By Wallace Bohanan

Beacon Child Development Center in Hendersonville, NC, is hosted by the Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church. Not surprisingly, Beacon’s goal is to serve as God’s “stand-in” by nurturing and loving the children entrusted to its care; its teachers provide guidance, protection, and a foundation for a sound, Bible-based life.

Beacon serves children aged eight weeks to five years and charges a monthly fee of about $500. The modern facility has five classrooms, a kitchen, and a full-size gym as part of the larger Family Life Center. It currently serves thirty-five children, though its license allows for a capacity of eighty. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jacqueline Scott is the director.

The children who attend the center come from both traditional and non-traditional families. Income levels vary, and some children come from single-parent households or are being brought up by their grandparents. The varied backgrounds of the children can present a challenge, but the nurturing love provided by the staff, along with the structure and stability provided by the program, helps Beacon achieve its goal of developing the whole child.

Brenda Waters, lead teacher for the four- and five-year-olds’ class, is married to Pastor Billty T. Waters, and she considers her service to be “like a ministry. We take children from every situation without the restrictions that some other child development centers have.” For example, she notes, “children don’t have to be ‘potty-trained’ to attend. Our staff goes over and beyond what is expected of them.”

Left - Brenda Waters is the lead teacher for the four- and five-year-olds.  Kenya Hill is the lead teacher for the two-year-olds.   Photo: Urban News

When asked what makes the job rewarding, Kenya Hill, lead teacher for the two-year-olds’ class, names “feedback from the children and parents that a job is well done.” An example of the feedback the teachers truly appreciate is a parent bringing roses for the entire staff on Valentines Day.

Parents are also expected to take on responsibilities such as providing Pampers, wipes, extra clothes, and blankets for their children. With some parents having such limited resources, the center must sometimes provide these supplies; donations are, of course, appreciated.

The well-equipped classrooms include arts-and-crafts materials, puzzles, building blocks, books, and other learning materials for younger children, as well as computers for the older children.

Although the kitchen, bathrooms, and gymnasium are used by the child development center, they are part of the Family Life Center and are also available for the community to use (on a fee basis) for parties, weddings, etc. The gym is also open to the community on selected days.

Both as a stand-alone enterprise and as part of Union Grove Church, the Beacon Child Care Center offers essential services to Hendersonville families. Its affiliation with the church also brings it a spiritual dimension that is sorely needed in the modern world.