DUNCAN —
Smart Start Stephens County has several projects in the works for the coming months and one of the main faces behind those projects is April Hebert.
Hebert celebrated her one year anniversary as community coordinator for Smart Start, which works alongside United Way of Stephens County to work with childcare providers and parents of 0-6-year-olds in the county. Although she is from Louisiana, Hebert has lived in Oklahoma for five years.
“I showed sheep when I was younger and would come here to buy sheep,” she said. “I met my husband because he showed sheep too and we became friends that way.”
As the years passed, they began dating and because her husband Cody’s profession is raising bucking bulls for the PBR, when a serious relationship developed and led toward marriage, Oklahoma was the best place to be. They are now expecting their first child in July.
For her first several years in the state, Hebert spent her time traveling with her husband for his job. However, she decided she needed to start putting her bachelor’s degree in children and family studies to use.
“I was ready to apply what I had spent all that time learning,” said Hebert. “I knew I wanted to work with kids and families and I found the job in the paper.”
After applying, getting interviewed and offered the job, Hebert set to work. Although it is not the everyday hands on job she always imagined being in, she said the last year has been fun.
“I have enjoyed it and our team (at the United Way office) just clicked really well,” Hebert said. “I don’t dread coming into work and there is always new projects.”
All of Smart Start’s projects focus on early childhood development and the education of parents and childcare providers of young children. One of their big annual events is the Community Baby Shower, which will be in April.
Hebert works with Julie Sanders, Smart Start Stephens County chair, to also coordinate various trainings for parents and providers. An upcoming training is one about how to watch for disabilities in young children and how to deal with them as those children begin making the transition into school.
Another type of training on the horizon is the Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines training, which will be required of all teachers in early childcare centers in 2014.
“There is going to be one in Comanche and a couple here in Duncan,” Hebert said. “It’s great to have them right here so the providers don’t have to travel to get the required training.”
As the result of a literacy project, a cause Smart Start staunchly supports, they had 300 books donated to them. Each childcare center will receive a bag of these books to promote reading at an early age.
“It’s the little things that matter,” Hebert said.
For more information on Smart Start Stephens County and its projects, visit the website at smartstart.unitedwayofsc.org.
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