Hello my name is Madonna Stancil. I hold a Masters Degree in Individualized Studies in Education from Goddard College. An active member for over thirty years in Early Care and Education, I worked first in San Bruno, and then in San Francisco. For the past three years I’ve worked at the Felton Institute in San Francisco. At Goddard, I was able to create my own curriculum. My thesis focused on diversity and inclusion—Diversity beyond Potlucks: in Inclusive Approach.

I first learned about Early Care Educators of San Francisco (ECESSF) in 2007, when it was still known as the San Francisco Child Care Providers’ Association (SFCCPA) from Suzy Yu, a current ECESF board member. Suzy was in my Cohort BA program at SFSU. I attended a few meetings, but with raising children and working full time, it was hard to attend regularly. Now I am able to participate more now that my own children are grown. I have always respected and admired ECESF’s recognition and importance of positive affect quality early care and education programs have on the development of children and their families—and the important role a supported, well-compensated, and actively engaged teaching workforce has in creating quality. I continue to be inspired with ECESF’s role in making impactful changes to the field—and am glad to now have more time to engage in these efforts. I participated in ECESF’s 2019 ECE Issues Event where educators presented key ECE issues to legislators. Now I’m pleased to participate in their ECESF Leadership Program, and am receiving a stipend to reimburse some of the cost of my travel to New Zealand as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Early Childhood Study Tour.
As a dedicated leader I am eager to engage, mentor, and encourage future educators to strive for excellence. I work hard to provide guidance, motivate, create an anti-bias curriculum, as well as stay up-to-date on new policies, and communicate effectively with a diverse group of individuals. I have provided quality care to young children for over thirty years, for the past three years as a site supervisor, and also been working closely with at risk low-income families. The inequities that I see these families facing remind me of my own upbringing, and why this work is so important to the community. Although my position puts my family and me in a challenging and unstable financial situation, it is my passion to partner with families on their children’s educational journey. I dedicate myself to this great work.
Consistency for the children has a tremendous impact. When we first acquired the center I now work for, we had children with real emotional challenges and a lot of turnover. For a year and a half I was both running the center and being a full-time educator. This was my first time supervising a site with the lack of resources and staffing. It was hard, but with the small team I had we created a curriculum and started slowly building the consistency that was needed. I can really see the difference we’ve made for the children.

My aspiration is to continue to grow professionally myself, as well as create an active partnership with the community of educators I work with, promoting their individual growth, and develop strong relationships with parents and families to support them in advocating for their children. I deeply value relationship-based inclusive practices and whole family wellness. Since I started my career, I have made it my mission to stay current with educational methodologies. The Aotearoa New Zealand Early Childhood Study Tour will allow me to engage in interesting ideas about biculturalism, formative assessments, engaging indoor and outdoor environments, family connections, and risk taking. I look forward to continued inspiration through the New Zealand Early Education Tour—I’m sure it will be an incredible addition to my experience.