Kristina DiMaria

“My mother was the secretary of the K-to-4 principal at the Malden public schools, so I was always around education,” Kristina DiMaria says of her childhood. “It was amazing. My mother knew the children, their families, their grandparents on a first name basis. And she wouldn’t leave for the day until the last child left.” 

“But what really made me an early educator was when I was at Pope John for high school. I had to do community service my senior year, so I volunteered in the kindergarten classroom.” 

DiMaria fell in love with the volunteer job, but at age 18, she didn’t think she could make a career out of working with children. 

So DiMaria went to Bay State College and earned a two-year degree in fashion merchandising. But she also kept her connection to her mother’s school, volunteering and working in summer programs. And she continued her own education, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she majored in English, minored in psychology, and took several early education classes.

Earning this degree was bittersweet, a personal achievement and something DiMaria did to honor her father who had passed away, but always emphasized the importance of going to college. 

Eventually, DiMaria took a job as a kindergarten teacher at a private school, Independence Route. The curriculum included STEM activities and “purposeful play.” 

“It became my passion, and I learned so much about teaching.” 

“With young children, you see them come in and they’re shy and insecure. They’re not aware of how wonderful they are or what they’re capable of. As an educator, I see them from day one, and then I see them leave for the summer or go on to the next class. I get to see their success, the goals they’ve achieved, the confidence they’ve built, the friends they’ve made. 

“And I say to myself, I played a small role in that. I was a little part of their success and their happiness. There’s huge gratification to feel that. I’m not in the business of making money, my ‘money’ is their happiness.” 

Because of its financial challenges, the school DiMaria worked at was bought out by the YMCA in Malden, where she continued to work. 

In 2016, DiMaria took a new step in her career and accepted a job as an ABCD Head Start & Children’s Service Education Supervisor. In other words, now she supports early educators. 

“I support all the teachers and the program director. I make sure the program runs at full capacity, and I support the implementation of the curriculum. I also do assessments of children, so that I can make sure their needs are met.” 

Thanks to Massachusetts’ Career Pathways Programs, she earned her CDA as well as her lead teacher certificate. While working full time, she earned a master’s degree at Salem State University, doing her coursework virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“If it wasn’t for the Career Pathways grant, I would be somebody who would probably always feel a little less than, because I didn’t have my master’s degree. Instead, I have the degree, and I feel really proud of myself.” 

The master’s degree has also “made me want more meaning in what I’m doing, and more meaning for the early educators that I support. So whenever they think they can’t do something, I can say that if I can do it, they can.” 

Last year, in March, when Covid hit, DiMaria got an unexpected education in local management of a global crisis. ABCD’s program shut down, but DiMaria and her colleagues offered virtual support for families who were already coping with a range of challenges, including poverty, homelessness, and mental illness. Program teachers also participated in webinars, and DiMaria taught them how to use Zoom. 

“We thought we would be closed for two weeks. But we didn’t welcome children back until July.” At that point, a handful of children returned, and while enrollment has slowly grown, the program isn’t near its licensed capacity of 120 children. 

Looking forward to the fall, DiMaria hopes to be back at full capacity, especially since the Boston Public Schools will be open and available to the older siblings of the children in her program. She anticipates that the young children she serves — and their parents – will be grappling with mental health challenges, a reality that every preschool and school have to face. 

DiMaria’s proudest moment? 

“Seeing everyone else’s successes and playing a small part in helping children, parents, and teachers. Seeing other people be successful is my success.” 

What does DiMaria want policymakers to know about her work? 

“Many of our teachers are living below the poverty line, just like the families that we serve. We need to make sure that our parents and our teachers aren’t struggling. We need to make sure that early educators are not burnt out, which is a problem. I did a research paper that shows early educators are at a high risk for burnout.” 

In addition: 

“I would want everyone at the government level to know that we are not babysitters. We are building a solid foundation for every child’s education and social/emotional development. 

“We are helping children grow into the people that they will eventually become. We deserve higher salaries. We deserve respect. We deserve to be part of all conversations about curricula that have to do with policymaking and child development. We belong in those conversations.”