Danelle LaFoe traces her decision to work with young children to babysitting neighborhood kids at age 14. After completing an associate degree in early-childhood education at Danville Area Community College, she worked in local daycares before joining Next Generation Preschool in Champaign, where she has been on staff for 26 years.
Continuity and relationships in early learning
LaFoe says the most important part of her role is offering families reassurance as she supports children through critical early developmental stages. Her approach combines affection, play and tailored activities that she believes help youngsters feel safe and excited about learning.
“Her day-to-day dedication to teaching and her students is truly inspirational,”
That endorsement came from Susan Kim, whose son is enrolled in LaFoe’s classroom. Kim credited LaFoe with helping her child make a smooth transition to a school environment, pointing to both academic preparation and social-emotional foundations the teacher fosters.
Classroom practices and favorite lessons
LaFoe emphasizes outdoor exploration and sensory experiences as vehicles for learning. She highlighted a recurring activity she calls the Tree Study, which leverages outdoor time to address multiple domains of development:
- Physical and motor skills through play and movement
- Language and storytelling as children describe observations
- Science concepts via hands-on nature discovery
She also described keeping children engaged by incorporating music, movement and silliness into lessons — singing and dancing paired with academic concepts so play and instruction are intertwined.
Work-life balance and community ties
Outside the classroom, LaFoe values family time. She and her husband enjoy boating and golfing, and they spend time with their daughter, son-in-law and 11-year-old granddaughter. Extended family gatherings for holidays are a regular part of her personal life.
| Milestone | Detail |
|---|---|
| First childcare experience | Babysitting at age 14 |
| Education | Associate degree, early-childhood education, Danville Area Community College |
| Current position | Next Generation Preschool, Champaign — 26 years |
On what makes the job rewarding
LaFoe said some of the most satisfying moments occur when children arrive eager and reluctant to leave at day’s end — indicators, she said, that they feel secure and engaged. She described a classroom culture in which children are excited to share stories from home and to be with their peers, framing those behaviors as signs of social and emotional development.
Parents and caregivers who interact regularly with early-childhood teachers often point to continuity and trust as crucial elements. In LaFoe’s case, families have valued long-term relationships with a single educator over many years, a factor that can reduce stress for parents and provide stable attachment experiences for children during formative years.
Her work illustrates practices that advocates of high-quality early learning cite as key: informed curriculum choices, nurturing teacher-child relationships and consistent, developmentally appropriate routines. While this profile spotlights one educator’s path, it also reflects broader themes in early-childhood education: the importance of retention, the role of play in learning, and the ways teachers support families as partners in children’s growth.
LaFoe’s story is a reminder that for many families, access to educators who combine experience, warmth and intentional practice can shape children’s earliest experiences with formal learning — and, for teachers, those connections often form the core rewards of a long career in early education.
