'Miss Jamie' steps aside from Waynesboro child care center

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Noah's Ark Christian Child Care Center in Waynesboro had five children enrolled when it opened in September 1990.

The center today has 108 students ranging in age from 6 weeks to fifth-graders, many of whom bid farewell to "Miss Jamie" last week.

Jamie Pearson, the center's founder and director, retired Friday to coincide with her 70th birthday.

The center's families might have been saying goodbye to Pearson, but she was thinking about a 12-year-old girl who also is leaving the program.

Pearson asked the girl's teacher to deliver a gift on her behalf.

"I can't keep my eyes dry," she said. "I didn't want to embarrass her."

Pearson was education coordinator for Christ United Methodist Church when discussions developed about using existing space to open a child care center during a themed year of stewardship.

A study committee gave Pearson autonomy to develop education and curriculum goals.

The center is open Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including during the summer. It employs as many as 20 staff members.

Pearson, the mother of three grown sons, said she remembers most of the 2,000 children who have attended the center in the past 27 years.

She has a soft spot for babies and what she calls "ornery boys," many of whom she believes lack a consistent at-home sleep schedule needed to regulate their moods.

"I remember them, and they remember me," she said of the ornery boys. "Truthfully, they were some of my best friends."

State requirements regarding child care centers have changed over the years.

Pearson was frustrated when in-person training sessions moved to Pittsburgh and the state began using more and more online training sessions, which are prohibitive to her employees who are of German Baptist faith and don't use computers.

Pearson believes the center grew because families appreciate the component of Christian education.

"We have children who are now parents of children here. That's a sign it's time to go," she said. "You don't want to hang around for a third generation."