Shalicia Jackson, also known as Shay, has done almost everything there is to do in early childhood education.

Jackson has been an assistant child care teacher, a lead teacher, a Head Start coordinator, a family advocate, and a social worker in public schools. She has worked in nonprofits and at the Durham Partnership for Children, training teachers to better support young children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in social work.

But when Jackson opened Modern Early Learning Academy in 2022, a five-star family child care home in Winston-Salem, she entered a brand new world.