About Beginning Futures
Inspired by their journeys as mothers, sisters Rochelle Bea & Shirla Lomax founded Beginning Futures Learning Center in 2008. Expecting a new baby, Shirla struggled to find high-quality, affordable childcare. Rochelle was a social worker who found it challenging to secure resources for her daughter’s learning differences. This made her want to open a school that valued strong family engagement, equity, and inclusion. Together, their experience ignited the vision to open a facility that provides a safe haven within their own community offering affordable, consistent early education and care.
Our Mission
Beginning Futures lays the foundation for lifelong learning in a STEAM-enriched environment by cultivating multiple intelligences and bridging home, school, and community.
Our Vision
We envision a future where high-quality early childhood care and education are accessible to all. In this future, families are strengthened through parent engagement and education, and learning environments maximize brain development by implementing educational curricula that prepares children for school and life through exploration and play regardless of their identity or background.
Our Future
Beginning Futures is in the midst of an exciting expansion. High quality and high demand have led us to a growth trajectory that will offer one hundred additional students an opportunity to learn and grow at our excellent STEAM-enriched early learning center.
Our Leadership
Rochelle Bea
Rochelle Bea is the Executive Director and co-founder of Beginning Futures Early Learning Center. Rochelle earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Child Development. She is responsible for seeking and securing grant funds, and compliance in relation to State Licensing and Accreditation. Rochelle’s leadership of three facility expansions under her leadership has generated additional revenue during each phase. She has engaged the program in multiple community partnerships from ARCH’S, Missouri Preschool Project, STL Pre-K Cooperative, Urban League Head Start, WEPOWER and a host of other community collaborations. Rochelle was the recipient of the 2013 Entrepreneur Momentum Award, Board Power Secretary of Justine Petersen Housing & Reinvestment Corporation, and completed fellowships with WEPOWER’s Tomorrow Builders and Tory Burch. She is a member of the National Black Child Development Institute, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Saint Louis Women Leader and National Head Start Association. Rochelle has emerged as a leader and mentor in the early learning space, leading the way in quality improvement for developing professionals and in the policy and advocacy space.
Shirla Lomax
Shirla Lomax is Beginning Futures’ co-founder and Administrative Director. She ensures compliance for our Early Head Start/Head Start programs. Shirla is a Master Educator with 11 years’ worth of expertise in nurturing and educating young children. Shirla obtained her Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, which afforded her the opportunity to have hands-on involvement in a lab school learning environment at St. Louis Community College. Shirla also holds a Bachelor of Science in Child Development. Shirla steers Family Engagement by educating parents on techniques to be active participants in their children's education and she finds joy bridging home and school. Shirla has served as a 27th Ward Committee Member and serves on the Koinonia (hospitality) committee at her local church. She is also a member of the National Black Child Development Institute, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and National Head Start Association. Shirla was also the recipient of the 2011 Business Of The Year Award.