Aurdeen Clarkson, an infant room teacher at the Flance Early Learning Center, spent most of Tuesday morning giving extra hugs, rocking and making gentle cooing sounds for one of her normally more active one-year-old boys.
“You have to treat the whole child as an individual,” Clarkson said. “You get the cues from the child. One child wasn’t feeling well, so you give him the pampering and understanding he needs to know he feels safe. This is their safe zone, no matter what happens anywhere else.”
On Saturday, October 1, Clarkson will receive the 2016 PNC Bank Early Childhood Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala.
Flance Center Director Mark Cross said Clarkson brings a number of special skills and attributes to the center.
“She has a wonderful relationship with families and the parents in the classroom, which is a result of her caring, kind, compassionate approach with the kids,” Cross said. “She communicates well with the parents, and she’s always looking for ways to communicate even better.”
Located at 1908 O’Fallon St. just north of downtown, the Flance Center is committed to serving “a racially, culturally, developmentally and socio-economically diverse population of children” while providing “supportive services to families,” according to its mission statement.
This mission was a good fit for Clarkson, who has been with the center since its inception three years ago. As a child, Clarkson grew up in the former Cochran Gardens public housing complex, just a mile east of where Flance is located.
“The fact that the neighborhood has continued to regrow, it’s fantastic,” Clarkson said. “I love working with the families. We have all walks of people and all kinds of families in this building.”
She pays special attention to her first-time parents, who are constantly asking her questions and advice. “For me to research and make sure they get the right answers for their child’s development, it’s very important,” she said.
Some of her babies come in as early as eight weeks old and they leave her room at 18 months. When they transition to that next chapter in their lives, she feels like she’s handing over her own children to the next teacher, she said.
“This is what we are here for,” she said, “to help those children grow and be better citizens. It starts at infancy.”
The Flance Center, managed by Flance Management, is a project of Urban Strategies and St. Louis-based urban redeveloper McCormack Baron Salazar. The mixed-income model is integral to the ambition to create “systemic change.” Aside from this aspect, Flance’s building in itself is also quite unique, Clarkson said.
It’s the first preschool in Missouri (and only the fourth worldwide) to be certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Schools Rating System. The playground features an open green space with garden boxes for herbs and vegetables, and the teachers are encouraged to use the space for green-oriented curriculum.
“Last week, the older children were able to make stew from the vegetables they grew,” Clarkson said. “Some of the children didn’t know where vegetables came from. They don’t have the opportunity to go outside and feel safe.”
Cross said that Clarkson has become a natural role model for the other teachers.
“She hasn’t become who she is by herself,” he said. “There’s a foundation beneath her of family and other early childhood instructors, and she’s aware of that. I often encourage her that this is your chance to help others as they are growing in their professional life as early childhood educators — just as someone helped you.”
Clarkson came to early childhood education in her thirties, after she raised her children and began raising her five grandchildren. Her grandchildren were enrolled in the Wellston School District when it became unaccredited, so Clarkson decided to volunteer relentlessly at the schools. One of the school leaders noticed that she had a real passion for education, so he encouraged her to visit Gwendelyn Pennington, a professor and coordinator of early care and education at St. Louis Community College.
“She told me, ‘Why don’t you take one class?” Clarkson said. “I took one class, and I’ve been hooked ever since. They have been my mentors at treating the whole child as an individual.”
While still working and raising her grandchildren, she was able to obtain her associate’s degree. Though she started her pursuing a bachelor’s degree in special education, life’s opportunities sidetracked her.
“I was sent here for a reason, and that reason is to serve the community, the parents, and the children,” she said – “to nurture and give the love that I have.”
The 2016 Salute to Excellence in Education Gala will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, October 1, 2016 at the America’s Center Ballroom, following a reception at 5 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $85 each/$850 table, and VIP/Corporate tickets are $1,500 table. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.stlamerican.com and click on Salute to Excellence, or call 314-533-8000.
