Melissa Polinoski

Community Storytelling

Melissa Polinoski is the early childhood community coordinator for the Atkinson/Holt County Communities for Kids initiative, which works to address the early childhood community needs of quality child care and capacity expansion. In this role, she is responsible for building a community-driven core team, program development for licensed providers and parents, and securing financial sustainability for programming through partnerships and grants. At the onset of this position, Polinoski recognized the importance of not only addressing early childhood care capacity needs but also creating a stable, quality early childhood care infrastructure of which community storytelling is a vital component. Prior to her position as coordinator, she was a public school teacher working with students in PreK through Grade 12. She worked extensively with fine arts programs, Title I core subject instruction, and was responsible for the development and implementation of a high ability learning program for elementary students. Polinoski received her bachelor’s degree in education, with a minor in art history, from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She enjoys spending time with her family, creative endeavors, nature, and the lifelong pursuit of learning.