News & Resources

Last week, nearly 1,000 early childcare educators across South Carolina laced up their boots and set out on an adventure for the annual First Steps 4K Academy, a multi-day professional development conference hosted by South Carolina First Steps.

When Olivia Piene discovered she was pregnant again, she was flooded with both joy and fear. That's when Olivia found the Nurse-Family Partnership, a long-term program through SC First Steps that pairs registered nurses with first-time moms from pregnancy through their child’s second birthday. She said the program helped her anxieties and changed her and her son Ja’dore’s life forever.

The halls of ABC Academy in Saluda County, home to a First Steps 4K classroom, echo with the excited chatter, the clatter of building blocks and art materials, and the sound of students jumping up and down to their favorite Fun Friday song, just like they did when Dakota Chariker was a child herself, when her mother ran the center.  Today, she’s the one behind the desk.

As Outreach Librarian for Newberry County First Steps, Jennifer Polaski partners with local preschools and the Newberry County Library to bring literacy activities to 3- and 4-year-olds. Her goal: get kids excited about reading and give parents the tools to keep that excitement going at home. 

LaVonda Paul’s passion was afterschool programming. The impact was clear: when children receive support outside the classroom, they’re more likely to succeed inside it. This led her to ask: what if she began working with children even earlier to better prepare them for school?

Melisa Johnson, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Northeastern Technical College, has seen the power of collaboration firsthand through the creation of Compass Point Preschool, an on-campus early learning center serving 3- and 4-year-olds through Chesterfield County First Steps. As both an administrator and parent, she offers unique insight into how collaboration between higher ed and early childhood systems benefits families.

Ruth Buckmire didn’t plan on opening a preschool—her journey into early childhood education began with a deeply personal need. Over two decades ago, her teenage daughter became pregnant at just 16 years old. As Ruth recalled, “We looked for childcare, but it just wasn’t adequate for us.” That’s when Ruth decided to open her own childcare facility.

South Carolina First Steps hosted a special luncheon on Wednesday, August 27 to honor fifteen SC First Steps 4K directors who recently earned the Aim4Excellence National Director Credential, a prestigious professional development certification awarded through the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

In today’s digital age, screens are everywhere. While technology can provide valuable educational tools, Lorena Agustin realized it was replacing something truly meaningful: reading together. That’s why she joined Motheread/Fatheread—to turn a new page in her daughter's life.