Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana is the chief advisor for the U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan. In her post, she advises Secretary Duncan on preschool, elementary and secondary education matters.
 

Last week was a difficult one for me being away from home for an extended period of time since the birth of my daughter, and at the same time exciting to meet with my Head Start counterparts and other federally funded program staff in Washington DC for Early Childhood 2010.

I am the mother of two boys, ages 7 and 4. Both have had the benefit of quality child care since they were three months old and quality preschool beginning at age three. We are blessed to have the resources and many child care/preschool providers in our town that allows our family the ability to have choices. It also doesn’t hurt that I have been working in human services for over 10 years with connections to key agencies and staff who have helped me inform these decisions.