Caroline Goins
WADESBORO — PBS North Carolina, an educational media network, has appointed Anson County Partnership for Children’s Executive Director Caroline Goins to serve as Anson County’s first PBS Rootle Ambassador.
“I have many fond memories of watching PBS as a child and remember the lessons learned from characters such as Daniel Tiger and Big Bird from Sesame Street,” said Goins. “I am excited to connect families with free, award-winning early educational programming and online activities Rootle offers.”
The PBS Rootle Ambassador program takes locally based community members who strongly support families with young children and trains them to use and share the suite of PBS early education resources with families in their communities.
Goins is part of the second cohort of Rootle Ambassadors. The goal is to have a Rootle Ambassador in every county of North Carolina in the next 5 years.
“Our state is diverse, and each community is unique,” Dr. Melissa Rihm Thibault, PBS NC Chief Education, and Innovation Officer, said at the time of the program’s launch. “The Rootle Ambassador is, in each of these communities, bringing their knowledge, connections, and deeply held understanding to the role, ensuring that each child is made aware of the assets and opportunities inherent in their home community.”
Rootle is PBS NC’s locally branded 24/7 PBS KIDS Channel aimed at children ages 2 – 8 years old. The programming takes a “whole child” curricular approach proven to strengthen learning outcomes. The PBS Rootle Ambassador program was announced in 2021. It was developed from the knowledge that local family members, educators, and community leaders have a tremendous impact within the early childhood education space, as well as a need to reach children across the state equitably. Primary funding is provided by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust grant.
“Collaborating with Rootle was a natural fit for the Anson County Partnership for Children to reach more children,” said Goins. “More than 50% of young children in Anson are not in a regulated childcare facility. The high-quality programs on PBS offer valuable learning opportunities at home and on the go that directly align with the foundations of early learning.”
In 1996, the Anson County Partnership for Children was founded to help make Anson County a better place to be a child and to raise a child. The Partnership is responsible for developing collaborative strategies to meet the needs of children and families in Anson County. The Partnership provides services focused on raising the quality of early care and education, supporting families, advancing child health, and expanding literacy.