María Hernández, You Zhou, Sandra Saldaña, and César Zuñiga

After a decade of working as a food service supervisor in a hospital, Adrienne was ready for a change. She had always loved children and decided to begin caring for them in her home. She entered the early childhood education field with a high school diploma but quickly learned that being a family child care provider is not casual work. It requires skill, growth, and constant learning. She went back to school and has now obtained a master’ s degree in early childhood education.

“ I came into the field with a high school diploma,” she says.“ The children made me go back to get more education.”

Today, Adrienne cares for and educates six children, infancy to age 5, in her Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home. She continues to build her skills through professional development as she guides children through some of the most important years of their development. This includes upholding her professional identity in a field where home-based providers are too often unseen or undervalued.

“ I’ m not sitting here as [ some ] would think, babysitting,” she says.“ I sit here, and I educate [ children ]. Yes, it’ s in a small program. But it’ s a small program purposely by choice.”

Fall 2026 Educating Young Children 35