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Running Success by 6
POCATELLO -- Esther Van Wart is a mother of eight children, and at one time she was a single mother of six. She explains her kids are the reason for her unwavering devotion to improving the quality of local education.
"For me, the most important thing for my children to be able to succeed was to make sure they had their educational opportunities," said Van Wart, who also has a dozen grandchildren. "You can become whatever you want if you have a good education." Indeed, one of her sons is now a pharmacist, and she has a daughter who was a track star at Idaho State University and went on to become a teacher. Van Wart now works to make sure other children in the community are made to realize that their loftiest goals can also come to fruition through education. Van Wart, a former District 25 School Board member, is now the director of the local Success by 6 program.
Success by 6 is a nationwide initiative under the United Way intended to prepare children for starting school. Van Wart started her job on Nov. 1. She believes she got the opportunity because her name was given to the Success by 6 Leadership Council based on the passion for education and early childhood learning she displayed as a school board member. "I am so excited I almost can't stand it," she said of her new job. "I can't wait to get up in the morning and get started."
Success by 6 runs a host of programs aimed at preparing students for kindergarten. The On Wreel Learning Mobile is a mobile classroom that makes weekly trips to Preston, Blackfoot and American Falls where personnel from Family Services Alliance help by teaching programs in which children and parents play and learn together. Success by 6 offers a program called Reach Out and Read that gives books to local doctors offices, which are given to parents after their children get check-ups.
In mid-January, Success by 6 will open a Small Talk display in the Marshall Public Library. The display will resemble a cafe and will house a host of learning activities, including drawing shapes, colors and counting skills. The program has also forged a partnership with School District 25 involving learning kits, small backpacks filled with school lessons for children to practice before kindergarten.
She's also spent three years as the chairwoman of the Pocatello Community Charter School, where she helped get the loan for the school's new building on Bannock Highway. She's also a current member of the Public Charter School Commission. To better learn how Success by 6 can serve the community, she was also elected recently to the Head Start Policy Council.
Van Wart and her husband John have been married for 21 years. John owns two local businesses, Paintless Dent Repair and a recruiting company called Van Wart and Associates. The questions:
ISJ: What's your favorite food? Van Wart: Mexican, of course I've been on Weight Watchers since March and lost 62 pounds so that's a dream food for me now.
ISJ: If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be? Van Wart: Josh Groban, He's a singer.
ISJ:. Who inspires you the most? Van Wart: Volunteers in our community. You don't get paid, but gosh, I don't think there's any job that pays more. ISJ: Who's your ideal next-door neighbor? Van Wart: One with a bunch of little kids. I can hear them outside laughing. ISJ: If you could return to any age, what age would you be and why? Van Wart: Twenty because I was a size 2. ISJ: When (and if) you arrive at the gates of Heaven, what would you like to hear God say to you? Van Wart: Well done thou good and faithful servant. I think of that every night. You just always want to know you've served, you've served well and he's proud of me. ISJ: If you could choose a new career, what would it be? Van Wart: The one I have now. It's brand-new. Anything to do with children. ISJ: Any regrets? Van Wart: Yes, not finishing college. I was two years away from a degree, but I think I've been able to do a lot without a degree. Article RatingReader CommentsSubmit a CommentCommenting RulesWe encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are subject to deletion by our Web staff.
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