Early Childhood Specialist Faculty

Instructor
605.367.5703
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Kaay began teaching at Southeast Tech when the program first started in 2010. She has extensive training in the field of education. She earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Education from Augustana College, A Master of Education (M.Ed.) from the College of Charleston, and a Bachelor of Science from Charleston Southern University. She is certified by the South Dakota Department of Education to teach post-secondary education, special education and early childhood.

Starting her career in rural South Carolina, Mrs. Bowman set up and established an education program for children in a three-county area who had been without special education services. In South Dakota, she taught in an early childhood special education classroom. During these classroom years she received multiple visits from television/newspaper media, was featured in a television news story, and received the Teacher Who Makes a Difference award by KDLT television.
While Education Services Coordinator for the Sioux Falls Head Start Program Mrs. Bowman provided ongoing training, coaching and support for early childhood preschool staff in public schools and community child care centers across the state and the region. She earned certification as a HighScope Preschool Curriculum trainer. Additionally, she represented federal Region VIII Head Start programs as a team member at the Johnson & Johnson Head Start Fellows Program, Anderson School of Business (UCLA), Los Angeles, California.

Throughout her career Mrs. Bowman has chaired and facilitated workgroups involving projects such as aligning curriculum content/assessment tools with state educational guidelines and developing family literacy incentive programs. She synthesized data and provided ongoing program support for child, classroom, building, and program educational outcomes reporting for the Sioux Falls School District’s Early Childhood Program. She has served on the state taskforce working to develop and write the South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines for the state Department of Education.

Professionalism is an integral part of Mrs. Bowman’s values. She is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and serves on the local Siouxland (SAEYC) board. She is a member of ASCD the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and FCCPSD Family Child Care Professionals of South Dakota. Mrs. Bowman is past president of the South Dakota Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Early Childhood.
“Through opportunities to support the children, families and professionals around me I am fortunate to have been able to participate in tremendous growth in the field of education, as it impacts our youngest and most vulnerable learners,” states Mrs. Bowman. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with incredible students and love love love sharing the passion for what we do. As early childhood professionals, we truly are creating tomorrow by what we are doing today.”

Education: MA, Augustana College; MEd, College of Charleston; BS, Charleston Southern University

Instructor
605.367.4298
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Loretta has worked as a Southeast Tech adjunct instructor for four years, and is joining the team full time this fall. In addition to her experience teaching, she has been in the Early Childhood field for over 20 years and has served in a number of different leadership/management roles.  

Loretta has her master’s degree in Human Development Consumer & Family Sciences with an emphasis in Early Childhood and holds a teaching certificate for children birth-kindergarten age.
She has accrued extensive industry experience, having
• Managed a resource & referral program to assist families in locating quality child care services.
• Served as an Assistant Director/Program Director of two different local corporate sponsored Child Care Centers for over 13 years.
• Worked as an Operational Manager for the statewide AEYC organization.
• Consulted with the local early childhood enrichment program to write curriculum, organize systems and conduct training.
• Certified as a SD Infant & Toddler Trainer through California’s West/Ed curriculum.
• Taught child care workshops, conference workshops and CDA classes both locally and statewide.
• Directed a parent education program for the SF School District.

Loretta looks at networking opportunities as a professional avenue to grow and learn about current research and trends in early childhood. Loretta currently serves as the President of the local Siouxland Association for the Education of Young Children (SAEYC); as well as the Vice-President for the South Dakota AEYC.  Due to this connection, Loretta has on multiple occasions, educated other early childhood community members on the field of early childhood and its value to our society. She has also served on the SD Association of Child Care Directors (SDACCD) board locally and statewide.  She is truly dedicated to the field of early childhood and continues to collaborate with others to increase the community’s knowledge and best practices for early childhood. She hopes to encourage all students to join a professional organization.

She was honored with a service award from the SDAEYC organization for her contributions to young children and the Early Childhood Profession. Her continued commitment to the field is evident in how she personalizes education with real life situations and practical information. “I want all students to leave my classroom feeling like they have learned one little nugget of information that can be used in their day to day interactions with children, families or colleagues.”

Loretta also wants teaching to be about life lessons. Early childhood is relational based and because it is our foundation of learning, students will learn to professionally relate to others. Children need caring teachers in their lives that understand their needs developmentally, culturally and individually.  

Education: MS, South Dakota State University; BS, South Dakota State University