My name is Linda Clark; I am the President and founder of Great New Beginnings Early Childhood Learning Center. My first child, Brandon was born in 1990. As a first time mother, I was very disappointed in the lack of quality centers that were available to me. I felt like I had to lower my standards and settle for the center that would give the best care. The word “settle” is what a lot of families are forced to do in order to be able to maintain employment.

Over the years that followed, I had my child in three different centers because I had to “settle” for ones that I knew were not 100% what I was looking for because those centers did not exist. I had my second child, Kennedy Lynn in 1996. Not much had changed in six years. There were still not a large number of quality centers available for families. After working in the corporate world for fifteen years in the financial field, I was down sized. At that point I realized that I wanted to start my own business which would allow me to spend more time with my children. Child care seemed to make sense and I knew I would enjoy the challenges of operating a center.

Our program opened on November 15th, 1999 to the community. Our program is still going strong and has allowed us the opportunity to continue to grow within the community. My experience and expectations as a mother has provided me the insight needed in making sure Great New Beginnings is offering a quality program.

We, at GNB, take the extra step to be sure all of our staff is CPR/First Aid Certified, EPI Pen/Food Allergy Management Certified, as well as mandatory continued education in early childhood education. Our center has an Emergency Plan that is reviewed with the staff to be sure we are ready for any type of emergency. We recognize and practice the standards set forth by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). For those of you that are not familiar with this organization, it is the bench mark of quality care and education. Their standards exceed most state and federal agencies for the care and education of young children. All facets of a program are evaluated such as health practices, curriculum, staff credentials and program administration/business practices. Again, all of these standards are well above the state licensing requirements.

Our facility is bright, clean and secure. All visitors are required to present a photo identification which is logged and verified against the Megan Law Community notices which are posted by local law enforcement agencies. It is important to me as an owner, and as a parent, to make sure that we are operating a quality early education program for the children in our community. A majority of our enrollment is generated by family referrals of past and present students. I believe this is a strong testimonial to the quality and commitment that our program provides.

Unlike a corporate owned center, I know and interact with all of our enrolled families. All enrolled families are provided with my personal contact information such as phone numbers and email address. I am always accessible if there is a question or concern. I have dedicated my life to this profession and I enjoy being in this field. It has been a privilege to watch children go from learning to walk to learning to read. I hope that you decide to tour our facilities to see the obvious commitment that everyone at Great New Beginnings has to early childhood education.

Yours in care,