After 28 years with early childhood education program
For the retiring director of Gilmer County’s Head Start program, the best part of the job has been working with children at their earliest level of education then seeing many of them grow to teens and adults.
“I’ve really enjoyed seeing our children succeed in school and in life. One of the biggest things I pride myself on is that we’ve made a difference in lives,” said Beth McArthur, who retired as the county’s Head Start director last week.
Sometimes former students came back as coworkers or parents of students, McArthur said.
“(Some of the) kids we once had here now have children of their own who go here. A lot of my staff were also Head Start students or parents. Some of them have worked their way up through school and now have teaching degrees. That’s one of the things I’ve truly loved,” she added.
Whatever needs to be done
Gilmer Head Start served kids age 3-4 in an old Cherry Log schoolhouse when McArthur first came on board 28 years ago.
That four-room building was way smaller than the current Head Start facility near the campus of Mountain View Elementary School, she remembered.
“In the old building, to get to one classroom you had to go through three others,” McArthur said.
The staff also wore a few more hats in those days.
“Everybody who worked there had a commercial driver’s license, and we drove the school buses. We did it all,” McArthur said.
McArthur had previously worked as a medical social worker prior to being hired as a Head Start resource coordinator in 1993. Her previous job required a lot of travel, and she wanted to be closer to home after having a child.
“At that time, (resource coordinator) would’ve been the equivalent of a social work position. I was in that position until July of 1994, then was offered the director position,” she said.
Gilmer Head Start moved to its current home on Calvin Jackson Drive in 2004. It was like moving to the Taj Mahal, said McArthur.
“This really is a beautiful facility. We have a really nice library and a STEM lab. There is no charge for anything. Everything is provided for them, including their school supplies,” she added.
McArthur is especially proud of that library, which is named in memory of the late Bob Doty. Doty volunteered as a Head Start receptionist, and his wife, Betsy, as a storyteller, McArthur said.
He was also nationally recognized for years working in Atlanta’s TV broadcasting industry, which included managing Ted Turner’s WTBS Superstation. A fundraising campaign done in Doty’s memory made the library possible, noted McArthur.
“We didn’t know any of that (about his broadcasting career). To us, he was just Betsy’s husband,” she said. “Without all of that, we couldn’t have had this beautiful library.”
Gilmer Head Start currently serves a funded enrollment of 79 kids. An early Head Start program is also offered for children 6 weeks to 3 years old. The programs are funded by Ninth District Opportunity Inc., a private nonprofit that funds early education in several other Georgia counties.
The small staff of 17 has been like a family, McArthur said.
“I’m very proud of my staff. I enjoy the family atmosphere we have here. We’re small enough that we can still (have) that,” she added.
McArthur noted being Head Start director meant being anywhere she was needed, which was pretty much any area of the school at any given time.
“There is no normal day, especially during the last two years with COVID,” she said. “If you have somebody out and don’t have enough staff or subs, you might be in the kitchen, classroom or the custodial staff. (You do) whatever needs to be done, plus keeping the center running.”
The way children are educated and skills taught at an early age are “a whole different ball game” today, she confirmed.
“You still need to learn your colors, ABCs, shapes and other basic things like how to write your name, but now you also need to learn (things like) how to use a computer and how to utilize social media,” she said. “We are seeing that kids are coming to us knowing more than they ever did years ago, and it’s probably because they’re exposed to so many things now.”
The end goal, however, is the same as it was when McArthur first started working in education.
“For most of them, this is their first educational experience. We want it to be the most positive experience. We want them to love school, have a good feeling about what it means to be at school every day and know how important that is,” she said.
McArthur hopes to spend more time with her family after retiring. There will also be more time to devote to Cartecay River Pizza Company, the restaurant she runs with husband, Tim.
Head Start has been like her second home the last 30 years, which does make it tough to leave.
“I have mixed emotions. I’m sorry to go, but also happy to go,” McArthur said. “I love this place, and I’ve had a good career. I’ve loved my career and the children, families and staff.”
Jones new Head Start director
New director Kristina Jones previously worked as a substitute teacher for the local Head Start program and most recently taught English as a foreign language at three different schools in South Korea.
Jones is also a Gilmer Head Start alum. She went to school at the old Cherry Log building and first knew McArthur as a child.
Little did she know then how their paths would later cross.
“I was a Head Start child, and she was like a mentor I didn’t realize I had until I started working here again about three years ago. She has been a role model to me, and I want to be one for the kids here,” Jones said.