Tamara Johnson: A leading Milwaukee Advocate of Early Childhood Learning

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Photo by Tom Jenz

Tamara Johnson with student

Tamara Johnson with a student

Early childhood learning is often misunderstood to be more like baby sitting or child daycare. But in recent years, early childhood learning is gaining importance in a child’s emotional and educational development. 

One of Milwaukee’s leading advocates of early childhood learning is Tamara Johnson, for 12 years the executive director of the Malaika Early Learning Center on Auer Street in the central city. Malaika is a 5 star-rated provider of early childhood education and care for infants through third graders. 

The expansive Malaika building is like an oasis in a troubled neighborhood of mostly low-income Black residents in rental dwellings. When I walked inside the facility, I thought I was inside the calm of a monk’s retreat. Peace permeated the halls, polite children dressed in polo shirts, teachers attentive to their needs. 

Someone had created this atmosphere of respect and civility. That someone was Tamara Johnson, Malaika’s executive director. She invited me into her office, and we talked. Throughout our conversation, I could feel her devotion to childhood learning. 

Tell me about your early background, where you grew up, your parents, family, neighborhoods, and schools you attended. 

I grew up on Milwaukee’s north side, the inner city, 19th and Atkinson. Just my mom, myself and my sister. At that time, our neighborhood was safe. Kids could play outside. I was a Chapter 220 student, and I was bused out to the Wauwatosa School District. It was a phenomenal education for me. I did not experience outright prejudice until high school. Less than 10 percent of students were of color.

I believe you became a single mom at a young age. How did that affect your life at the time?

At 19, I had my son. He’s now 27. At 19, I took early childhood education classes in order to learn parenting skills. I got a job in Early Childhood Education at COA: Youth & Family Centers. I loved the experience, and here I am today still doing this work. In 2003, I earned my associate degree in early childhood development from MATC. After my degree, I was hired in a director role in home visitation at COA. In 2006, I earned my bachelor’s degree in human services from Springfield College. I worked in the Milwaukee Public Schools as a Parent Coordinator until 2012, and then I took this job at the Malaika Early Learning Center. In 2016, I earned my masters degree from National Louis University in Illinois, which specializes in early childhood programs.

Malaika Early Learning Center is a highly rated provider of early childhood education and care for children from infancy through the third grade. Why is early learning important for children?

Early learning sets the bedrock foundation for a child’s entire life. If very young children experience social and emotional skills including self-regulation, they will be better off in any future setting. The early learning foundation also includes academics, language and learning, mathematics, and science. As children mature, they sometimes don’t make appropriate decisions, and these mistakes can stem from anger or anxiety. At Malaika, we don’t just teach them to be ready for school but also to be ready for life. They need to learn how to live in society. Take the child that is frequently crying or angry and does not know how to calm down. That child learns strategies on how to mitigate anger management. Self-control is learned in early education. 

Kids are mental sponges. They can learn so much as preschoolers.

What children learn from the ages of zero to five, they will use for the rest of their lives. If you become a police officer, doctor, lawyer, teacher, electrician or business owner, you had to learn some of those skills before kindergarten—and that can happen in early childhood education. Most behaviors are engrained by the time children are 10 to 12. Here at Malaika Early Learning, we have staff conversations to make sure we cover both learning sides—academic and emotional. For instance, a child might be a genius but can’t function in society for lack of emotional and social skills.

Expanding on this, I read that one of your biggest challenges is getting parents, leaders and politicians to understand the value of early childhood education. How do you go about that?

Until the isolation of Covid when schools were mostly closed, I don’t think people understood what early childhood educators did. A lot of them thought our work was similar to babysitting. What I try to do is educate folks on what happens each day here in the Malaika Early Learning Center. There is no TV watching. No smart phones. There’s no babysitting. We function like a healthy school environment. We have curriculum for all ages including infants, and we do learning assessments for all ages. I think that too many people see early childhood care to be for children who need it versus the public good it does. I believe that educating our children is everyone’s responsibility. 

How do you get your information regarding early childhood learning out to the public?

I give talks to parent groups, philanthropic and business organizations. I also talk to legislators because we do receive funding from government through Childcare Counts, which was created during Covid. Not long ago, Gov. Evers authorized an additional $170 million for Childcare Counts.

NOTE: The Child Care Counts Stabilization Payment Program was created with federal COVID-relief funding. These are time-limited funds with specific deadlines. Since May 2020, the Department of Children & Family has awarded over $330 million to Wisconsin childcare providers with federal COVID-relief funding.

We are sitting here in your facility, a sizable building on Auer Street in the inner city, but I believe you will be opening a second site in 2024. Malaika Early Learning Center has initiated a $1.3 million campaign to establish the Professional Development Center to be located in the ThriveOnKing building. which is the remodeled Gimbels Department store on ML King Drive. I understand the Fotsch Family Foundation has awarded Malaika a $250,000 challenge grant toward your goal. Can you explain your future plans and how this grant money will be used?

At our new site in the ThriveOnKing building, we plan to provide childhood education for children five years old and younger, but not grade schoolers. As for the Professional Development Center in that space, we will provide training and support for the other providers located in the ThriveOnKing neighborhoods. about 36 childcare centers in all. The $250,000 challenge grant will go towards hiring, training, and curriculum. 

You once said, and I quote, “Enrollment in the Malaika Early Learning Center is a life-transforming experience for our children, giving them a head start toward productive lives.” But what about the child’s family situation? In fact, many inner city Black children come from one parent families. Isn’t the family dynamic really important? 

It absolutely is. Parents are their child’s first teachers. At Malaika, we strongly support family engagement. In fact, we hired a Family Engagement Specialist in October. 

I would think you would need to get the parents on board as to how you are training their children. Otherwise, in some cases, the child goes home and faces dysfunction.  

We know that. We try to work with both the children and their parents. We have the health & wellness program, which works with families on issues of social and emotional learning. Our teachers, counselors, and administrators all do home visits.

How does a parent go about enrolling their children in your early learning program? And who pays the tuition?

Wisconsin Shares helps pay tuition for the majority of our families. For our early elementary program, K4 through Third Grade, all of our students receive private school vouchers. As for enrolling your child, you come into our facility, and we give a tour. You fill out an application. We do not do testing or entrance requirements for approval. If you qualify, we give approval and set up your payments. Then, a start date is scheduled.

How many students are currently enrolled in Malaika?

About 130 kids, 87 in K4 through 3rd grade, and the remainder are in the early childhood program.

How many employees do you have?

Thirty-two employees. We are able to have two teachers in a classroom.

I read about a boy named Kevin in your program. Kevin entered Malaika halfway through the K4 program. When he arrived, Kevin did not know the alphabet or how to spell his name. In his first year, your staff spent one-on-one time with the boy. He ended up staying on for the K5 program. When Kevin left Malaika, he was reading, adding, and subtracting. He was so proficient that he tested into the 2nd grade at his elementary school.

That story is not atypical for us. It is amazing how good teachers and good programming can elevate a child in learning, and in controlling and channeling emotions like anger and develop into a productive person.