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To fully understand the present, one often has to look to the past. That holds true for CiCi Weston, CEO of the Christine Watson Avery Learning Center (CWA Center).
Though the center was founded in September 2014, their story traces back to the early 1950s when Weston’s parents, Rev. Dr. Nilous M. Avery and Christine Watson Avery, laid their foundation in Asheville.
Laying the foundation
Before relocating to Asheville, Avery was an educator in the Raleigh area for years. Upon moving, she continued to serve as an educator in Asheville, and Rev. Avery became the pastor of Hill Street Baptist Church, where he served for 51 years. Revered as civil rights pioneers in the region, Weston recalls her parents opening their arms to their community.
“People stayed at our house all the time. I promise you, the doors were never locked, and they would just walk in,” she said.
Between her father engaging in Asheville sit-ins and integration efforts, to spending time with her mom in Asheville schools during teacher work days, Weston credits her parents with being significant influences on the person she is today.
“I saw the passion that they put into others, passion into kids, passion into people who needed help,” she expressed.
Recognizing a need for child care, particularly in the Black community, Avery opened the Hill Street Daycare Center. She would go on to start the Hill Street Learning Center, offering afterschool and summer camp opportunities as well.
According to their website, the Hill Street Daycare stands as the oldest Black-owned and operated daycare in Asheville today. Its legacy continues after Weston had the privilege of acquiring her mother’s daycare as part of the CWA Center expansion in 2017.
Charting her own path
Named in honor of Weston’s mother, the CWA Center is now a multi-site organization, with the latest addition having been added in February 2024. However, her career began in 1992 when Weston first started work in the school system.
By 1997, she transitioned into a role within a program known as the “Family Room.” Essentially operating in a social worker capacity for the school, Weston engaged in home visits, facilitated parent conferences, and overall supported families with accessing various resources.
After a few years, she went on to become the first program coordinator for Communities in Schools. There, she was responsible for the initiation process, operating the program throughout schools in Asheville. Additionally, during that period, she contributed to the implementation and oversaw the AVID program.
Along the way, Weston encountered the then-executive director for the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). Throughout the years, they managed to keep in touch. Finally, when Weston was ready to transition from Communities in Schools, she started a new role with YWCA.
Design, scaling, and capitalizing on opportunities were among the qualities associated with Weston’s time with the YWCA. She was able to help the facility acquire licensing. During the completion of a new wing for the afterschool program, she built a staff of 12 with about 80 children enrolled. By the following summer, she had grown the program to 20 staff and about 150 children.
Eventually, many of the children aged out of the programs eligible with the YWCA. With the demand from parents to find opportunities for their teens, Weston answered the call by collaborating with a local church and school teachers to launch the STARS program. What began with just five students quickly expanded to 25 students.
Unfortunately, Weston’s initiative was determined to be a conflict of interest by her new executive leadership at YWCA, so she closed the door on that 14-year chapter of her life.
Embracing a new beginning
As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. In Weston’s case, this led to the formation of what is now the CWA Center. She obtained nonprofit status in September 2014, and by the following February, she opened the doors to five families. By the end of the summer, she had a full staff and over 120 kids enrolled in the program.
Pursuing that pathway was not absent of sacrifice and tribulations from then to now. To start, Weston emptied her retirement account in order to take this step of faith. Further, she went upwards of a year unpaid to ensure that she was able to pay and support her staff.
Aside from the obstacles associated with the cost of starting a new facility, through one of their greatest challenges emerged what is now a multigenerational continuation of a legacy.
Prior to 2019, Kyla Morton had not anticipated becoming the chief operating officer of the CWA Center. Yet, when her mother, Weston, fell ill with the flu, it was necessary for others to understand the operations for the center. As a result, Morton and her siblings each supported the operations of the center in different capacities, from grant writing to on-site support. Later that year, Weston was diagnosed with cancer.
Weston went out for treatment that December, and a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Serving so many families identified as essential workers and first responders, closing the center wasn’t an option. So, despite having little experience in child care, Morton and the center’s staff revamped their approach given the circumstances.
“For me, it was more so like legacy building,” Morton said.
Once acclimated to her new responsibilities, she returned to school, earning a graduate teaching certificate from UNC Charlotte and a birth-to-kindergarten teaching license. She also continued her education in nonprofit management. By this time, they had also identified a second site location for the center.
“In that process, it was just like, I really feel like I’m supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be helping,” Morton said.
Fortunately, in 2021, Weston was able to her return to work after her cancer treatments. Since then, the CWA Center has continued the work of child care service in their community, continuing the family legacy with a third generation of providers in Asheville.
Producing fruit
Weston’s care and commitment is admired by many. Earlier this year, she was recognized as a recipients for the #TeachingInColor “Educator of the Year” awards from the Center for Racial Equity in Education.
Jasmine Bright is the chief impact officer at the CWA Center. The center holds “a very special place in my heart, not only because I work here, but because they became family for me,” Bright said.
She especially appreciates being able to absorb knowledge from Weston.
“Her spirit is amazing,” she said.
For Weston, relationship and community is at the heart of the work. It’s especially meaningful to her that she gets to lead a staff made up of 90% Black and Brown people and serve families made up of 90% Black and Brown people in the very neighborhood where she grew up.
Weston stands proudly in a building dedicated to her mom, which is the original parsonage for the church where her father used to pastor, and is now where she works alongside her daughters.
While reflecting on her journey thus far she stated,
“It makes me think of the biblical reference that a tree is known by the fruit that it produces. So, if I am not producing that fruit in people, then I’m not doing what I was called to do.”
