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Colleen Sechelski

Met at: Video call with Gary and Cody Met date: 2025-06-19 Role(s): Childcare Business Owner, Former Registered Nurse, Educational Innovator Last interaction: 2025-06-19

Contact Information​

  • Phone: 630-240-5555
  • Location: Between Houston and Austin, Texas

Personal Background​

  • Former registered nurse who transitioned into childcare business
  • Operates a childcare facility serving children from zero to five years old, plus school-age children during off-seasons from public school
  • Has been in the childcare industry for only a couple of years but brings healthcare background to education
  • Pulled her own child out of public school at grade school level due to frustration with the structure and approach
  • Lives in highly regulated Texas childcare environment

Professional Background​

  • Current Role: Owner/operator of childcare facility
  • Previous Career: Registered nurse
  • Facility Structure: Downstairs serves 0-5 year olds, upstairs rented to private school hybrid (3 days per week, K through 6 or 7)
  • Current Enrollment: Approximately 80 kids total across age ranges (0-5 and K-7)
  • Pricing: About $1,000 per month average for childcare services

Educational Philosophy​

  • Play-Based Approach: Strong believer in play-based learning over traditional structured education
  • Movement-Oriented: Children sit for maybe 30 minutes per day, emphasizing movement and active play
  • Shepherding Model: Prefers shepherding approach over traditional classroom management
  • Limited Screen Time: Introduces tablet/screen time only after age 2
  • Faith-Centered: Operates with "God first" philosophy

Operational Challenges​

  • Regulatory Pressure: Constantly fighting against state regulations that push toward public school model
  • Texas Rising Star Program: Resists pressure to pursue higher star ratings that would compromise her values
  • Government Funding Requirements: Must maintain minimum compliance to accept government funding for children who cannot afford childcare
  • Curriculum Development: Currently developing her own curriculum because existing options (even Christian ones) don't fully align with her values

Current Interests & Goals​

  • Interested in progressive childcare approaches that integrate technology appropriately
  • Exploring ways to maximize tablet time for educational purposes without excessive use
  • Seeking resources, skills, and materials to enhance her current approach
  • Plans to write her own curriculum due to dissatisfaction with existing options
  • Looking for ways to do "the bare minimum" regulatory compliance while maintaining her educational values

Quotes from Transcript​

On Educational Philosophy:

"I don't believe in and I believe in play-based approach to learning. I mean I just do... so I already kind of do it and, I mean, although my age group is regulated by the state of Texas because you cannot have a quote unquote daycare without being regulated."

On Fighting the System:

"So it's like you have to do the bare minimum so that it doesn't infect your whole program, you know what I'm saying? ... we are doing the bare minimum here. We are not trying to get five stars, we are trying to get one star. I don't care, you know, so that we can continue to receive those kids that need the childcare and still stay true to my values."

On God-Centered Approach:

"Which is God which is God first, you know? So it's really good to be on a call and to just say, okay, I'm moving in the right direction, you know, like, I'm fixing to do my curriculum and I'm fixing to do it myself."

On System Resistance:

"There's two guys and a kid in the photo that you're supposed to hang on the wall. And I'm like, let me throw all this crap away, you know? So it's like it's a constant fight against the system."

Strategic Insights​

  • Operating in the tension between regulatory compliance and values-based education
  • Interested in technology integration but wary of excessive screen time
  • Strong alignment with Gary's vision of God-centered education
  • Represents practical implementation challenges of alternative education approaches
  • Successfully balancing government funding requirements with faith-based operations

Potential Collaboration Areas​

  • Curriculum development for faith-based early childhood education
  • Technology integration strategies for young children
  • Regulatory navigation for alternative education approaches
  • Play-based learning methodology development
  • Kingdom education principles for early childhood

Connections​

  • Gary Sheng: Met through educational innovation discussion
  • Cody: Fellow Texas resident interested in alternative education, on same call
  • Texas childcare community and regulatory environment

Notes​

Colleen represents a grassroots implementer of many of the educational principles Gary advocates for - faith-centered, child-focused, resistant to system pressures. Her practical experience with regulatory challenges and her nursing background provide valuable insights for developing scalable alternative education models. Her willingness to "write her own curriculum" and maintain "God first" principles despite system pressures aligns well with Gary's vision for kingdom education.

Transcripts​

transcript-iddateone-line-summary
2025-06-19-gary-sheng-colleen-sechelski-alpha-schools-education-transcript-summary2025-06-19Educational innovation discussion and Alpha Schools assessment with faith-based curriculum development