Educating Young Minds Since 1997 and Anticipating the Future Conway Education Center

Teaching is a work of the heart, and Barbara Lankster, a program manager at Catholic Charities’ Child Development Center, has gone above and beyond to help educate and inspire young children in Washington, D.C.

Her career as a child-care professional began more than 40 years ago as director of a daycare center for children with special needs at the Hospital for Sick Children.

In December 1997, she began her role at Catholic Charities’ Child Development Center, an inclusive program for children, ages six weeks to three years, with and without developmental differences. Since then, she has been an integral part of the care offered at the center.

Like other staff members at the Child Development Center and Kennedy School, Miss Barbara, as she is called, is excited as the staff anticipates the move to the Conway Education Center. Both Catholic Charities’ programs will integrate into the education center when it opens on school property early next year. 

In her role, she has used her excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills, served on multiple task forces and was a guest educator at local colleges. Her dedication to her profession led to numerous awards and accolades, including the Early Educator of the Year Award in 2021, a prestigious award honoring an educator who has contributed to improving the lives and education of young children. As evidence of her impact, the young children served by the Child Development Center show their love for Miss Barbara with hugs, smiles and outstretched hands.

Today, she coordinates meetings with a licensing specialist, manages the relationship with a quality improvement network/united planning organization and ensures teachers and staff have enough supplies. But she is not stopping there.

She is looking toward the future, as the staff and children watch with enthusiasm as the Conway Education Center takes shape along Buchanan Street in northeast D.C.

“I have by no means been at Kennedy the longest, but I have been fortunate to be a member of a team that created a safe, inclusive, nurturing learning environment for children and young people,” she said at a “beam signing” ceremony last month at the construction site of the Conway Education Center.

The education center was developed with input from teachers and school administrators. Being built in D.C.’s Wards 5, the center will accommodate 50 students each at the Kennedy School and the Child Development Center.

“My vision is that the Conway Education Center will be more than a building,” she said. “It will be a beacon in the community providing high-quality, inclusive programming.”