Success Stories

Candy, who is currently the Vice Principal at a Pittsfield, Massachusetts elementary school, can describe in perfect detail the shape sorter toy she loved as a toddler. This mother of two, who holds two graduate degrees, always knew what day her Home Visitor was coming. She remembers the books and the toys and she remembers that she entered school confident that she could succeed!

When her Mom first enrolled her in the Pittsfield, MA Parent-Child Home Program, Candy was considered developmentally delayed. When she completed the program in 1981, she tested above average. She went on to be the first member of her family to attend college. Candy and her mother, Cynthia, credit the Pittsfield, MA Parent-Child Home Program with launching her successful academic career.

By the time Candy entered second grade, her teachers wanted her to skip a grade. Every year she would ask her teacher for extra worksheets so that she could have school at home during the summer. She became a life-long learner, following her MBA with a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She has devotedher entire career

to the education of children, working as a classroom teacher in math and science, coaching sports, and participating in a variety of after-school and summer community programs in her district and finally, receiving Massachusetts State Certification as a Principal.

Her mother believes The Parent-Child Home Program was critical to Candy’s success. Both Candy and her mother remember her particular fascination with the shape sorter. This toddler, who grew up to teach math and science, really liked the challenge of fitting the shapes into the correct slots! She is now a Vice Principal at a Pittsfield, MA elementary school very much like the one she attended. She has, literally, come full circle, taking that love of learning to a whole new level and bringing her focus on expanding horizons and achieving academic success to children “just like me” – the next generation of Pittsfield success stories.

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