History
1950 – 1970
We are a full-service childcare development program located in Compton, California at 12619 S. Wilmington Avenue. Our faculty and staff serve families of the community. We provide services for Early Childhood education. The initial inspiration for the center was inspired by Grace Elliott, who provided religious education through the Bar Non-Clubs during the 1950s. This program welcomed children of every ethnicity to learn basic biblical fundamentals well into the 1970s. Ms. Elliott’s Children’s program prepared the way for further learning. Carrying the torch, Pastor Edward T. Robinson Sr., believed in providing opportunities for the development of youth, while encouraging spiritual, social, and cultural advancements. He envisioned a learning facility being established in his lifetime.
1968 - 1975
It was as early as when she was six years old, that Carolyn recalls a commitment and a desire to impact the lives of others. This began with her siblings. Carolyn recalls her experiences as a teenager, as she loved to gather the neighborhood children and facilitate various outdoor games during the summer. She would be actively involved with children throughout the neighborhood, meeting at the local park to swim, play softball hopscotch, jumping jacks, tether ball, card games, jacks, marbles; you name it! These times were uninhibited fun and a time of pure intent. It was at that time that Carolyn learned that, “As we played together, we also learned together.” With a wealth of treasured moments, the early childhood experiences that ultimately lead her to this field.
A mother of three daughters, eight adopted children (seven sons and a daughter), and eighteen grandchildren, Carolyn has endured some of the joys and pains of raising not only her children but others. Believing she had been chosen for this role, she considers this circumstance an added achievement that provided her with a sense of humility and honor.
1990 - 2000
In the late 90s, Annie Wright embraced Pastor Robinson’s vision and spent her retired years providing early childhood development for toddlers and the local community through her Anchor in Early Childhood Development program. She also established Anchor UP, an after-school program to assist with reading readiness, comprehension, literary awareness, and Writers’ Workshop during the mid-2000s.
2001 - 2005
During her late teens, she was initially fascinated by a desire of becoming an attorney. After working for various law firms as a secretary/paralegal assistant, she became complacent. Carolyn began her family and postponed her education. In 1992, her family relocated to California and she soon decided to return to school, obtaining a degree in Business Administration. During that time, she was actively involved in childcare and had established a family childcare facility out of her home. Shortly after receiving her degree, she and her husband were faced with a decision to take in five children, one niece and four nephews that had entered into the foster care system. It was then that she decided to become more involved in educating herself as a childcare provider.
Although she has been a part of the field for most of her life, she gradually developed a greater desire to go to the next level. After many years of providing childcare in her home, she was allowed to open a childcare center. Knowing her strengths, Carolyn employed others to do the job that she felt she was unable to fulfill. She simply wanted to be more interactively involved with the children and their development. Carolyn discovered her role as a director limited her vision in this capacity. Carolyn explains that it was her vision for the school to transition from a traditional learning environment to a more tactile environment. She enjoyed discoveries with the children and exposing them to the world around them. Carolyn is motivated by the prospect of learning to manifest from all levels and every walk of life in so many more ways than words can
2001 - 2013
In 2013, Carolyn Sanford established Trinity Life Learning Center, now operated by trained staff members, and receives the majority of its funding through parents, guardians, and childcare subsidies. Having served in the capacity of a childcare provider for over 30 years in a home base environment, Carolyn had now entered the role of a preschool Director and teacher.
Carolyn’s many years of experience in both the private and corporate sectors, as well as her overall experiences, solidified the value and need for early childcare education. Carolyn soon determined that her role as a director, best serves the community to which the program has been assigned. As a Christian, she has desired to labor in the capacity of serving and spreading the gift of hope, which she believes will add value to lifelong experiences for others. Being able to witness parents, who were once served by the pioneering program, bring their children in for care conveys a rewarding and self-fulfilling experience.
2019 - 2023
Carolyn’s mission is to educate and expose parents to the values of learning, while playing and gaining respect for the environment for early childcare education. She sought to have an environment that exemplified the meaning of learning and exploration rather than simply babysitting. It has been important to change that dynamic with parents and convey that, “What we do is an extension of what they have been required to do. We are here to partner with the parent in directing their child’s future.”
When the children are excited to be at Trinity Life Learning Center to learn and participate in the various activities that we offer, it validates what this school has to offer to the community. It has been a pleasure to fill in the gap and watch with so much joy as parents and guardians have to rush off in the mornings, and our students are rushing to experience their school day adventure.
We endeavor to become more effective in communicating and creating ways to better serve the community and to increase our abilities to operate our learning center more successfully.
We hope to participate in different learning techniques offered to assess and build strengths, address deficiencies and implement strategies for improvement. Our objective is to access tools and resources that build on existing achievements and will benefit the environment we share.
We anticipate that our program will listen, offer supportive answers to perhaps difficult questions and be sensitive and responsive to the learning experiences. As we value the experiences and knowledge of others, we encourage collaborations in sharing knowledge and experiences where they could help.
The benefit of becoming the director of the school is an opportunity to foster the school’s visions and goals, and to enable the ability to pursue the opening of other schools in the future.
The vision for the school entails more out-of-the-box learning enrichment, where the children are not just in the classroom, but learning by exploring their environment. Exposure is found by way of field trips or travel that exposes them to the world around them. We desire the encounter with learning and exploring in this environment will influence the desire for them to take their dreams to newer levels. Children, families, staff, and the community deserve to be empowered by love, knowledge, and unity as they connect. The greater task is to communicate the vision of the school in such a manner that our students, parents, staff, and community begin to impart the essence of hope into their lives.
“To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). This statement of wisdom, tells us that we are held responsible for what we have. Our accomplishments, gifts, talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and success require us to benefit others.