She believed she could so she did.

Operating a business during the worst global pandemic in modern history, has been a remarkable lesson in resilience. Opening a small business is an undertaking within itself. Being Woman entrepreneurs…. whew!

Discovery Lane is a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool located in Waldorf, Maryland co-owned by a mother and daughter duo. One day my mom said, we should open a preschool, so we did. Okay, there is a bit more to this story. Click here to read more about the process of opening Discovery Lane. I will briefly detail our program in this space, but please be encouraged to read more from our previous blog post.

We serve children ages 2-6 years of age. We have an emergent curriculum where children are not seen as blank slates but rather apprentices. Children enter this world with their own set of ideas, interests, and inquiry that we invite into each lesson. As adults we are not absolved from learning too. Along with are broad-minded program we supplement children’s learning with electives that include partnerships with My Gym and Soccer Shots. We also offer culinary arts, art, and horticulture taught by specialized teachers. Prepared meals are done so with an intentionality to healthy eating and so we buy food from specialty markets. Families are the bedrock of educating children. It is imperative that the village is not secondary. Each child needs us all to be present for their education and fostering experiences that lead to deep introspective. Our approach to education is the belief that learning should be whole. We are teaching the entire child.

Surviving a once in a lifetime changing event that is uncharted waters for all, at times can feel unconscionable. You will find yourself in moments asking, “how are we still open?” The passion behind entrepreneurs is rooted in our belief that giving up is not an option and to do so would be a letdown not only to ourselves but our dream in which we feel is needed in this world. The work we do is tethered to the lives of so many and to shut our doors would be devastating. Well, this is a story of triumph and a small community that championed our existence.

This week marks a year since the world shutdown to stop the spread of a deadly virus. Our business was not exempt from closing and so we shut our doors too. During those two weeks of hunkering down we developed a contingency plan. The first week felt like perhaps after we all just stayed in, we would reemerge anew and the world chaos would cease. We know now that did not happen and some of us became novice epidemiologist, all while trying to make sense of this disruption to our lives.

Our plan the first two weeks was to continue providing education. I filmed lessons in my apartment that could be done at home with common household items. Our teachers created lessons and shared via Google doc. After the two weeks ended, we were able to only welcome back children of essential personnel. For kiddos remaining home we utilized all the Google platforms e.g., Google Classroom, Google Meet, and Google Drive. We had to reimagine early childhood education in ways I never conceptualized.

Now, I did state this is a story of triumph but let us touch on the tribulations for a moment. There were times of despair and uncertainty. Our enrollment understandably dropped. Parents were concerned for the safety of their children and some unfortunately had a loss income due to businesses being shuttered. We once had a waiting list and just that quick 20 children left our program in less than a month. Honestly, this may be strange to read, but even as parents pulled their children from our program I did not think for a moment, “this is the end.” Our faith remained steadfast and we were determined to come up with all the possible ways to maintain steady income. It was our mission that children would return to a school committed to a progressive pedgogy. We also had a team of educators that needed to provide for their families. Not once did it escape our minds that our business remaining open impacted so many. Our team of educators are dynamic, not one is replaceable.

How did we manage to stay afloat? I recommend leaning into humility. You may want to extend a bit of grace to yourself as well. Lastly, tap into being unbreakable. That all sounds like a good recipe for recovering, trust me, it’s not easy to follow. I often express that no one could have kept Discovery Lane going except our community.

Pivoting looks like the following…

• Creating learning Reggio Emilia inspired learning kits
• Offering virtual preschool
• Developing an asynchronous summer enrichment program
• Expanding to kindergarten and developing a co-op program
• Applying for all available grants and loans
• Attending webinars to learn from others
• Hosting webinars and sharing your knowledge
• Parent Empowerment Hour
• Contributing to platforms highlighting all the work you are doing and educating people about early childhood edcuation.
• Praying and meditating
• Taking care of yourself

What’s Next for Discovery Lane?

This entire experience has changed the way we think about the future. For one, we know that in a moment all that we planned could be disrupted by unforeseen circumstances. Amidst it all we are rebuilding. With the guidance of Charles County Government, specifically the Management and Growth team, we are working to expand to becoming recognized as an independent school to offer private kindergarten and 1^st grade. If you are interested in learning more join us at our information session. Our program has garnered the attraction of public, charter, and private schools and so we will be conducting parent workshops and teacher trainings for those institutions of learning. Lastly, but not definatively, we are in the process of locating a new location, expanding our capacity. Stay tuned for the progress on that journey.

As I write this blog post I am reminded that today is International Woman’s Day. Everything that was meant to destroy us did not prevail. We did not concede or give content to failing. How would I define a strong woman? She’s a Queen no doubt.