WILMINGTON — Down to her core, Shysheika Edwards is a teacher and still finds ways to educate others in her day-to-day work.
In fact, after she graduated from Lincoln University, the first job she landed at the Christina Cultural Arts Center was in essence the exact job she wanted: preschool teacher. Edwards, a New York native, moved to the area after she got married and took a gap year to be home with their son. But then her best friend got a call from the center – they were looking for a teacher.
“I interviewed on Monday and I heard back that afternoon about references. And by Tuesday, I had a job,” Edwards said with a laugh. “At that time, the center had only one preschool classroom with 20 students. So I was the lead teacher, but by the following year, I was a program manager. It was a fast track.”
The woman who hired her, Kim Graham, was the education director. Edwards would later move into her job with the support of colleagues and professional development fostered by others at the center like the previous executive director Ray Jones Avery.
Today, Edwards is now the executive director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center, an 80-year-old institution that provides affordable arts programs and education for children and adults in music, dance and drama with talented instructors. It also offers preschool programming with an emphasis on art education. Right now, the program teaches 38 students. Though she was named the executive director a few months ago, he has been with the center in downtown Wilmington for about 12 years now.
But without Avery and Graham supporting her journey, it may have turned a different way. Even after Edwards earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University, Avery kept pushing her to sign up for fundraising training and to study for certificates in nonprofit management. That drive helped Edwards as she took on other roles in the organization, like overseeing the after-school program and the urban arts institution, as well as the internship program.
“I’m so glad she did that. She also insisted that I understand the arts training. If we had any training related to that, she made sure I was there,” Edwards said. “It was also just watching how she did her job and the things she said. She’s definitely been and is a mentor I need, especially at this time.”
Avery’s mentorship also helped Edwards navigate what she said was the biggest challenge of her career: learning how to talk with people.
“There’s so many different concerns and attitudes as well as family situations, it can get hard. Sometimes, you’re putting out fires and you get a complaint. It can be especially hard when the instructor is in the wrong and you have to find a resolution,” she said. “But you have to get past that if you want to see the spark in a child’s eyes because of the arts and how their family responds to seeing them on stage.”
“It can be a challenge experiencing how to help your students with getting the utilities turned back on or finding out a student is homeless. Once you get past that, you are ready to help in whatever way so we can see them be triumphant on stage and in life,” Edwards added.
Other mentors like Graham, who now works at Delaware State University, would help keep Edwards grounded as she continued to work her way up the ladder. Edwards said that Graham’s advice was to take an eagle’s view of the organization and the programs to understand what would make the most sense in the long run. She also helped ingrain how important self-care was as well.
When asked why she chose to stay at the center for so many years, Edwards points to her faith. She describes herself as a woman who is prayerful of all endeavors and values the counsel of her pastor – and how she’s not one to quickly jump into things.
But at the end of the day, she always wanted to come back to work. It’s also a way to help make a difference in dozens of children’s lives in Wilmington.
“There are moments where you think about putting your resume together, but everyone has those moments. But I’ve never woken up and felt like I didn’t want to go to work,” Edwards said. “In education, our first concern is the child, not just their academic performance, but their social, emotional and mental needs. All the decisions I’ve made are about making sure our children are safe, healthy and happy. How do we provide that service through the arts — because the arts provide so many services to get to those emotion needs.”
Edwards herself is not a traditional artist, but over the years, she’s had to push herself outside her comfort zone and become an artist. While she’s an amateur singer, she’s had to learn songs to help kids with the lesson of the day if another teacher was out.
Once, during a show at the Grand Opera House, she was volunteered to participate in a play complete with singers and dancers. Next thing she knew, she was being sent to rehearsals with sheet music in hand.
“Nothing is ever easy, but it wasn’t so hard that I thought, ‘I can’t do this,’” she said. “It turned out to be a beautiful experience. When it comes down to it, I just don’t see my comfort as a factor. It’s about affecting the lives of our students. If I have to get uncomfortable so they can be serviced and comfortable, it’s not a question.”
When she’s not in the office, Edwards and her husband spend time with her five children and making the family go out to try new restaurants. She also reads and loves the fact that being at the center keeps her grounded in her artistic side every day.
As she starts her first official year as executive director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center, Edwards will be working on expanding its space with a new building on Orange Street and strategic planning to go with it. The center has hired a new chief strategy officer to help develop the future for the facility as well as new partnerships and possible new programs.
“I’m excited to see how we can get Christina to another level,” Edwards said.
