WADESBORO- The Anson County Partnership for Children (ACPC) has joined many organizations around the country in promoting social justice and racial equity in light of the protests that were ignited over the death of George Floyd. To this end, the ACPC has been awarded two scholarships to participate in the first Cultivating NC Early Childhood Champions hosted by Duke University.
The program lasts six months and will consist of interactive webinars, independent exploration, and a capstone session. The capstone session will be in the form of a community project. The scholarships were provided to Karen Gerald, Child Services Coordinator, and Caroline Goins, Executive Director of the ACPC.
“This learning experience will promote social justice and racial equity with a trauma-informed, resilience-focused approach in the community,” said Goins. “COVID-19 has exasperated the many disparities that plague our children and families and there will never be a better time to focus on systemic racism, biases, and injustice then right now.”
ACPC staff is also participating in a staff-wide study to promote equality in education. It is Goins’ hope that participating in Cultivating NC Early Childhood Champions will, “broaden the scope and deepen the perspective of the Partnership’s in-house study.”
In addition to the scholarships, Goins is taking a closer look at the ACPC’s hiring practices in order to better represent the community at large.
“During our Board meeting Thursday, we talked about how our Board is pretty representative of the community,” said Goins, “but, with our two staff members leaving that were both minorities, now our staff isn’t representative.”
“We know nothing will change overnight,” said Goins, “this is daily long-term work. However, as early childhood professionals in coaching, training, and leadership roles, we are uniquely positioned to promote systemic changes that will profoundly impact our young children and the adults who raise and teach them.”