Vestavia Day School welcomes new director

After a successful six year run as director of the preschool program at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook, TaraKy Eason was planning her seventh back to school session.

But then, opportunity knocked. Though perfectly content in her professional home, the prospect of working in a system closer to home, and one literally across the street from her son’s elementary school, was too good to pass up.

After prayerful consideration, Eason applied for the job May 28. By June 23, she was hired as director of Vestavia Day School, a preschool and Mother’s Day Out ministry of Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church.

Eason is now in her 13th year as an educator, with the past 10 of those years serving in a leadership role. Though serving in a director capacity is nothing new to Eason, Vestavia Day School, with approximately 250 students and 60 faculty members, is her largest preschool.

“This is a growing opportunity for me,” said Eason, a native of Montgomery and a 2001 graduate of Auburn University. “One of the projects I’m most excited about is the RISE accreditation process we are participating in now.”

The 2014-2015 year marks the second year of Vestavia Day School’s participation in RISE (Reaching Improvement through Self-Evaluation) and certification from the National Accreditation Commission, which is a four-year process.

“I’m thrilled to help the teachers gain knowledge of why this is important,” she said. “Going through that process is just taking one step to enhance the high quality we already provide. The state of Alabama has minimal standards, but for us, it’s not acceptable just to meet the minimum. This is just one way we are showing others that we believe in our school, and that we are going above and beyond.”

Eason is the mother of three boys, Cole, 9; Eli, 4; and Noah, 2. She is married to John, a plant manager for American Lumber. The family worships at Lakeside Baptist Church.

“I feel like this is finally my home,” said Eason. “We live in this community, and I can see myself being here for a really long time. For every school I’ve led, I’ve helped grow the program a little bit, and I look forward to doing the same here. The wonderful part about it is that Vestavia Day School already enjoys a competitive reputation as an established, high quality preschool. We will continue to foster that, and to grow it, by successfully completing the accreditation process and by hiring teachers who believe in what they do, not just people who want a job.”

Eason said families can expect a fair approach. 

“I am very much a policy and procedure follower, but I am compassionate as well,” she said. “My faith is very important to my life.”