When Kyma Fulgence’s daughter, Maya, turned 3, the young mother faced a challenge familiar to many parents. “I wanted to go back to work full time, so I started looking for childcare,” she says. “I wasn’t really happy with some of the places that I visited.”

That feeling of dissatisfaction persisted even after she enrolled Maya in a center’s program. When Fulgence went to pick her up, she saw children sitting around a table, unengaged. “I say to people all the time that even if a family is low-income or economically struggling, it doesn’t mean they’re uneducated or don’t care about education,” says Fulgence, who had previously attended classes at St. John’s University in Queens before relocating to Wilmington in 1998.

Determined to be part of the solution, Fulgence worked at a daycare center, opened a childcare service in her home, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education and Teaching from Wilmington University. Today, she is the executive director of Teach Zen, the nonprofit that she founded to enhance emotional resilience in young children and the educators who care for them. 

Fulgence’s journey to “zen“ required determination, resilience, and empathy. She began her career with a job at a suburban childcare center. “I saw how quality childcare was supposed to be,” she says. “It’s hard to see children have an excellent childcare experience and know the children in your own neighborhood aren’t getting that.”

In addition to centers and commercial childcare providers, many families turn to in-home care, either in the child’s or the business owner’s residence. Maya did well in the latter setting, which inspired Fulgence to open Young Expressions after purchasing a house. She was 29. 

While working, Fulgence took classes at Delaware Technical Community College and then received an institutional scholarship from WilmU. It would take her 10 years to complete her degree. 

“I had 12 children in my home and could only take like one or two classes a semester,” she says. When she had fewer students, she upped the class load. When Young Expressions’ enrollment was high, she took only one course or skipped a semester. The adult conversation in class was a treat. “And I loved early education, so it excited me,” she says. 

In 2015, Fulgence received her diploma. That year, she was working an 80-hour week, she says. She wasn’t alone. In the support group she’d founded, other home-based educators echoed her exhaustion. Time off was brief and rare. When she reached a breaking point one summer, her sister-in-law, an educator, stepped in for a month so Fulgence could rest.

Fulgence spent the time in deep reflection. “I was a child who went through a lot of abuse, a lot of poverty,” she says. She realized that she had a calling to help young children, but she had to take better care of herself and address her childhood traumas. She began meditating and exercising. Years of holding babies and young children had taken a toll on her back, so she scheduled massage and chiropractic appointments.

In 2016, when Maya was 18, Fulgence made the difficult decision to close her business. There had to be other ways she could make a difference, she says. From 2016 to 2018 — her so-called “hippie years” — Fulgence immersed herself in personal development. She read self-growth books, expanded her meditation practice, and took long, thoughtful walks. 

She reentered the field with newfound skills and a fresh outlook, first working in a school and then joining the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood at the University of Delaware as an infant and toddler specialist. She later became the professional development coordinator for family childcare professionals. She was part of the team that created “Shining the Light on You,” a wellness program for home-based childcare educators.  

With extensive coaching and training experience under her belt, Fulgence founded Teach Zen in 2023. The nonprofit marries her expertise in early childhood education and trauma-informed practices. Its signature program, “One Love, One Heart,” is a five-phase social-emotional learning (SEL) program that uses music, movement, and mindfulness to help children develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve goals. “We work directly with the children in the classroom in front of the teachers,” Fulgence says. “They can observe and take notes.” 

Another initiative, “Nourish and Nurture,” is a partnership between Fulgence and Lanice Wilson, director of Delaware Urban Greens, a nonprofit that seeks to make fresh, organic produce accessible to everyone. Fulgence represents the “nurture” aspect, while Lanice Wilson, who is also the owner of the Juice Joint 2.0, brings the “nourish” element. 

“Nourish and Nurture” is a mobile mini-wellness retreat for teams in offices, communities, and schools, including the nine pre-K through ninth-grade schools in the Wilmington Learning Collaborative. It makes sense to bring the program to the schools. Teachers often have multiple jobs inside and outside of school.

Fulgence’s years of experience make her an expert, but she says her WilmU degree took her to the next level. For instance, when she reentered the field after taking time off, she earned more money than she would have without it, she says. Moreover, her degree was a bonus when it came to interviewing for her positions with the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood.

“My degree adds to my credibility as an SEL technical assistant, early education consultant, and public speaker,” she says. “I’ve been able to present at conferences because of my combination of experience and degree. It all goes hand in hand.”  

Still, credentials alone aren’t enough. “You have to have a passion for it,” Fulgence says of working with young children. “It’s something you really, really must want to do.”

Through Teach Zen, she’s extending that passion to educators as well.

— Pam George