Sponsor Spotlight: Rhonda Kobylecky of Acelero Learning Head Start
Sponsor of Head Start
July 23, 2024
Rhonda Kobylecky is the Food Service Director for Acelero Learning Head Start which provides equity-centered early education to prepare children for kindergarten and beyond. The organization recognizes that lower-income children typically enter the public school system behind those who were able to attend preschool. As Head Start serves children of low-income levels, Acelero aims to close the achievement gap, by helping children fuel their bodies and their minds. Acelero is a CACFP sponsor of 48 affiliated Head Start centers in four states (Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin). Through these programs, Acelero is able to ensure nutritious meals for over 4,350 children each day.
Rhonda began her career in CACFP as a cook for a Head Start Kitchen. Rhonda quickly realized that she didn’t enjoy cooking but recognized that she had a natural skill for CACFP compliance. She began to teach herself everything she could about the CACFP, and her boss realized the value of having a staff member dedicated to the CACFP. Rhonda built her reputation as a content matter expert for CACFP which led her to be promoted to her current position as Acelero’s National Director of Food Services. As Director, Rhonda ensures compliance with the CACFP in all of their Head Start Programs by overseeing menus, verifying meal counts, working with the teams in the centers, and visiting programs herself.
Acelero is a sponsor of Head Start, which means that they serve children in the lowest income areas. Therefore, Acelero does everything they can to support the children they serve and their parents. Through the CACFP, Acelero is doing more than just feeding the children, they are also teaching them social skills through family style dining and making sure that children receive the proper nutrition to learn and grow. This work is what makes Rhonda a proud sponsor of the CACFP. Outside of the CACFP, Acelero also works with parents to help them get employment or direct them to additional services to support their families like WIC, SNAP or food banks.
“As a Head Start sponsor, we’re dedicated to not only feeding children, but closing the achievement gap and supporting families and communities.”
Although Acelero’s programs receive funding from Head Start, the reimbursement from the CACFP allows them to provide higher-quality foods to the children. Without the CACFP, Acelero would still be able to serve meals, but they would not be as highly nutritious as they are with the assistance of the CACFP. Many of the children in their programs are in desperate need of good foods that their parents may not be able to provide for them, so Acelero makes sure that they receive healthy meals when they are at their centers.
“It benefits the children that are served in our Head Start programs, or any Head Start programs, because it provides additional funding, separate from Head Start, to ensure that we are able to provide high-quality foods to children that are low income that they might not otherwise have access to.”
Since the start of her career in CACFP, Rhonda has had the same motivation as she does today: being able to oversee and help her team on the ground feed over 4,000 children a day. When Rhonda goes into centers and classrooms, she knows that some of the children struggle to get food at home. Rhonda wants to be a support so that these children don’t have to feel hunger and so they can grow and learn.
“I don’t know which of those 4,000 children are struggling today, but I know that there are some that are. And, I know that there are some that come to school on Monday hungry because they haven’t had a lot to eat over the weekend. No child should have to go through that at 3 years of age and no parent should have to worry about that.”
Many Head Start parents are doing the best they can to provide for their children, but some may have to choose between rent or food each month. As a parent and grandparent, Rhonda doesn’t want other parents to worry about their children having to go hungry. She recognizes that with support, these parents can raise themselves up. In fact, the current President of Acelero was himself a Head Start single-father. With support and services from Acelero, children and their parents can thrive.
Rhonda has worked for Acelero Learning Head Start for over 20 years.