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Head of the class(room): Perham, M State dual enrollment student about to be first to earn Early Childhood Certificate

Surrounded by an adoring bunch of bouncing babies, toddlers and preschoolers at Children’s Corner Learning Center in Perham, high school student Chesney Esser sits ‘crisscross applesauce’ on the floor, building block towers, doing peg puzzles and reading board books aloud. An assistant teacher at the center, she spends several hours a day with the little ones, praising their crayon-drawn masterpieces and chasing them around the playground. It's a very different sort of school day than most teenagers experience, but for Esser, it’s the best sort imaginable. “Every day I go home and tell my parents how much I love working with kids, how it’s definitely what I want to do with my life,” says the Perham High School senior. “I’m a very ‘kid’ person; I love being around kids. I love making those connections.” She connects with the kids at Children’s Corner every weekday, for a few hours in the early mornings and then again in the late afternoons. Sandwiched in the middle of her days are a mix of in-person high school classes, online college classes, and an hour-long stint at the Perham elementary school, where she again works closely with kids. Enrolled in the Early Childhood in the High School dual enrollment program through Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M State), Esser is working toward multiple goals at once: she’s earning her high school diploma, earning college credits in the field of early childhood, and earning an income from Children’s Corner, where her work hours fulfill the real-world experience requirements of the dual enrollment program. The program has been a collaborative partnership between M State and Perham High School since 2021. This school year, it grew to include the Battle Lake and Pelican Rapids public high schools and began offering an Early Childhood Certificate. This spring, Esser will become the first high school student to earn that certificate. At 18 years old, she’ll already have the qualifications to work as a preschool teacher. “Chesney is the prime example of what this partnership and opportunity can do for students and our region,” says Megan Adamczyk, director of dual enrollment and K12 partnerships at M State. “She has taken this opportunity and turned it into a career pathway and paying job while still in high school. Her experience exemplifies the mission behind this dual enrollment program, which is to provide career training, credentialing and field experience to high school students in our region, particularly in fields that greatly need employees.” Esser’s post-graduation plan is to complete her associate degree in early childhood at M State and then transfer to a university to get her bachelor’s degree in education. Ultimately, she wants to become a licensed teacher. She’s one of a growing number of high school students opting to jump-start their careers and save time and money on college through dual enrollment programs. Christy Frigaard, the director of M State’s Early Childhood Education Program, says 16 students are currently enrolled in the Early Childhood in the High School dual enrollment program, and the college hopes to continue growing that number by collaborating with additional high school partners. “We’re trying to meet the needs of our students and communities with this program,” says Frigaard. “Our communities need early childcare workers, and they welcome student learners into their childcare centers and classrooms. Our students enjoy the program and see its value as a buildable track that allows them to further their studies. Those who continue on to obtain a four-year degree in early childhood can teach even at the elementary school level, up to third grade; that’s not true of the more common CDA (Child Development Associate) credential that most schools encourage, which has a narrower focus on ages 0-5.” Sue TenEyck-Stafki, executive director of Children’s Corner, says the early childcare workforce landscape in Minnesota is “extremely challenging,” especially in rural areas. The industry is embattled by a lack of state funding, staff shortages, high turnover, space issues and other obstacles. “Access is so important, but educational opportunities are few and far between,” she says. “We struggle to find enough trained people with the right skills. The Early Childhood in the High School program is a way to generate more interest in the field. It helps to get younger people involved so they can become teacher-qualified much faster than they would otherwise. It also helps promote early childhood as a profession, to get the word out.” TenEyck-Stafki is a longtime regional leader in the realm of early childhood education. She founded the early childhood program at M State, serving as a faculty member and then director from 1991 until her retirement in 2023. She started the Early Childhood in the High School program with the hope it would eventually grow into what it’s becoming today. “Exactly what’s happening right now was my vision from the very beginning of this,” she says. “I’ve watched the program come full circle, working the way I wanted it to work, and that’s amazing to me.” M State’s early childhood programs are designed to provide hands-on work experiences to students during their first semester, so they can find out whether they truly enjoy it before investing years of time and money into degree programs. “It’s valuable for them to learn what it’s really like to work in the field,” TenEyck-Stafki says. “They get the reality of working a job, having to show up on time and follow the rules. They learn how to be a good coworker. They understand what licensing is and they learn first-hand what you can and can’t do according to licensing. They learn it, they live it, they breathe it, they get it.” The experience also allows the students to form bonds with the little ones they work with, she adds, “and that’s really important to them.” It’s certainly important to Esser, who says her hours spent with the kids at Children’s Corner are the best parts of her day. “I get to spend my time with great kids in a great facility,” Esser says. “I learn all about the field I’m going into, and I get to build coworker relationships. And I still get to be at the high school for some classes every day, so I get that interaction, as well. It’s a great program.
Chesney Esser, at Children's Corner in Perham.

Surrounded by an adoring bunch of bouncing babies, toddlers and preschoolers at Children’s Corner Learning Center in Perham, high school student Chesney Esser sits ‘crisscross applesauce’ on the floor, building block towers, doing peg puzzles and reading board books aloud. An assistant teacher at the center, she spends several hours a day with the little ones, praising their crayon-drawn masterpieces and chasing them around the playground.

It's a very different sort of school day than most teenagers experience, but for Esser, it’s the best sort imaginable. 

“Every day I go home and tell my parents how much I love working with kids, how it’s definitely what I want to do with my life,” says the Perham High School senior. “I’m a very ‘kid’ person; I love being around kids. I love making those connections.”

She connects with the kids at Children’s Corner every weekday, for a few hours in the early mornings and then again in the late afternoons. Sandwiched in the middle of her days are a mix of in-person high school classes, online college classes, and an hour-long stint at the Perham elementary school, where she again works closely with kids.

Enrolled in the Early Childhood in the High School dual enrollment program through Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M State), Esser is working toward multiple goals at once: she’s earning her high school diploma, earning college credits in the field of early childhood, and earning an income from Children’s Corner, where her work hours fulfill the real-world experience requirements of the dual enrollment program. The program has been a collaborative partnership between M State and Perham High School since 2021. This school year, it grew to include the Battle Lake and Pelican Rapids public high schools and began offering an Early Childhood Certificate. 

This spring, Esser will become the first high school student to earn that certificate. At 18 years old, she’ll already have the qualifications to work as a preschool teacher.

“Chesney is the prime example of what this partnership and opportunity can do for students and our region,” says Megan Adamczyk, director of dual enrollment and K12 partnerships at M State. “She has taken this opportunity and turned it into a career pathway and paying job while still in high school. Her experience exemplifies the mission behind this dual enrollment program, which is to provide career training, credentialing and field experience to high school students in our region, particularly in fields that greatly need employees.”

Chesney Esser, coloring with toddlers at Children's Corner in Perham.
Chesney Esser colors with preschoolers at Children's Corner in Perham.

Esser’s post-graduation plan is to complete her associate degree in early childhood at M State and then transfer to a university to get her bachelor’s degree in education. Ultimately, she wants to become a licensed teacher. She’s one of a growing number of high school students opting to jump-start their careers and save time and money on college through dual enrollment programs. 

Christy Frigaard, the director of M State’s Early Childhood Education Program, says 16 students are currently enrolled in the Early Childhood in the High School dual enrollment program, and the college hopes to continue growing that number by collaborating with additional high school partners. 

“We’re trying to meet the needs of our students and communities with this program,” says Frigaard. “Our communities need early childcare workers, and they welcome student learners into their childcare centers and classrooms. Our students enjoy the program and see its value as a buildable track that allows them to further their studies. Those who continue on to obtain a four-year degree in early childhood can teach even at the elementary school level, up to third grade; that’s not true of the more common CDA (Child Development Associate) credential that most schools encourage, which has a narrower focus on ages 0-5.”

Sue TenEyck-Stafki, executive director of Children’s Corner, says the early childcare workforce landscape in Minnesota is “extremely challenging,” especially in rural areas. The industry is embattled by a lack of state funding, staff shortages, high turnover, space issues and other obstacles.

“Access is so important, but educational opportunities are few and far between,” she says. “We struggle to find enough trained people with the right skills. The Early Childhood in the High School program is a way to generate more interest in the field. It helps to get younger people involved so they can become teacher-qualified much faster than they would otherwise. It also helps promote early childhood as a profession, to get the word out.”

TenEyck-Stafki is a longtime regional leader in the realm of early childhood education. She founded the early childhood program at M State, serving as a faculty member and then director from 1991 until her retirement in 2023. She started the Early Childhood in the High School program with the hope it would eventually grow into what it’s becoming today.

“Exactly what’s happening right now was my vision from the very beginning of this,” she says. “I’ve watched the program come full circle, working the way I wanted it to work, and that’s amazing to me.”

M State’s early childhood programs are designed to provide hands-on work experiences to students during their first semester, so they can find out whether they truly enjoy it before investing years of time and money into degree programs. 

“It’s valuable for them to learn what it’s really like to work in the field,” TenEyck-Stafki says. “They get the reality of working a job, having to show up on time and follow the rules. They learn how to be a good coworker. They understand what licensing is and they learn first-hand what you can and can’t do according to licensing. They learn it, they live it, they breathe it, they get it.”

The experience also allows the students to form bonds with the little ones they work with, she adds, “and that’s really important to them.” 

It’s certainly important to Esser, who says her hours spent with the kids at Children’s Corner are the best parts of her day.

“I get to spend my time with great kids in a great facility,” Esser says. “I learn all about the field I’m going into, and I get to build coworker relationships. And I still get to be at the high school for some classes every day, so I get that interaction, as well. It’s a great program.”