Some early educators know from a very young age that they were destined to become teachers. For former T.E.A.C.H. Scholar Lianne Betancourt, it happened by accident. After high school, the South Florida native enrolled in nursing school and volunteered at a child care program in a local hospital. It was there that she found her calling and fell in love with the overall structure and philosophy of early childhood.

“I switched my major a week later,” Lianne said, “and it was the best decision I ever made.”

Lianne accepted a position as a child care teacher at Riviera Presbyterian Church and enrolled in early care and education courses at Miami-Dade College. Although she loved teaching children and watching them solve their own problems, Lianne was worried about the financial burden of college expenses. Her director at Riviera told her about the T.E.A.CH. Early Childhood® Scholarship Program and encouraged her to apply.

Administered through the Children’s Forum. T.E.A.C.H. provides scholarships and additional supports for early educators to work towards credentials or degrees in early childhood education.

Lianne’s T.E.A.C.H. application was accepted, and she was on her way to increasing her education, compensation, and retention in the early childhood field.

Thanks to T.E.A.C.H. and a lot of hard work, Lianne was able to earn two associate degrees from Miami-Dade College and a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from FIU.

“T.E.A.C.H. gave me the financial security I wanted and support that I didn’t even know I needed,” she said. “The program rewards commitment with commitment, and I received three hours of paid leave a week to attend classes as well as a bonus or salary increase upon graduation.”

By 2020, Lianne was comfortable in her role as a certified Early Learning Coach and as a mom to her two-year-old son, Ian. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, uprooted the lives of many families, including Lianne’s. Ian was very confused about COVID-19 since all of his social groups were removed. One day, he asked Lianne to go to the park. When she told him the parks were closed, Ian had the worst meltdown Lianne had ever seen.

She explains: “He said, ‘You’re mean, Mommy!’ to which I responded, ‘You mean, you’re mean, COVID-19’!”

From that conversation with Ian, Lianne had an idea to write a book for young children. Her idea came to fruition when You’re Mean, COVID-19! was published and available on Amazon. The book, which was illustrated by Lianne’s husband, is a gentle narrative about the isolating effects of COVID-19. Told through the voice of a 3-year-old boy, You’re Mean, COVID-19! helped children cope and make sense of their “new normal.”

“I feel very fulfilled to have been able to bring some understanding to young children about what was going on in the world during that difficult time,” Lianne said.

Today, Lianne is enjoying her new role as a QIS Coordinator at the Children’s Forum. She currently uses the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS) to assess the quality of early learning classrooms in Miami-Dade County. In this capacity, she also supervises a Miami team of Quality Improvement Specialists.

“I wanted to make a bigger impact in the early learning field that I love so much,” she explains. “I feel very blessed to have crossed paths with The Children’s Forum so early on in my career, and I am honored to be part of the organization that always pushed me to be something I didn’t know I could be.”