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, but Dakota never expected to take over the family business. In 2017, her mother stepped down as director of ABC Academy. After two generations of family leadership, Dakota found herself at a crossroads.
After her mother left the business, ABC Academy fell under challenging leadership, and the center faced closure, leaving her grandmother with the difficult decision of selling. During this time, Dakota was in cosmetology school, but it didn't feel right to sell the place she grew up in.
Although unsure of what the future held, Dakota asked her grandmother if she could fill in as interim director. A few months later, at just 21-years-old, Dakota purchased the building with her parents, determined to continue the legacy started by her grandmother in 1998 and sustained by her mother in the years that followed.
Even with her mother’s guidance, the journey was anything but easy. When she officially took over in 2019, Dakota found herself juggling the challenges of learning how to operate a childcare facility while also navigating life as a first-time mom.
“When I became pregnant with my daughter, everyone just assumed that I knew what to do. People would say, ‘You own a childcare center. You know how to take care of children.’ But I’d never had my own child before,” she said.
Although Dakota worked in her mother’s childcare facility since she was a freshman in high school, stepping into the role of both director and parent gave her a completely new perspective. Dakota has seen ABC Academy’s impact firsthand.
Nearly a decade after stepping into her role as director, she has seen four graduating classes complete the program, growing from infancy into confident kindergartners—one of whom is her own daughter, Aubrey. Aubrey, who started at ABC Academy at just eight weeks old, has gone through every stage of the center’s program. Having graduated the First Steps 4K program last spring, like many other children who have passed through the center under Dakota’s leadership, Aubrey is now enjoying kindergarten.
“My daughter, she's always exceeded milestones, but she needed a little social, emotional exposure. Immediately, because of ABC Academy, she was able to start working with an early interventionist when she was 3 years old,” she said. “I'm very confident that she's gotten the knowledge she did from being here, and thanks to First Steps.”
Since taking the helm, Dakota has prioritized emotional learning and developmental screenings like ASQR-3, a tool to access children's development from one month to 5 ½ years old, ensuring every child is ready for school and learning in life. “ABC Academy lays that foundation. We can start from early age, especially if we're lucky enough to get them early on to make sure they are working their way up for success,” she said.
What began as a family business has become a second home—not just for Dakota and Aubrey, but for the staff and students of ABC Academy as well. “We have some of the same staff that my mom had before me, who have continued to stay,” Dakota said. “We have smaller classroom numbers, which really allow us to be more of a family-oriented, family-style program. We're all very close. And we’ve taken the bonds that we’ve built and instilled that into our children here.”
With smaller class sizes, individualized instruction, and a safe, nurturing environment, family-owned centers like ABC Academy offer students the reassurance and support they need to thrive. They provide working families with an affordable alternative to larger childcare facilities, as well as a direct connection to local resources.
“I appreciate being in a small town where I can make childcare a little more affordable and have options like First Steps 4K, whether that’s scholarship opportunities for children or their outreach programs,” she said.
The center has evolved, adapting to changes in leadership, curriculum standards, DSS regulations, and even undergoing physical renovations to allow for future growth, but its heart has remained the same, as a place where children feel supported, staff feel valued, and families feel at home.
SC First Steps partners with more than 270 licensed childcare centers and private schools across the state, making it easy for families to find a high-quality program that meets their needs. To see if your child qualifies for First Steps 4K, a free, full-day four-year-old kindergarten for children in South Carolina, learn more about eligibility.
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First Steps 4K
