Early childhood expert Jessica Shields Flowers, CCDI, founded Ripple in 2008 with the mission to improve the opportunities children have to learn, develop and flourish in a safe and healthy environment guided by a strong team of parents and educators.
With more than 30 years of experience, Jessica provides tailored Conscious Discipline® parenting workshops, as well as one-on-one parent coaching and classroom management coaching for teachers and administrators of preschools and child care programs.
As the only Certified Conscious Discipline® Instructor in the state of South Carolina, she works one-on-one with parents, teachers, and others across the state and country by phone, email, and/or in person, depending on the need. Jessica is also a Certified Trainer for the State of South Carolina.
Before founding Ripple, Jessica supported the strategic growth and positive change inside early childhood education organizations. She is celebrated for her unique ability to motivate, inspire and create positive change within an organization to achieve optimal results for its students. Her work at Vienna Baptist Children’s Center in Virginia is nationally recognized, cited in books including Faith in Children and the forthcoming Faith in Children: Stories of Leadership by Roberta R. Owens.
She has also consistently contributed her expertise to improve public awareness of early childhood education. A well-known leader, mentor and facilitator dedicated to her community, she served as co-president of the Northern Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children and vice president of affiliate support for the Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education’s 2,000 members. During her years in Virginia she advised 16 childcare centers in the Richmond area, working with each center to provide the highest level of care and learning and contributing to the Ecumenical Child Care Network’s report Taking the Lead: Investing in Early Childhood Leadership for the 21st Century. The report was part of a national initiative examining the role of mentoring at designated sites over three years in order to advance the aptitude and program quality of early care and education organizations.
She holds a Master of Education degree in early childhood education from George Mason University.
Jessica originally embarked on a career in early childhood education in 1980 as a preschool teacher at the nationally acclaimed Vienna Baptist Children’s Center, where she implemented developmentally appropriate curriculum, tracked and evaluated progress, and encouraged faculty collaboration to improve group proficiency.
After recognizing a need for early childhood education in the community, she co-founded Sunbow Preschool in 1982, recruiting skilled staff, launching advertising and marketing campaigns, and securing strong community backing.
She later returned to the Vienna Baptist Children’s Center, where she served as director for 19 years, leading 22 faculty and three staff members and taking responsibility for the early education of 200 children from three months to four years old. She managed the organization’s faculty and staff, fiscal resources, training and education, compensation and benefits, recruiting and hiring, public and congregation relations, multicultural programs, and parent education. She also spearheaded aggressive fundraising efforts, successfully obtaining state-of-the-art equipment and resources for the school as well as securing and maintaining accreditation with the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Contact Jessica Shields Flowers.
Conscious Discipline® is a registered trademark of Loving Guidance™ Inc., (800) 842-2846.
