Dana Conrad has been in Stuttgart her whole life. Grew up there, still lives there, still shows up for it in every way she can. When the late former director, Barbara Bean sought her out while she was working as a paraprofessional at the local elementary school, Dana wasn't necessarily looking for a new role. But Easterseals Arkansas was looking for her.
That was 15 years ago. She's been the Director of the Stacey and Allen Homra Child Development Center for two of them.
What "I Pick the Hard Kids" Actually Means
Ask Dana about her professional strengths, and she doesn't reach for the expected answers. She doesn't talk about leadership or curriculum design or stakeholder communication. She says this: "I pick the hard kids."
What she means is that she has always been drawn to the children whose needs are the most complex, the ones who don't fit neatly into a standard classroom framework and require someone willing to slow down, pay close attention, and figure out how they work before trying to teach them anything. "I love to find out how they work and create ways that we can modify the setting and accommodate what we have to offer to best fit their needs," she says.
Her favorite part of the job, even now, is behavior problem-solving. Finding the antecedent. Understanding what's driving a behavior before jumping to a response. "Trying to figure out the antecedent and resolving the issue for a student is the most rewarding part of my job," she says. She's the first to admit that moving into the director role means she gets to do this less often. It's what she misses most.
Her coworkers know it too. When something is hard, they call Dana.
A Career Built on Credentials and Curiosity
Dana earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, then returned to school years later to complete her master's in special education from Harding University, specializing in birth through kindergarten. The combination of psychology and special education isn't accidental. Understanding behavior and understanding development are two sides of the same work, and Dana has spent 15 years applying both.
One of the experiences she points to with the most pride is her work alongside advocates from the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. "I love thinking outside the box when it comes to education for students with disabilities," she says. That work earned her the Distinguished Advocate Award from the Arkansas Chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, a recognition that reflects exactly the kind of cross-disciplinary, student-first thinking she brings to everything she does.
Stuttgart Through and Through
Outside the center, Dana's life in Stuttgart runs deep. She leads Bible study, volunteers through her church with VBS and camp and fundraisers, and serves with the local Celebrate Recovery ministry. Her faith isn't a background detail. It's the thread that connects her professional work to her community involvement and her sense of purpose.
"I am passionate about my faith. I love to show others the love of Jesus in all that I do," she says. For Dana, helping people isn't something she does at work and sets aside elsewhere. It's the same impulse in every room she walks into.
Asked what she can't give up, she answers in one word: prayer.
What She Wants to Leave Behind
Dana's legacy statement is as unadorned as the rest of her submission. "I want others to remember me as someone who helps others." No elaboration needed. For someone who has spent 15 years in Stuttgart showing up for the hardest kids, the most complex families, and the community that shaped her, it's already true.
About the Stacey and Allen Homra Child Development Center in Stuttgart
The Stacey and Allen Homra Child Development Center is an inclusive, CARF-accredited developmental preschool in Stuttgart, Arkansas, serving children from six weeks through age six, including children with disabilities and those developing on a typical timeline. The center holds a three-star rating from Better Beginnings, Arkansas's quality rating system for early childhood programs.
On-site therapeutic services include speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, delivered within the same inclusive environment where children spend their days. Staff-to-child ratios range from 1:4 to 1:9, and the center uses the Adventures in Toddlers and Adventures in Learning curricula to support developmentally appropriate learning at every age. The center welcomes families using private pay and childcare vouchers.
For families in the Stuttgart area looking for a developmental preschool that meets children where they are, the Stacey and Allen Homra Child Development Center is one of the only programs in the region offering this combination of inclusive education and onsite therapy under one roof.
To learn more or inquire about enrollment, call (870) 672-7730, email gpcdc@eastersealsar.com, or visit eastersealsar.com/programs/children/stuttgart-developmental-preschool.
