Clarke’s Beach woman receives national Early Childhood Education Award

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A teacher from Clarke’s Beach has been named a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education.

Bernadine Kent has been an early childhood educator for some 27 years. The Bay Roberts native graduated high school 1990, and eager to get away from a difficult home situation moved to St. John’s to attend Memorial University. But like many first-year students, she started second guessing the decision.

She thought she might like to go into education, considering a career as a primary school teacher, but admits she was not in a good place at the time. 

“I kind of just got lost,” said Kent. 

During a visit home, her older sister, who was attending Cabot College, today known as the College of the North Atlantic, told Kent about the early childhood education program at the school, which she felt Kent would do well in. Though Kent was embarrassed by the prospect of dropping out of university, she looked into the program and eventually left Memorial to enrol in the program at Cabot College. She has never regretted it. 

“Every day at that college was a phenomenal experience,” Kent said. “All the staff, my class, I still have contact with a number of them.” 

Kent graduated from Cabot with her Diploma of Early Childhood Education in 1997. She returned to Memorial University shortly before the pandemic and completed a Diploma in Adult Learning and Post-Secondary Education. She then went on to get her Bachelor of Education degree with a concentration on post-secondary education.

After she got her first diploma, Kent worked out of her own home for a while, caring for children in her house, which she says was a sort of mini centre. Her son was a baby at the time, so working from home allowed her to be home with her own child while caring for other children.

“I kind of had the best of both worlds,” Kent said. 

In 2007, Kent was hired by Eastern Health, which at that time was in charge of the newly established Astros Early Learning Centre. It was put in place to provide childcare for Ascension Collegiate high school students with young children who wanted to continue their education. To Kent’s knowledge, Ascension Collegiate is one of only two schools in Newfoundland that offers such a service, the other being Waterford Valley High in St. John’s. The Astros Early Learning Centre cares for children up to the age of two. The room used to house the children used to be a biology lab, and Kent says it is actually quite larger than regulations require. It houses a functioning kitchen, a nap room, washroom, and an office.

There are certain requirements of Ascension Collegiate students who have children enrolled at the centre. Student parents come to the centre at recess and lunchtime. During those visits the carers who work at the centre act as mentors for the young parents. Kent says the parents tend to learn from elements such as the language the carers use and how they interact with the children and each other. 

“We develop a good rapport with them,” she said, “and they tend to ask us questions or open up to us about things that they might not have any adults they can talk to (about).” 

When space and resources permit, the centre also takes in children from parents who are not students at the school.

When it comes to caring for children, Kent says it is the little things that are often the most important and rewarding. Eye contact and smiles can help children learn appropriate body language, she says. In addition, children receive comfort and security from these expressions. 

“I guess, in a way, it’s kind of filling in things that I know weren’t given to me,” said Kent. “So, I try to, moving forward, give it to other children.” Respecting children is a top priority for both the centre and Kent herself. As someone who grew up in the 1970s, she says there is a big difference in how children were treated then versus now. “As we know better, we do better,” she said. The carers who work at the centre respect the children’s feelings, be they positive or negative.

Kent says she finds it very rewarding to let children problem-solve, noting it is important that the carers do not solve everything for them. The real world is not perfect, and mistakes happen. She says that for children to grow into healthy, functioning individuals, they need to be able to adapt, and giving them the opportunity to solve problems themselves helps them learn to do that. “You’ve got to be okay with succeeding and failing,” said Kent, “because sometimes that happens. And we don’t give up, we just try again.” Problem-solving can also build independence and skills.

Kent shared a bit about her personal life — she has a husband, two children, three pets, and enjoys gardening, flipping furniture, sewing, and spending time with her loved ones. However, talking about herself is something she seldom does. She enjoys discussing the centre and her work — to hear Kent talk about it is to know how passionate she is. But when it comes to herself, she is private and modest. She was not expecting to be nominated or win a Prime Minister’s Award.

Staff at the Centre are made aware of upcoming awards related to their field. After learning about this one, staff member Nikki Mercer decided to nominate Kent. Kent was initially hesitant. Not only did Kent not believe she would win it, she also worried the application process would be too much work for Mercer — Mercer and her husband both work and have two small children. However, Mercer was earnest in her desire to nominate Kent, so Kent told her she could. “She poured her heart and soul into it,” Kent said, “and she reached out to members of our school community and to the Department of Education, and some of our current parents and some of our former parents.” 

By the time Mercer was finished, the application was large enough to resemble a booklet.

When Kent eventually learned she had won the award, she did not tell Mercer right away. “I was almost in disbelief,” Kent said. “I felt very humbled, but almost, I want to say, a little bit sheepish.” 

Kent says the Certificate of Achievement she received is for the centre as well as herself. She has one award to keep personally, and another to display at the centre. She says she would not be able to do what she does without the help of many people. She extended gratitude to her two fellow carers at the centre, the administration, the staff, the community, the parents, early childhood educators in other centres they have connected with, their association, childcare consultants, social workers, managers, and the Department of Education. “I am very humbled by that award, but I do have a lot of support,” she said, “and whether I call on these people everyday or once a week, once a month, they’re always good support for us.”