The Salisbury Post brought back People to Watch with a 2025 version of the series that looks at locals with a bright year ahead. 

Today’s issue features Dr. Rebecca Childs, a passionate educator recently elected to represent the Salisbury district on the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education. 

Childs took the formal oath of office in December, being sworn in alongside incumbents Dr. Lynn Marsh and Kathy McDuffie Sanborn.

In that short time, Childs has found a cohesive staff that works well together and keeps communication lines open and flowing.

“The ability of staff to respond and provide information that’s clear and specific has been really encouraging,” Childs said.

As a mother of elementary students, Annah and Gabriella, Childs is now a dual stakeholder.

“I still experience a lot of what parents experience, you know, whether at the school closure or communication or the carpool line … I’m very much grounded in that experience,” Childs said. “I think that benefits all the work that will be done on the board and brings perspective to the board of how parents are directly impacted.”

When Childs was running for the seat, she emphasized community and student engagement as pillars of her platform.

“One of my primary priorities as a member of the board is to increase engagement and how we welcome members of the community,” Childs said on Friday, doubling down on that goal. “Is that how we welcome them to our campuses, how we welcome them to our board or other community engagement opportunities, just making sure that people really feel the sincerity when we say this is our community and our schools and you are a part of that.”

Childs said that she regularly talks to people about volunteering.

“It takes a five-minute conversation to try to encourage them that they are wanted in the schools,” she said. “There is a misconception of who can and should be involved and actively involved so I’m committed to making sure that people see that everybody has a role to play.”
Childs has an extensive background as an educator, including 15 years as a bilingual teacher and school administrator.

She has served students in the Dominican Republic and Rowan County, and currently works as the program manager for the real estate and construction trades programs at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Back when she was running, Childs said that it is vital to treat students as co-facilitators in their educational careers.

“When we view students as co facilitators, it helps put them at the center of the learning experience and activates their role in the process,” Childs said in an interview last year. “Rather than having students passively involved as receptacles for knowledge and information, by centering them and having them co-facilitate, it enhances the learning experience and makes it more relevant for them.”

Childs said that in graduate school she was taught that the one who is “doing the doing,” is also “doing the learning,” meaning that when teachers do too much heavy lifting in the classroom, students are not as engaged.

The incoming school board member added that it’s crucial to give students “a voice and a choice” in those activities.

On Friday, Childs said that she wants to continue prioritizing students, keeping them at the center of discussions.

“I want to make sure that if the board says, or if the district says that we’re going to do something, that it gets done to the best of our ability to serve students,” she said. “And just make sure that students are always at the center of every decision.”

Outside of her role on the school board, Childs is behind a nonprofit.

“When I went to undergrad, my business plan in business school was actually a youth center,” Childs said. “I founded my organization, my nonprofit, back in 2008 … it’s one of those, you know, the long suffering kind of opportunities that I think this year is finally going to be able to come full circle.

“I’m excited to relaunch my nonprofit in the local community with a summer program followed by an after school program in the fall.”

The program is called SOS Youth Centers Inc.

Childs indicated it has a dual meaning — Sharing our Success and Shaping our Successors.

Anyone interested in signing up can reach out to Childs directly. Her email address is childsforschoolboard@gmail.com.

Childs said on Friday that their website is undergoing a redesign.

“We anticipate relaunching that with applications for the camp at the end of April,” Childs said. “So we’re excited about that.”

That website is sosyouthcenters.org.

By all accounts, 2025 is going to be a big year for Childs.