our own side,” she explains. “Although I was immersed in the classroom and spent most of my time in my classroom, if I needed to take a child out to do a test, I had my own station. Everybody had their own desk and their own bookshelf, and we all worked together on a lot of things.”
After completing four wonderful years of Early Learning tutoring, Hester isn’t ready to quit working with students. Using her Segal AmeriCorps education award – extra money for college tuition or student loans – she’s taking additional teaching and child development classes to continue her passion for early learning in the hopes of transitioning to a full-time teaching position. In the meantime, Hester is grateful for all the meaningful connections she made as a tutor.
“The relationship with my cohort, the relationship with my teacher, the relationship with the children, the program is amazing,” Hester says. “You know it works. I’ve seen it work. I love being in the classroom and seeing this program in action and being the one who’s doing it.”
If you’d like to make an impact serving preschool students near you, join Early Learning Corps! As Hester says, “This program is wonderful. Every school should have this: It’s indescribable what a difference that makes.” Visit join.readingandmath.org to learn more and apply to become a tutor.