Lifelong learner Marie Janelle Carter made a career out of living and teaching the transformative power of early childhood education while wondering if sharing her story would inspire others to follow in her footsteps; her debut children’s book made that wish a reality.
Marie’s passion for learning was instilled in her at a young age, strengthened by the Head Start Program in Cincinnati, Ohio, that she attended in 1968. Though she did not know the program was Head Start at the time, thinking of it only as “school,” Marie flourished, especially during the painting sessions, which quickly became her favorite school activity. Her enthusiasm for learning was felt by her siblings and cousins, who recalled fondly the teaching sessions that Marie would give after returning from school each day.
“When you were in school, I couldn’t wait for you to come home because you would teach us what you learned,” her sister told a surprised Carter, who could not believe her first teaching experience was not in the classroom but at home as a child.
Driven to give others the same high-quality education she received in her youth, Carter earned her associate degree in Early Childhood Education and a master’s degree in Community Counseling. Her early career included serving as a school principal in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where she married her passion for teaching and the service work that she did with her family.
Recently, Carter had the exciting opportunity to explore her passion for shaping young minds in another way while simultaneously fulfilling her dream since she was ten: becoming a writer of educational children’s books. Longing to put her lessons to paper, Carter turned to her own Head Start experience for inspiration with her debut book, “I Love School!” published in 2019.
“This book is a thank you note to Head Start and my early childhood learning experiences.”
Marie Janelle Carter referring to her debut book “I Love School!”
“I Love School!” follows four-year-old Whitney on her first day of Head Start as she navigates her nerves and discovers joy in new experiences. Each page details Whitney’s school activities and ends with the exclamation, “I Love School!” Through the repetition of this sentence, Carter hopes to encourage children to embrace their fears and learn to love the learning experience.
“I want kids to know that going to school is a little scary, but it can also be magical,” Carter said.
In addition to these lessons, Carter hopes her book will help children develop good social skills and self-regulation as they read about Whitney’s experiences, like taking turns and sharing school supplies. For many, a school classroom may be a child’s first experience learning alongside other children, and she believes her book can help with that transition.
Part of young readers taking these lessons to heart is seeing themselves in the book’s characters. Carter achieves this by showcasing a diverse cast of children in the illustrations, effectively highlighting that all children, regardless of their background, are important and included. One example of the importance of making children feel represented and valued was when one of Carter’s daughters read the book to her preschool students in Uganda. Carter happily recounted that the classroom had several international students who pointed to the book’s characters and happily exclaimed, “That’s me!”
The book also includes characters from Carter’s real life. The inspiration for “Lexi” was Carter’s Aunt Linda, who walked her to school and was a “big sister figure” to her. Linda passed away in February 2024 after teaching Head Start for nearly 20 years for the same program Carter works in, and the book was partly dedicated to her.
Aspiring to make her book a learning tool for not just children but caregivers and educators, Carter includes instructions at the story’s close for how to use the book’s lessons for school preparation and in developing children’s social-emotional skills. At the heart of these lessons, she hopes to emphasize her belief in the importance of play in children’s learning journeys, something she found in the words and lessons of Fred Rogers, visionary, executive producer, and host of the preschool television series, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Rogers’ timeless lessons from the natural world and the “Neighborhood of Make-Believe” inspired children like Marie to embrace the fun when teaching.
Carter lives and works by Rogers’ quote: “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
“You can’t have childhood education without it being fun,” Carter said.
Carter has been implementing play in her lessons in the early childhood education field for over twenty years, including her time in Community Action. Carter’s decision to begin her Community Action career as a Family Service Supervisor in 2009 was a full circle moment as she returned to the nonprofit organization whose program shaped her life and career. After three years in that role, Carter transitioned to a Mental Health and Disabilities Coordinator, where she led with the mentality that “it was the behaviors which challenge the staff, and not the children.” In 2015, she became the Director of Childcare Partnerships at Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency (Cincy CAA), the very agency that facilitated her Head Start Program. Carter has been in this role for nearly ten years, further cementing her belief that this field is her true calling.
“I felt honored and blessed to give back to the program that gave me my start,” Carter said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else except within the early childhood education field.”
In her current role, Carter oversees 11 childcare center partnerships, which aim to improve the quality of those programs through the professional development of their teaching staff and parent engagement. These partnerships are made possible by the Every Student Succeeds Act that President Obama signed into law in 2015, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act, allowing states to utilize federal funding for early childhood services and mandating states and districts to coordinate and consult with early childhood policies and programs. On average, Carter’s team supports five classrooms, totaling 40 infants and toddlers, employing an education coach to work with the teachers on best practices and a family service worker to assist with parent needs. Supported by Carter’s team at Cincy CAA, most of the 11 partner childcare centers are now achieving five stars (gold status) on Ohio’s Step Up to Quality rating scale, up from one or two stars (bronze status).
“My goal is to make every classroom that we partner with a place I would put my own grandchildren in,” Carter said.
Alongside these achievements, Carter has had to navigate a series of programmatic challenges through the years, the most pressing of which is staffing. Currently, the Early Head Start – Child Care Program (EHS-CCP) facilitated by Cincy CAA is funded for 232 infant and toddler slots, but the grantee’s waitlist has over 300 children. Similarly, the agency’s partners serve over 2,000 infant, toddler, and preschool children, though the community needs assessment identified over 7,000 children who are income-eligible for the Head Start and Early Head Start program. Regardless of this need, the EHS-CCP program had 10 EHS-CCP teaching staff position vacancies at the time of this article’s interview, making the programs slot-limited. Difficulties with retaining staff with funding that restricts hourly rates from matching private centers and public-school teacher rates generate additional stress. Despite these challenges, Carter remains optimistic that the children served will receive an education that will set them on a path to success.
“My hope, prayer, and plan are that every child gets a true, high-quality Head Start experience that develops their love of learning and the desire to move forward and know themselves better.”
Marie Janelle Carter
Those interested in securing a copy of “I Love School!” can do so on Carter’s website. Carter has also published two books in her “Benjamin’s Backyard” series and plans to add others to her repertoire. Want to learn more about Cincy CAA’s Head Start and other programs? Check out their website.