Home Childcare Essentials began operations in 2020 and currently provides culturally-relevant workforce development training for the early education field. In order to address the academic disparities affecting African American and Black children in Washington County, the organization aims to increase the number of African American and Black educators through targeted professional development courses.
Home Childcare Essentials is led by Mrs. Zakkiyya Ibrahim, who holds a bachelor’s in Family Life and Early Childhood Development and a master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis with an Emphasis on Autism. Mrs. Ibrahim is a Step 11 educator, as well as, a state-certified Community Trainer, and is pursuing a Master Trainer credential.
Mrs. Ibrahim is also the founder and director of Education Explorers (EE), the only Black-led and owned, SPARK 5-star Quality Rated early education program in the state.
EE began operations in 2017 and currently provides infant, toddler, and preschool programs for children between the ages of 8 weeks to 6 years old.
She founded Omolaso Preschool and Childcare in 2021 and
Grant Ave Preschool in 2022.
All locations are licensed-certified family childcare and preschool programs.
Mrs. Ibrahim draws from her experience in early childhood education and home-based child care management to deliver practical and comprehensive professional development training and workforce development programs.
Through her work with Education Explorers, Mrs. Ibrahim has secured and successfully managed several grant awards and agency partnerships. In 2019 and 2020, Education Explorers and Omolaso Preschool and Childcare secured contracts with Preschool Promise, which enabled the programs to offer 16 additional subsidized slots for their part-time preschool program.
Mrs.Ibrahim draws from her experience in early childhood education and home-based child care management to deliver practical and comprehensive professional development training and workforce development programs.
Through her work with Education Explorers, Mrs. Ibrahim has secured and successfully managed several grant awards and agency partnerships. In 2019 and 2020, Education Explorers and Omolaso Preschool and Childcare secured contracts with Preschool Promise, which enabled the center to offer 18 additional subsidized slots for its part-time preschool program.
Education Explorers also received funding from the Oregon Early Learning Division Early Childhood Equity Fund to launch a Kindergarten Transition program to support children without prior early education experience in their transition to kindergarten. They were also able to integrate a Parent Education and Parent-Child Interaction program for their infant-toddler classrooms.
As a testament to Education Explorers’ presence and reach in Washington County’s African American and Black communities, the early education center was also awarded funding from the Oregon Department of Education’s African American/Black Student Success Plan grant to deliver programming that increases the numbers of African American and Black children in high-quality early education programs, reduces the occurrence of adverse school-related events, such as disciplinary actions, and engages more African American and Black families through culturally-significant community-building events