Reta Onstott
A woman who loves working with children and their families, Reta Onstott has made a difference in childcare in Wyoming. Now retired, she has worked diligently, both publicly and in the background to address the needs of children in Sheridan and across Wyoming.
Onstott became involved in early childcare when she and her family moved to Sheridan from Montana in 1968. The Onstotts settled into Sheridan and sought childcare for their three year old daughter. At the time, Reta planned to work as an accountant, but with no childcare available, this was looking to be quite a challenge.
While on her search Onstott ended up at Family Services where Rose Mary Brower, director at the time, asked Onstott why she didn’t open her own facility. Until then such an idea hadn’t crossed Onstott’s mind but soon she was diving into the world of childcare, opening up a facility in her home. Onstott’s accounting degree and business background enabled the center a successful launch. Her background also proved valuable to other providers as she could assist with business details. Perhaps more important to Onstott’s success though was her passion for the kids saying “When I got sick of the books, I played with the kids.”
Children’s safety under her watch was something Onstott felt strongly about so she sought to determine what sort of regulations were out there, quickly realizing there were none. Believing that quality childcare meant a safe environment, Onstott was soon on the phone with Family Services in Cheyenne and asked that they visit Sheridan to inspect her home, something that was not done at the time. She recalls, “Well to begin with, when they came to inspect me, they didn’t know how to inspect homes, because it wasn’t something they did.” Family Services did as thorough a job as they felt necessary and a Onstott was given the go-ahead.
A few weeks after her inspection, former Governor Hathaway called and curiously asked Onstott why she had asked to have an inspection. Onstott explained that having a certification board to do safety checks would benefit children in Wyoming. It was important to know that children were in a safe place. She went on to say that if providers could also provide education to the children they watched, childcare would be better. Following a few more meetings with the governor, he was convinced. The first certification board for childcare in Wyoming was formed.
In her first year running a childcare facility, Onstott cared for twelve children with a waiting list of fifty-six. During this time the Presbyterian Church decided to donate their building as a childcare center and Onstott was approached to move her business to their facility. She agreed, with the stipulation that all children who were currently enrolled in her program would have a place and that they would accept special needs children as well. Having a classroom that combined special needs and traditional children was a rare thing at the time but it was something Onstott was and is passionate about. She felt that the special needs students had so much more opportunity to grow and that the traditional students benefitted from the experience as well.
Helping to create a certification board and ensuring that special needs children were receiving quality childcare were just a few ways Onstott advocated for children. A huge proponent of early childhood development, she endorsed and helped develop the first developmental, birth through five pre-school in Sheridan. She was also instrumental in the Child Protection Team (DFS) in Sheridan County and was co-founder of ParenTeen, a program for unwed or young parents. This program made such an impact that it has now moved to the high school.
When asked about her greatest accomplishments, Onstott replied, “One of my greatest successes is having a family that helped me provide a loving, happy and educational program for over 3,000 children.
“Another is that Wyoming is still the only state to have adopted early childhood programs from birth to school age for every child. I am very proud of that! I had a wonderful group of people all over Wyoming that saw the need to have daycare and special education services for the children in Wyoming. We spent lots of time in Cheyenne teaching our leaders what we were all about.”
Since retiring, Onstott and her husband, who have been married for sixty-two years and who have three children, four grandchildren, a great granddaughter and great grandson on the way, get to enjoy spending time with their family and traveling.
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