2011 Northampton High School Grad Hired to Lead Burlington Children’s Space

NORTHAMPTON—Molly Scaife, a 2011 graduate of Northampton High School, was recently hired to serve as director of the Burlington Children’s Space, founded in 1985 with support from Sen. Bernard Sanders—then mayor of Burlington—and his wife, Jane.

Hired in September 2022 by the publicly funded nonprofit childcare center and preschool, Scaife first served as a mentor teacher and then program director before she was named director in December 2022. She has seven years’ of experience in early childhood education and has worked in an elementary school in the Marshall Islands and served other nonprofits that support early childhood education with a focus on meeting families’ needs and goals.

Scaife, who lives in Burlington, holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Plymouth State University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Vermont (UVM). She also holds a certificate of graduate studies in resiliency-based approaches with family, school, and community and is currently enrolled in a Childcare Business Administration course through the Vermont Higher Ed Collaborative and Castleton University.

“I have experience in managing complex situations, and I collaborate well with others,” Scaife said. “I know how to balance complex tasks and meet deadlines while also being compassionate and building meaningful relationships with children, their families, and other service providers.”