Melissa Dreger celebrates Educator of the Year award

Melissa Dreger, a family day care educator working for the City of Ballarat has been named the National Educator of the Year at the Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.

This was the second time Ms Dreger has been named in the Awards, having previously been a national finalist in 2019.

FDCA CEO Andrew Paterson said Ms Dreger’s nominators had highlighted her professionalism and her passion for inclusion. When approached for comment Ms Dreger said winning the award was an incredible honour, but also took time to highlight the support she has received along the way.

“Ultimately it’s not just for me,” she said. “This award doesn’t have a lot to do with me, instead it has everything to do with those who stand beside me every day and that’s because community is everything.”

“I love educating and caring for children. I love being an educator. Educators quickly realise that one person can make a difference. I can’t teach every child in the world but I can make a difference for the ones that I do support and educate.”

Commenting on her success, City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Daniel Moloney said the win was a recognition of Ms Dreger’s exceptional skills in the family day care sector.

“Ms Dreger is consistently recognised as being excellent in her field and it is heartening to see our family day care educators being so passionate, inclusive and innovative” Cr Moloney said.

Under the City of Ballarat program, family day care educators provide childcare in their own homes, with support and monitoring from the City of Ballarat’s Coordination Unit.  

Around 150 babies and children aged from eight weeks to 13 years are cared for each week in the City of Ballarat’s Family Day Care program. Each qualified educator is registered to care for up to four children under school age, as well as up to three school age children. 

The Sector extends congratulations to Ms Dreger and the other winners in the annual FDCA Awards program.