Intentionally Supporting Each Child
Darcie Besette, a JP Fargo-Moorhead Child Development Center coach, explains how she collaborates with JP teachers and families to ensure each child has what they need.
At JP, we know that effective two-generation programming must include high-quality early childhood education — that’s why it’s one of the core pillars of our work with families. Our Child Development Center (CDC) teachers work with our children from birth till it’s time for kindergarten to help support a firm foundation for academic success and beyond. And those teachers are supported by CDC coaches like Darcie Besette.
Darcie joined our Fargo-Moorhead campus in June 2025 after 16 years as a classroom teacher, experience that informs how she shows up for JP’s CDC teachers. “I am early childhood through and through,” she shared. “I love being able to collaborate with the moms, but I love being able to support the teachers and give them what I wished I had when I was in the classroom so that they can be the best version of themselves.”
Here, Darcie provides insight into how her partnership with teachers and families made a huge difference for one child in our CDC.
As part of my role as a CDC coach, I walk alongside teachers through reflection, support, and individualized strategies to help children and classrooms thrive. This spring semester, I asked each teacher to intentionally choose one child to focus on using the Child Focus Coaching Tool: Together, we reflected on the child’s strengths, what the teacher noticed and wondered about them, what they felt the child needed more of, and one small strategy they could intentionally try to better support the child. Through documentation, coaching meetings and notes, and ongoing reflection, we were able to truly see and track the child’s growth over time.
One of our teachers chose to focus on a child in the preschool classroom. Right away, there were so many wonderful things about him that stood out. He is very creative and detailed in his coloring, enjoys blocks and dinosaurs, and thrives during sensory play, like using Play-Doh and the different materials on the sensory table. At the same time, the teaching team noticed he was showing some sensory-seeking behaviors through impulsive touching, difficulty with peer interactions, and screaming when he was unsure how to communicate his needs.
Through coaching conversations and reflection, the teacher identified that he likely needed more one-on-one time with her and sensory support. One strategy we focused on was intentionally modeling appropriate language throughout the day, helping give him the words to communicate his wants and needs with peers.
This ongoing process of reflecting, setting goals, implementing strategies, and tracking progress together allows us to build on progress, make adjustments, and celebrate growth!
Over the course of two coaching cycles, about a month’s time, we really started seeing growth. One moment recently on the playground made everything come full circle. The child asked a peer if he could play with her, and she happily said yes. When another child tried to join in, he appropriately held up his hand and calmly said, “No, thank you. I need space.” Seeing him use both appropriate gestures and language to communicate his needs in a social situation was such a huge moment for us.
We’ve seen growth in communication, social problem-solving, and self-regulation. His screaming behaviors have decreased significantly, and one of the sweetest things to watch is that he truly wants to be a good friend. Because of the progress we’ve seen, the teacher is continuing another round of coaching focused on him.
I told my director this morning, “That moment really made everything come full circle and showed the true importance of coaching and taking an individualized approach to ensure each child is getting exactly what they need.” (That individualized approach is something that is very important to me.)
It was such a powerful reminder of the impact of our 2Gen work and the importance of supporting our teachers, too.
Moments like this are why I love the coaching role so much. This ongoing process of reflecting, setting goals, implementing strategies, and tracking progress together allows us to build on progress, make adjustments, and celebrate growth! Doing it all to intentionally support each child is so meaningful. This is my WHY!
supporting moms,
nurturing futures
JP has always known that you can’t support moms without also supporting kids; it’s central to realizing our mission of disrupting the cycle of poverty two generations at a time. At the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester-SE MN, Fargo-Moorhead, and Austin locations, this includes operating Child Development Centers (CDCs) — a cornerstone of JP’s commitment to holistic support for families.
Did Darcie’s experience resonate with you? A monthly gift goes further to support JP families.