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Alyce Pope’s connection to Head Start began more than 40 years ago, when her child attended the Higher Horizons program. She later became a classroom assistant and administrative assistant. Today, she helps families enroll their children and navigate their first experiences in public education.

Pope’s decades of service earned her a place among the finalists for the National Education Association’s Education Support Professional of the Year award. The honor recognizes an NEA member whose achievements demonstrate the importance of support professionals in public schools.

“I enjoy being able to give voice to some of the most at-risk children, families, and workers in our community,” Pope said. “It’s my pleasure to work serving children and families and in developing a school system where ALL are valued.”

As a family services specialist, Pope works in health and student services, one of nine fields represented by education support professionals. She enrolls children in Head Start, follows up on families’ health needs, connects parents with resources and brings their perspectives to the school division.

Her duties also include monitoring attendance, developing and leading parent training, and helping in classrooms when needed.

Guiding parents through public schools

Attending conferences and meeting educators from Virginia, across the country and around the world helped Pope recognize the extent of the resources available locally.

“I realized how privileged we are [in Fairfax County] to have access to resources and opportunities that many dream of,” she said.

Pope is committed to helping families make use of those opportunities. Her supervisor, senior family services specialist Claudia Coles, said Pope supplies parents with essential information, helps them enter the public school system and encourages them to advocate for their children during their earliest prekindergarten experiences.

Lisa Pilson, director of the Office of Early Childhood Curriculum and Grant Management, called Pope’s dedication “unwavering.” Pilson said Pope teaches parents how to navigate the school system while strengthening their confidence as their children’s first and most important teachers.

Generations of education advocacy

Pope’s work carries on a family tradition of supporting education and community service.

Her great-great-grandfather, Fountain Peyton, was born enslaved in Virginia. His mother escaped with him to Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. He began school at age 6, eventually became a lawyer and served for at least four years on the District of Columbia body overseeing public schools.

Pope’s great-grandmother, Minnie Peyton, worked as a school matron. Peyton joined her sister, Florence Hungerford Green, and neighbor Russell Moore in selling land to local education officials for the establishment of Lillian Carey Elementary School, which served Black children.

The Falls Church school opened Sept. 4, 1956. Green died several weeks after the land sale, while Peyton remained in the Bailey’s Crossroads area. Known affectionately as “Mom,” she lived in the Springdale community for 50 years and died in 1985 at age 96.

Lillian Carey Elementary closed in June 1965 during desegregation. The building later operated as a special education center and now serves as a community center recently renamed in Minnie Peyton’s honor.

Pilson said Pope brings that family legacy to her work in early childhood education and throughout the wider community. Her local roots, Pilson said, help her forge meaningful connections between schools and the families they serve.

Pope attended local public schools, as did her children and grandchildren. She expects her great-grandchildren will one day follow them.

“I wholeheartedly believe that strong public schools are a necessity to maintain a strong democracy and a better future for all,” she said.