Leslie lives in the Post Falls area and has worked as an early childhood teacher for the last nine years. It was her experience in the classroom that fueled her desire to continue her academic career.
“There were so many kiddos coming through our program that had needs that I didn’t have the abilities or tools to be able to meet. We outsourced as many as we could, but all those amazing resources that are in the community – they can’t live in your classroom all the time. It almost felt like a disservice to those kids to not have the tools and resources in my toolbelt,” she said of making the initial decision to go back to school.
She learned about the IdahoSTARS academic scholarship program through her child care program director, saying “My boss introduced that to me and I was really excited. It gave me the incentive to think I can make this happen.”
Last year alone, IdahoSTARS awarded 58 students nearly $200,000 in scholarship funds. The program is currently supporting 36 scholars across eight different colleges and universities in Idaho. The Project supports continued education to help professionals gain skills at every stage of their career, creating better outcomes for scholars. Ultimately, it’s about creating better outcomes for Idaho’s children.
For Leslie, receiving an IdahoSTARS scholarship made it possible for her to return to school. She was not only able to gain the skills needed to provide more immediate support to children with additional needs in her classroom, but she’s confident that she can now set them up to thrive through their entire academic journey.
“Basically, this sets me up for success no matter what I do. It gave me the ability to go back to school as well as the possibility to gain the knowledge and wisdom that I have to pour into kiddos. That is my ultimate goal – being able to help kids not only regulate themselves socially and emotionally but to be able to further their own education. To take them from where they are now to where they need to be in the future,” she said.
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