Sitter in San Francisco, California

My name is Roynea Marman Epps. I have been in the ECE field for 12 years. I have worked in all the different racks in the field. My two key values are Education and Professional Success. I choose to list them because as a woman of my race I must work twice as hard in my academics to be successful. My family has always pushed me in school. They took the time to find me tutors when needed and always told me I can be successful long as I put the work in to do so. Growing up I was taught to make education a priority. The reason being is due to the color of my skin. As African Americans we are viewed to be uneducated, and I wanted change that perception. I’m example for the children in the community I live in. I want them to see that college and on is a possibility for them. I tied Education to Professional success by thinking about the goals I set for myself. Being in the Path Program at S.F. State has guided me in choosing my career choice. Seeing myself as a professional education and not just a day care provider. For so long I thought my future was working in the classroom with the children. Over the past year I have concluded that I want to do more with the skills I have. I am still working towards my professional success, but I now have a better understanding of what it is I want to do. Leading me to my next value, the community I grew up in, Bayview Community located in San Francisco. I have been living in the Bayview community for 15 years now. My biological mother moved to the Bayview community when I was in my early teens. My parent was co-parenting by that time, so I spent time at both parents’ homes. I remember going to my mother house on weekends and enjoying how friendly the children in her neighborhood was. I was able to play outside without being harmed and other adults in the community looked out for us. I lived with my dad in Daly City, Ca which was a completely different environment then where my mom lived. At my mom’s house I was exposed to the black culture. I learned how to interact with my peers that were the same color as me and learned how to code switch when I got around people outside of race. I learned how to conduct myself as a Black woman in society. I feel that my values are rooted from the experiences and lessons I learned in living in the Bayview. One of my professional goals is to introduce a new approach to curriculum among the preschools within the community. Offering low-income students, the same educational experiences children in higher income communities have. I love my helping children achieve equality amongst all children and I want to create change so that the lower income children succeeds. I have my BA in Child Adolescent and minor in special education. I am currently in graduate school for my MA in Social justice and equity in education. I am a high energy and very dedicated person. I take pride in my job and love working with children. It has been a passion of mine since the age of 16. Over years I've worked my way up. Starting from the set up to a teacher to then the lead teacher. It has not been easy but the road has been amazing. I want to continue to expanding in my teaching. Also offering a safe space for success.