Triplett's ECFE work was 'a blessing'

Posted on: Aug 16, 2018

Triplett's ECFE work was 'a blessing'

The dedication of parents, the development of children and the ability to make a difference is what Early Childhood Family Education teacher Ginny Triplett loved about working in Delano.

Triplett retired this summer after 29 years with Delano’s ECFE program, and a 32-year career overall. Why did she pursue that line of work?

“Just a love of children and a fascination with the gift of a child, what they bring to our lives and what they bring to the community,” Triplett said. “There is a richness in those young lives.”

An ongoing highlight was the change in students from the beginning of a year to the end.

“They’re young, so their growth and development is so noticeable. In older grades it’s not as noticeable, but I see it,” said Triplett. “So it’s a highlight when a child who comes in shy and clinging to mom is later able to go to a friend and say, ‘Can we go play?’ They make these huge social and emotional advances. I’m so blessed, having worked in this program, to be able to witness that.”

Community Education Director Diane Johnson said Triplett has been a key to Delano’s solid ECFE foundation.

“Ginny has done an outstanding job with our youngest learners,” Johnson said. “She has been dedicated to the field of early childhood for many, many years.”

Triplett said she always admired the parents who took time out of busy schedules to attend ECFE courses.

“I am so inspired by parents who are willing to commit the time to be with their children and to start them off with really connected learning,” she said. “They are intentional about bringing their child to school and staying with their child to establish that security and make the connection to their first teacher. I think we have a great school in Delano because we have parents like that.”

Over the course of her career Triplett said there have been significant cultural and demographic shifts that influence the way early childhood teachers approach their work.

“It changes the concerns parents have and it changes the kind of world these children are growing up in. But that’s what makes it exciting,” she said. “It’s never dull because of these constant changes that you need to keep abreast of, and you help parents learn how to raise good, strong children within the culture that we have today.”

Johnson said Triplett was a natural in that support role.

“Ginny is such a warm, comforting and very caring person,” she said. “She was a great source of reassurance because of the advice she could give to parents, especially brand new parents who were going through everything for the first time. She was also very knowledgeable about additional resources in the community if those parents needed other options.”

In retirement Triplett said she will continue to work with children in a volunteer capacity at St. Maximilian Kolbe in Delano, and will spend more time with her own grandchildren as well.

Though she is stepping away from her own classroom, Triplett said she has never tired of the work.

“You can make such a difference in the lives of children at this early level, and you can see that difference,” she said. “Who wouldn’t want a job like that? It’s been a great experience for me and a blessing.”

Post Categories: Community Education