Kay Gillock: owner of Gillock Gang’s Home Child Care in Opelika, reads to her class. Gillock received an award for her project “Center of Activity.” Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR
The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation will present the Children’s Tylenol National Child Care Teacher Award to Kay Gillock, a teacher from Opelika, April 9.
Gillock, who owns Gillock Gang’s Home Child Care, was chosen for her commitment and dedication to the children she teaches. Gillock is the only recipient in the state of Alabama.
“I was very excited and overwhelmed, I could not believe it,” Gillock said. “I was up against so many other people in the country who applied for this award and only 50 people win.”
The award recognizes the top 50 early care and education teachers in the nation and awards them with $1,000.
Gillock plans to use her award money to further her award-winning project, “Center of Activity.”
According to the official guidelines, as part of the application, each teacher had to invent a project that “showed educational, social and emotional benefits for the children in their care.”
Gillock’s “Center of Activity” allows her to add things to her already existing centers.
One thing she plans to purchase, to enhance the project, is a folding easel for the art center.
With all the centers removable, she doesn’t have anything permanent.
“I will be getting a table that will allow me to have a permanent center,” Gillock said.
The criteria for the award requires that the teacher must be full time and have been with the center for at least three years.
“The award honors all child care teachers who provide such a valuable service to our society,” said Allan Miller, executive director of the Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation.
Miller said early childhood care teachers aren’t fully recognized and are sometimes mistaken as baby sitters, but are truly educators.
“We are proud of these teachers, we are proud of the work they do, and we are proud of the work that all child care teachers do,” Miller said.
Gillock said that few home child care providers are recognized and also being the only teacher awarded in Alabama, and in the top ten in the nation, made it so much more of an honor to her personally.
Maria Powell, a junior in elementary education, said it’s great for the Opelika-Auburn area to get recognized.
“I think the award is a great thing because teachers need more resources in their classroom to enhance the learning environment,” Powell said.
The Teacher Awards program has presented 485 awards in the past 14 years. By awarding these teachers, the program is honoring all others for their contributions to society.
The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation, a non-profit organization, has been improving early child care for more than 20 years by raising awareness for the need of affordability and making child care a priority.
