Today we’d like to introduce you to Richelle Dill.
Hi Richelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After graduating from UNC Charlotte with my Psychology degree with a minor in Early Childhood Education, I really didn’t have a plan for what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to work with children but not to what capacity. I moved to Morgantown, West Virginia in 2013. There I participated in a program call AmeriCorps. This is a national volunteer service where they give a stipend each month for working with a non-profit organization. I was assigned to work for the Mountaineer Boys and Girls Club. While being there for 2 years, I dabbled in grant writing, was able to do a paint renovation for the entire club, invited volunteers from WVU to come help, we worked with school age children, some a part of a truancy program. We worked with a lot of low income families, providing summer care and before/after school so parents could work and have an opportunity to make their lives better for their children. This was truly a wonderful experience and I was grateful for where God had led me at this point in my life.
I returned to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2015. This time, I went back to school for Elementary Education, ended up getting my graduate certificate in 2017. While in school I was also an Assistant Director at a childcare center, KinderCare in Charlotte. I then taught 2nd grade for half a year and decided it was not for me. I had more fun being in a classroom teaching smaller children. I returned to the childcare world as an Assistant Director at a Goddard school location. While there, my love for teaching came back but I was still not happy. Parents were paying thousands of dollars for their children to come to a prestigious but the students weren’t learning anything, the owner was more concerned about having “bodies” in the classroom instead of hiring teacher who had a love for teaching, who had experience with young children and teachers who genuinely wanted their students to learn. This didn’t sit right in my heart, I had been praying for God to show me what my next move would be, one day while on a lunch break I heard him clear as day say to me, “Open your own, call it ‘Gifted Learning Academy'”. I was floored! Like you want me to open my own childcare?? There is no way I can do that on my own.
I had just purchased a new home with my then fiance in Salisbury, NC. In January 2019, I opened my in home childcare! I was so excited to teach and share with families my love for teaching but also provide a safe, nurturing, and affordable childcare for the community. I was in my home for 3 years, I had grown to have 26 students and had hire 4 staff! BUT we were not licensed to operate. Sadly, my childcare was shut down in May 2022. I was heartbroken, my families had to find care elsewhere and I felt stuck. Here we had survived COVID. I was now married and had my first child in 2020, 9 days before COVID had changed the world. Surely, I could recover from this. I was determined to start over, the right way, so I worked hard to find a building.
We found a building in July 2022, working with licensing to get all updates and upgrades done for the new building to bring it up to code so we could open sooner than later. We had to get it rezoned, pleading to the city to show mercy and approve the new zoning for the building. They approved us but that only the first hurdle. We spent thousands of dollars putting in new toilets, changing tables, sinks, breaking down walls to make bigger classrooms, materials, toys, tables and chairs, building two playgrounds, hiring teachers, security system, $14k fire system. I am thankful to my parents who helped financially to make my dreams come true. They didn’t always believe in my vision but they never stopped supporting me.
We finally opened February 2023! We have been here since and it has been a rollercoaster for sure. But it has also been so fulfilling! I would have never thought I would’ve been where I am today. Me?? With my own childcare center?? It still blows my mind. Now I have 45 students and 7 teaching staff! I am helping my community in so many ways with childcare, jobs, parents night out, clothing drives, food drives, book giveaways, vendor events and so much more! I truly love what I do and am grateful to God everyday that I am walking in my purpose, that I listened to what he told me to do, even when I had doubts myself. I pray I continue to share and show God through me and the work I have done not for man but for him.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We had tons of hurdles, this road has not been smooth at all!
Our first hurdle being COVID, it was the unknown of whether we would be able to stay open and operate as normal. I had just had my 1st child and had hired my first staff member at that time to take over for me while I rested after the birth. My husband who at the time was working from home had been opening for me in the mornings until my staff member came in to work. All the mask and disinfecting and sanitizing had our anxiety through the roof. Thankfully majority of our parents, worked in healthcare so they still needed childcare. Financially we did not take a hit, THANK GOD!
Our next hurdle came during the Shut Down of the in home childcare in 2022. This was by far the worst! My confidence was broken. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to open a childcare center with more students and families. This was the longest and hardest 8 months of my life. We ran into an issue every week with upfitting the building to meet codes and regulations and licensing rules for the state, sanitation, and the fire department. We struggled with finances, funding, and perseverance to keep going. I was determined to make it work regardless of the obstacles that came, I gave it over to God and let him take it on. When we finally opened the struggle didn’t stop there. We were still struggling to fill up the center and find qualified teachers. I had a high turn over rate for teachers during the first year. The childcare world had changed so much since I had worked and operated in a licensed childcare facility. The paperwork was up to my ears, inspections, drills, tuition rates and all the things that come with running a smooth childcare center was so new to me. I was uncomfortable but it was with being uncomfortably that I found strength to get to where we are today. God needed to stretch me in order for me to see that I am capable!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My childcare center serves students 6 weeks- 12 years old. We specialize in hands-on learning, giving our students first hand experiences, and building on their interest. We offer enrichment programming ASL, Spanish and Gardening during the Fall and Spring months.
Gifted Learning Academy has been most set apart from the other childcare centers because we have more of a traditional approach to learning. Our students leave us with knowledge of most 1st graders! Our job here is to overly prepare them for Kindergarten so when they do get there, they can focus more on the social and emotional aspects of beginning that new journey. We also have small classroom sizes so that we can cater to each individual child’s needs. We give a lot of one on one attention to our students focusing on goals we set up for them at the beginning of each school year along with their parents. Our parents are also heavily involved in their child/children’s early education. This is a mandatory for each family we bring in, they must be actively involved in what their child is learning in the classroom and do their part at home. We’re a team! Teamwork makes the Dream work!
We also have a low teacher turn over rate, I treat my staff very well. I am not a micro-manager and I pay the highest in my city as well so that always makes a difference in retaining staff members as well as recruiting qualified staff when needed. I’ve always been told I have a soft and bright spirit. Everything flows from the head down, if I come into work with a positive attitude, my staff in turn have a better attitude and that flows down to the most important which are the students.
My center has also been know to have “home” type of feel. Everyone here is close which is why I like to stay small. I’m afraid that if I get too big, I will lose the true essence of being personable with all of my parents and students. I like being on first name basis with my parents, they know they can come to me openly and give feedback if there is an issue or they have a complaint.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
There were many risk that were taken to get to where I am today. When I first opened, I had just recently bought a new home, in a new city that previous month. I quit my job and opened my in home childcare. I had only 2 kids for the first 6 months! I had a mortgage and bills. Thankfully my fiancé was able to handle this during those months but it was a tad bit discouraging, here I had quit my job and my in home was not producing enough at that time. June 2019 was a full turn around for me, I ended up enrolling 6 new students and I took off after that! News had spread by word of mouth about my in-home and we eventually reach 26 students in my home from 6 weeks-10 years old!
Another risk that was taken would be the commercial building we are now housed in. I didn’t have a clue on what it took to actually maintain a commercial sized childcare. I was in over my head! The bills, rent and all the miscellaneous things I didn’t think about before acquiring a building of this size. We had flooding, HVAC went out on us one year, Rodents in the attic, pipes that burst, and electrical issues. Not to mention the debt we accumulated over the last 4 years for just general repairs and upgrades. Whew! It has been a lot but it has also been worth it.
These were all risk I was willing to take, would I take them again, probably not now that I have a family to think about! That’s how I knew it was the right timing for all of this. I took the leap when I was suppose to.
Pricing:
- We start out at $225/week and it decreases when our students move up in their age and classroom.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.giftedlearningacademy.com
- Instagram: glacademy.nc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/giftedlearningacademy
