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Hello!  My name is Samanthia Deas but please call me Ms. Samanthia.  I am the Owner and Lead Teacher here at Small ADULTS in the Making (S.A.M.) Group Family Daycare since June 1, 2004.  After 15 Years of working as an Executive Administrative Assistant in Corporate America (Federal Reserve Bank of New York), I realized that I was not following my passion with working with young children and resigned to open my own Daycare.  Born and raised in Harlem and raising my one and only daughter, I always found myself scheduling playdates & sleepovers, exploring amusement parks and formed buddy systems for other parents who needed help.  My daughter inspired me to follow my passion and then I put my pen to paper and I started my vision board.

In finding the perfect name for the daycare I decided to name it after my mother's last name SMALL and used my initials; an acronym for S.A.M. Small ADULTS in the Making.  Cool right? I hired my mother as my assistant, which happened to be her first job and everything was great. 

Being the 1st child to graduate from college and to open a business was rewarding.

In 2008 while juggling the daycare full-time; I re-admitted to BMCC on a full time basis. I’ve graduated and earned my degree in Early Childhood Education in 2011.  Also was a 2016 Graduate of the Lillian Project’s 1st Cohort from the Harlem Business Alliance.

My standard is to offer a High Quality (Quality vs Quantity) Program to families in my community who yearns an educational and safe place for their children to call their “home” away from home. I have serviced over 100+ plus families within the 19 years of business.

I was awarded a Merit Award on May 13, 2022 from UFT after servicing the Essential Families during the Pandemic and developed COVID19 for 14 days.  I also earned my Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential and attend ongoing trainings throughout the year.

I’ve been traveling extensively since 1994 and visited over 50 different countries, states and cities.  I pour into my community advocating for our local library, hosting Annual Halloween Parties, Bus Trips to Sesame Place, Bookbag Giveaways, donating clothes to shelters and churches; just to name a few.  In addition; I extend myself to pay it forward and volunteer during my vacations in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia & the most recent in Colombia.

Currently, I'm single with a daughter in her early 30s; 2 distant living siblings, no living parents.  My mother transitioned in November 2021 and since then I poured into my Daycare because they are my extended family.   Thanks for reading and I look forward to meeting you and your family.