Inspiring Conversations with Paulette “Polly” Doering of Polly’s Preschool

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Paulette “Polly” Doering.

Hi Paulette, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My story started in September 2019, when our son Jax was born. Due to a lack of affordable childcare options, I found myself leaving the workforce to become a stay-at-home mom, which unfortunately is a position many families are put in. Being a new mom had its own challenges, but my biggest was finding creative ways to stay home with our baby and still financially contribute to my family.

Two of my friends became moms at the same time I did and had difficulty finding affordable childcare themselves, so I offered to care for their babies while I cared for my own. It wasn’t long before COVID hit the world and people started rethinking which employees are essential, with childcare workers being among the top.

Once people started needing to go back to work, I got a glimpse into the desperation our community is facing for affordable childcare, from posts to our neighborhood page to random moms literally showing up at my door asking if I could care for their children. It became very clear to me that I needed to get my license and open my own home daycare so I could help these mamas out. So that’s what I did.

We chose to sell the majority of our furniture and belongings to make room for the needs of the community, and so little by little, our space was made new into the preschool it is now. We even finished our basement in December 2023 to expand the program and provide more opportunities for learning throughout the house.

As a stay-at-home mom, I found a way to be home with our son, financially contribute to my family in a reputable way, help support my community, and partner with the state to provide a quality and inclusive program at an affordable cost to families. It is truly an honor to do this.

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?
The road to get here has definitely been a struggle, but we got through all of the obstacles. One of the biggest was the process to get my license. I chose to get a large home license so we could help more families, but that meant I had to go through a pretty extensive process to get it.

Part of that process involved a public hearing with the city planning commission to see about approving my daycare in a residential area. As someone who is not at all familiar with the city planning world, I was so overwhelmed with creating layouts and plans for my business. It was challenging, but I got through it, and we received no opposition to move forward with our project.

Another major obstacle was money. Since I had to quit my job, I did not have the income to just start a business. The public hearing alone cost us $2000. I also had to install safety equipment to be in compliance with regulations, some of which were expensive. Additionally, I had to go through many hours of training to obtain my license, time that I would not be compensated for.

I also needed to buy kids furniture, toys, and supplies so the kids could have a quality learning environment, a standard I very much believe in for every child. Since I received my license, the state has made changes to make it easier for those interested in home child care to get licensed, so thankfully future family early childhood educators will face less of a financial burden getting started.

I am so thankful, in that many people believe in what we are trying to do here, and so have supported us along the way. My husband’s family, for example, sent us money so I could buy what I needed to get licensed. We would not have had the funds to do that to this standard otherwise.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Polly’s Preschool is a home-based daycare in northeast Colorado Springs. Our mission statement is Empowering Littles To Be Big Impacts In Their World, and we take that very seriously. We know that parenting is hard, and so we are making it our mission to partner with parents and empower their children, equipping them for the next season of their lives.

We believe that every child deserves the same opportunities for learning and growth, even if their parents aren’t able to afford a quality childcare program. Our private pay rates are among the lowest in the field, and we accept CCCAP to offer our program to low-income families as well. Parents want to give their children the best, but socio-economic status is a big factor, which ultimately has a negative effect on the children being robbed of opportunities. We want to help change that.

We also believe children are more capable of learning than most give them credit for, and so we make it our mission to help empower each child with the basics of navigating home life while they are learning in a play-based environment. We involve the children in everything we do, from meal prepping and cleaning to helping with laundry. They learn how to clean after themselves, how to serve themselves and others, and even how to appreciate the hard-working people in our community, as the children give snacks and water to our sanitation workers every week.

Another major part of who we are is our dedication to helping our planet. We teach the children recycling and even composting to reuse what we can around us. We also take nature walks around the neighborhood, bring gloves and trash bags, and the children help to clean the trash they see on the ground. They are so excited to help make the world a better and more beautiful place.

We have designed our program intentionally, creating each space for the children to learn, play, explore, or even calm down their big feelings in a safe and nurturing place. We know that not every child learns the same way, and so we have made it our mission to create an inclusive environment to welcome friends of all abilities.

From our Ball Pit Room to our Music and Art Studios, to the Sensory Hallway and Calm Down Cave, children have countless opportunities to explore their natural gifts and express themselves safely and lovingly.

What’s next?
For the preschool, I would like to redo our outdoor space in the backyard to make it safer, more fun, and more inclusive for the children that attend our program. We are currently in the process of designing a new space and saving the necessary funds for this project.

Outside of the preschool itself, we have recently created a Facebook account, called The Polly’s Preschool Project, to raise awareness of the childcare crisis to the community. Our goal is to encourage stay-at-home parents and others looking to work from home to join us in opening a daycare in their house so we can help meet this critical need in our community.

Our fellow parents need help, and we need people to join us in this movement. Stay-at-home parents are already teaching their children how to be a person, how to navigate home life, and how to prepare them for school. This is a very real way to stay home with their children, help fellow moms/parents in the community, become entrepreneurs to bring income to their families, and partner with the state to meet a critical need in the community.

With that, I want to encourage those who choose to do this to ensure the programs are quality and inclusive. There are entire communities of people desperately needing help and many of us can make a positive difference for these children and families if we can help lighten the load with childcare options.

I would also like to start a nonprofit in the future to sow into future early childhood educators who choose to start a daycare/preschool in their homes. The only way I was able to afford children’s furniture and quality toys was because my husband’s family and others sowed into me to make this vision happen. Not everyone is as fortunate as I have been in this regard, and I want to help meet that need for other future educators. I would like to call this nonprofit The Doering Foundation.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550232922347