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Holly Davis, Program Director/Exeter
Programs for children ages 2 years 9months- 6 years
Born and raised in Exeter, Holly comes from a family with 10 children. Being the oldest of the girls, Holly was always babysitting and was often called ‘Mom’ by her friends because of her maternal ways. When it came to college Holly was interested in social work, and did her first year in that course, but realized she wanted to be work with kids in a more hands-on fashion, acting more as a mentor to children. Holly attended Wheelock College in Boston, earning a B.A. in Human Growth and Development, concentrating on Elementary Education with a specialty in Special Needs. She completed internships in two inner-city public schools and sees the internships as valuable experiences.
After college, Holly worked in SAU 16 as a paraprofessional/teacher’s aide and was introduced to Great Bay Kids Company at that time. She learned that Great Bay Kids Company was looking for a program director, applied and was thrilled to get the position. That was 2001, and Holly has been with Great Bay Kids Company ever since.
As program director of the Pre-School program in the Exeter facility Holly’s responsibilities encompass many things including: staff scheduling, bi-weekly meetings to review handbooks and manuals, making certain teacher to student ratio goals are in-line, filling in when teachers are out sick or on vacation, reviewing teacher’s planned curriculums to make sure specific goals (i.e. motor skills, language, etc.) are met. She also deals with the ever-present paperwork that ensures the program remains current with licensing standards. Holly enjoys the time she spends stepping into classrooms and interacting with the kids and believes that the most important thing that Great Bay Kids Company can impart to its students is independence and enjoys acting as a role model to instill a ‘can do attitude’ in the children.
Days off find Holly spending a lot of time with her daughter and husband in the comfort of their home. Their family is expecting a new baby in April.
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Brooke Ahlquist, Program Director/Newmarket
Nursery (2-4 years old) Pre-School (4-5 years old) and Kindergarten (5-6 years old)
Hailing from Kittery Point, Brooke Ahlquist had a special 1st grade teacher that made a difference in her life. “I wanted to be just like her”, says Brooke and to that end she has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Plymouth State University. She minored in business with a goal of one day owning her own childcare business. Brooke’s internships and practicums took place on campus at Plymouth’s Family and Child Care Center working in the kindergarten and toddler rooms planning and implementing activities and lessons. Brooke also interned at Interlakes Elementary School in Meredith, NH where she worked one-on-one with two kindergarten age special needs students, then in a 4th grade class at Plymouth Elementary School focusing on research and planning of social studies lessons. In her first post-graduate position, Brooke taught kindergarten for two years, and was responsible for initiating a new, full day program from top to bottom including establishing curriculum, setting up the classroom and teaching. Although she loved her position, an opportunity arose to become part of a team at a nationally known childcare center that was opening on the Seacoast. But soon after taking the new position, Brooke realized that the ‘corporate’ goals weren’t as focused on the children as she would have liked. As luck would have it, Brooke saw an ad for a kindergarten teacher at Great Bay Kids’ Company. After checking out the website, she was drawn to the agency for their philosophy that says, “The program must adapt to the child, not the child to the program.” During her interview for the teaching position, she was told that they were also looking for a Program Director for the Newmarket site. The Program Director position was something that appealed to Brooke, as her ultimate goal is to someday ‘run’ a childcare operation. She was very happy to be offered the position.
As the Program Director in Newmarket, Brooke makes sure all the classrooms are running smoothly and that all the children are safe, happy and healthy. She keeps the programs on track with reviews of curriculums each week, keeps everyone informed by writing monthly newsletters and calendars for teachers and families, researches potential workshops and articles for her teachers and families, ensures all licensing standards are continually met, keeps up with enrollments, provides tours and information for families considering Great Bay Kids Company, attends bi-weekly program director meetings and sets daily schedules and classroom coverage.
According to Brooke, working with the children everyday and helping to maintain a quality program where their safety and happiness is the top priority is the best part of her job. She feels the most important thing that she can give to the children in her program is to teach them to be kind and patient and let them know that they are capable of doing a lot more than they may think. Brooke believes in teaching children that everyone is different and to be themselves and encouraging independence, promotes a good, healthy self-esteem.
Brooke is jokingly ‘married to her job’, but when she isn’t at Great Bay Kids Company, she can be found at the beach (in the summer), or downtown Portsmouth, playing pool with her friends and sitting in coffee shops reading the paper. She also likes to spend time painting with watercolors; mostly of sunsets and landscapes and sometimes ‘takes a stab’ at portraits.
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Cathy DeWees, School Age Program Director
Main Street Action Club Juniors (1st and 2nd grades) and Lincoln Street Action Club Seniors (3-5th grades)
A resident of Rochester, Cathy never actually thought she would be a child care provider. She headed off to UNH in Durham with dreams of becoming a Plant Biologist. While taking her first English Literature class, Cathy found a new passion and continued on with a Major in English. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in English with a Minor in K-3 Education, Cathy started a job in the school-age program at Somersworth Early Learning Center until she was able to study for her Teacher’s Certificate. However, Cathy fell in love with the early learning atmosphere and has not yet returned to school. Cathy has taught Pre-K fours, Kindergarten and First through Sixth graders as well as spent time as a full time floater throughout the Somersworth center. In the spring of 2007, Cathy returned to school-age, feeling that she had gained a great deal of wonderful experience with the younger children, but that school-age is where she belongs. In July of 2007, Cathy saw an ad for Great Bay and decided she was ready for a more administrative role.
Cathy grew up in Henniker, NH with her three brothers. She remembers summers spent outside in the woods around their home where they could explore and build for hours on end with few restrictions. These memories are what guide her when planning for school-age children. Cathy wants the children to have this sense of freedom while in the program. She feels that although the children are not able to roam freely to learn and gain natural experiences on their own, we can provide a safe arena for such experience.
As the School-Age Program Director, Cathy oversees two before and after school sites at the Exeter Elementary Schools. Cathy works with her Site Directors and Staff to ensure that the children are safe, respected and free to make choices on their own while knowing that assistance is nearby if needed. In addition to making sure her sites are running smoothly, Cathy is responsible for keeping up-to-date on licensing requirements, enrollments and other necessary paperwork. She also takes care to ensure open lines of communication between herself, the families and staff.
When not at Great Bay Kids’ Company, Cathy enjoys spending time with her husband and other family.
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