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The joy echoes with each parent who steps into Christina Puckett’s new childcare space.
Some of them are parents who followed with their children from Puckett’s former site. Others are new parents who want to check out the program that’s so ready to serve its community, right on the bus line in the heart of Kansas City at 39th and Troost Avenue.
“The parents get so excited,” Puckett said. “Then when they go out the door and another parent’s coming in, they say, ‘Wait till you see this place! It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful.’”
It’s been a long journey since Puckett first began working in childcare in 1989, then managing her own businesses starting in 2007.
Her “passion and love for children” and a loyal staff always carried her, she said.
And then, in 2020, she met LINC’s early childhood program support team.
That her school — Kids in Christ Academy — has made it here, to what is Puckett’s dream site, she said, has her praising all the things the LINC team did to help her on the way.
“We’ve done so much together,” Puckett said to LINC Early Childhood Coordinator Sarah Ramirez during a recent drop-by visit. “You stuck with me through the pandemic. And here we are.”
Puckett had responded when LINC was reaching out to childcare centers in 2019 to tell them of public-funded opportunities contracted through LINC to help strengthen childcare services in the region.
Kids in Christ Academy was in a building at 42nd and Indiana Avenue then. Puckett and her teachers participated in LINC’s training programs. They invited LINC’s team to come out and review the school’s materials and learning environment.
“They provided so many resources,” she said.
Her staff learned new techniques in classroom management and child supervision. They learned ways to make lessons and activities more engaging. They learned how to work better with children with special behavioral needs. They learned how to make spaces safer, how to keep hands and surfaces cleaner. LINC helped bring in better furniture and together they rearranged learning areas.
That support continued as the Kansas City Area Transit Authority published a request for proposals for childcare centers to make bids to fill a vacancy at the KCATA’s transit center at 39th and Troost.
Kids in Christ Academy won the opportunity earlier this year. Suddenly Puckett was looking at filling out a larger space with more families coming. And LINC was there to help her program grow.
The chance to help a strong childcare program move into such an important location fell right into the mission of LINC’s early childhood program, Ramirez said.
“From birth to age 5 is a most critical point for a child to learn,” Ramirez said. “It sets the foundation for learning.”
“It’s been a blessing,” Ramirez said to Puckett, “to see the growth of your center . . . and to see your teachers at the trainings implementing it in the classroom.”
Overall in 2024, the LINC team worked with seven centers that cared for a total of 416 children, making more than 500 visits and working with 117 teachers.
“Like me,” Puckett said, “you’ve watched kids grow and you know that they like to see a happy, safe place.”
They walked through the bright center, through clean classrooms with free space among the many materials and engaging pictures and educational posters. They looked out on the large, enclosed — and safe — courtyard outdoor play area. They greeted Puckett’s front desk team, loyal staff that have been with Puckett for several years.
“I’m glad LINC as an organization was able to give resources and support that really helped (Puckett) see her vision of what she really wants her childcare center to be,” Ramirez said.
“Thanks for sticking by me,” Puckett said. “I’m glad you’re part of the family.”
LINC Early Childhood Coordinator Sarah Ramirez, left, and Kids in Christ Academy Director Christina Puckett reflect on their partnership.
