Daniela Páez knew she wanted to be an early educator in high school when she fulfilled a community service requirement by working in a preschool program in her hometown of Bogotá, Colombia. 

“I liked the creativity of it. Every day was different. I learned from the kids, and I learned how to create good experiences for the kids. 

“There were challenges with addressing negative behavior, but we were also supporting families. I was amazed at how much I liked the field.”

Páez went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Fundación Universitaria Unimonserrate. She worked as an early childhood teacher in Colombia. Then, she enrolled in an au pair/cultural exchange program and moved to the United States on February 3, 2020. 

Just in time for the pandemic. 

Nonetheless, Páez launched her career in the states. She worked as an au pair in Andover, Mass., where she learned more about American culture and improved her English skills. She went on to work for another family as a nanny.

Now, Páez is the Training Coordinator at Acre Family Child Care, where she trains family child care providers. She’s also a member of Strategies for Children’s Advocacy Network, and she is taking what she’s learning about policy and sharing it with the early educators that she trains. 

Expanding Horizons

In her past work with children, and her current work with adults, Páez is always trying to expand her own and her community’s horizons.

To become a training coordinator, Páez learned about Massachusetts’ early education and care system and about the opportunities available for early educators. 

“I started educating myself about being in places where I was not invited, not in a bad way. But I would learn about an event, and I would decide to go.”

One of Páez’s responsibilities is organizing the Benchmark program, training for new providers that includes curriculum planning and running a business. As part of the programs, educators work on a marketing project that they share with the group: creating vision, mission, and values statements about the education they offer. 

“Some people are nervous, because they’re not used to doing this,” Páez says. “But I said, You guys are educators, and you need to speak up and talk about your work. You need to explain what you do, because who else can do it. As business owners, they need to advocate for their programs.”

Páez also organizes five professional development days a year. 

“The most important thing is finding the topic. The obvious topic is education, but we also focus on things like emotional intelligence, communication, and business skills. I find English classes that early educators can take for a low cost or for free. We talk about access to education through community colleges, scholarships, events, and conferences. I’m always sending emails and inviting people into new spaces.”

Professional training programs also help build community among family child care providers, helping to lessen the isolation that early educators can experience. Instead 

Páez wants to see early educators become resources for each other and for the families they serve.

An education in advocacy

On her first visit to the State House with her boss, Lucas Skorczeski, Acre’s Co-Executive Director, Páez was worried about what she would be able to contribute. So she chose to listen and observe in several meetings, focusing on understanding how the conversations unfolded. However, in one meeting with a legislative staff member who was new to their role, Daniela felt more confident and talked about the importance of the state’s Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants and about other challenges in the field. 

“I also invited him to visit, because it’s easy to say, Our providers are wonderful, and they offer amazing experiences every day for children and families. But if you visit you actually get to see the kids receiving a fresh meal, receiving love, receiving just peace. That’s why visiting their programs is so important.” 

There were also other advocacy opportunities. Páez’s boss encouraged her to join Strategies for Children’s 9:30 Call. And Páez met Paula A. Echeverri Durango, a graduate of the Advocacy Network, through the StrongStart program. 

“Paula was the trainer at one session, and I connected with her and learned about ECHHO-Latino.”

Paula and her husband, Advocacy Network alum Harold Blanco, encouraged Páez to apply to the Advocacy Network herself. 

“I really feel that the Advocacy Network is a community, and every person in the community is like me. They have their beliefs, ideas, and dreams. And it’s funny, because I don’t know if my Advocacy Network project is going to be successful, but when I talk to everyone, it’s clear that we’re just trying to help each other. We’re just trying to support our community.”

For Páez, the Advocacy Network has also been an education in state politics, from digging into the budget process to learning more about and meeting with state senators and representatives. 

“The Advocacy Network has put seeds in my brain that have grown.” In turn, Páez’s Advocacy Network project is to plant these state policy seeds in the brains of early educators by sharing the information in training sessions. 

“There are providers who don’t know this information. We tell them, Talk to your legislator, talk to your representative. It’s time to advocate for the budget. But we don’t say what the budget is. We don’t talk about who the representatives are and where there’s more information about them. 

“People have questions: What is the State House? Am I allowed to be in the State House? These are some of the same questions I was asking for myself. I think some providers may not have all the information because maybe they haven’t had the opportunity to learn.” 

Páez is using a survey to learn more about what early educators want to know. As she designs her program, she’s thinking about how to share information in different languages to make it more accessible. And as a visual learner herself, she wants to make sure the information is presented in a graphically cohesive way. 

Páez is also starting to post informational videos on TikTok because she believes that social media is a great way to share knowledge. One video features information about North Essex Community College’s campus in Lawrence, Mass. 

“I’m not an expert, but I like to study, I like to understand, I like to teach, and I like to teach in ways that people can easily understand so they can put the knowledge into practice. 

“I want to be a good window for my community because we have smart people and we have professional people who still feel that some of these spaces are not for them.” 

But as Páez says, everyone should be in these public spaces, sharing their perspectives. 

“Experience it,” she says, “so you can learn about it.” 

And then, of course, share those experiences and lessons with others.