By Melissa Moore-Randall
In September of 2021, Carole Smith celebrated 40 years as owner of Happy Day Nursery School. Happy Day is a half day preschool program that focuses on encouraging children to grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. They strive to provide a well rounded curriculum to the students to prepare them in the best way possible for Kindergarten and beyond, as starting with a core foundation and a love for learning is most important in a child’s development.
“My passion for teaching started as a little girl. I used to come home everyday and play school in the makeshift classroom my dad had made for me in our cellar. When I was in the 4th grade at the Julia Ward School, I had a new teacher named Joanna McInnis whom I idolized, as she was an amazing teacher and left quite an impression on all of her students. From that time on, I aspired to be a teacher. When I was old enough to work, I always gravitated towards jobs working with children of all ages. I babysat on weekends, and volunteered at my church, Our Lady of Lourdes, working with children.”
Carole graduated from Salem State College in 1981 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. After graduation, she immediately started applying for teaching jobs. However, due to Proposition 2 ½ there were huge layoffs in the teaching field, so all new teachers did not have much opportunity. “I was a substitute teacher for a while but desperately wanted my own classroom.”
After talking to a friend who also very much wanted to teach, they opened Happy Day Nursery School in 1982 in Beachmont, renting a small store front. They only had five students their first year, and they had to work two jobs to be able to pay their business loan and run the school.
“As the years passed, we worked very hard to build up our reputation and our enrollment grew. In 1984 we expanded Happy Day and moved to the basement of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, where I was also teaching religious education classes and became the Director of Religious Education for Grades 1-10. We remained there until the church closed in 2004. When the church closed, not only were we losing our space, but my partner decided to retire after owning the school with me for 20 years.”
“I was at a real crossroads; do I close Happy Day or do I continue on by myself as sole owner. Having two young children at the time, it was a very difficult and scary decision. However, my passion for teaching, my commitment to Happy Day, and the support of my wonderful husband and family members gave me the courage to give it a go by myself.”
Happy Day moved to its 3rd location, a former Protestant church on Winthrop Ave in Revere, where they stayed for 5 years. By that time their enrollment continued to grow, and they had a great reputation in the Early Childhood field.
In 2009, Smith wanted to expand the school. “I came across a brand-new building at 291 Park Avenue in Revere, which is the current location of Happy Day. I have been very blessed with the wonderful & dedicated staff that I have had over the years, some of whom have been with me for many years, and are still with me. They give their all to the students each and every day.”
“The thing that brings me the most joy is when a former student who is now a parent calls the school and says how they would love for their child to also have the Happy Day experience. It is hard to believe I am onto my next generation of students. I still keep in touch with so many families and love to hear all of the success stories of my former students. I couldn’t imagine any other path for my life as I love teaching with my heart and soul and I still get so much joy in seeing those little smiles every day. As for the future of Happy Day….I hope to continue to have many more generations to come!”
