First lady Jill Biden, who served as a teacher for many years, is set to visit New York state this week to highlight the importance of early childhood education.

Her trip comes as the country's child care workforce has lost thousands of jobs in the last few years. A recent trip to a day care center in the Hudson Valley ahead of the first lady's visit showed what centers need to continue serving families.

Estefany Umbach loves the Day One Early Learning Community, and not just for how it helps her own son.

“Oh, my gosh, I can't even describe the words," she said. "Just to see his smile and look at my smile, and see how much he loves to be around the other kids. And trying to find his own personality."

Her love for the child care center also comes from the role she can play as the director of community engagement there, ensuring the next generation has early childhood education, regardless of background.

“We want to start since the beginning, creating those positive interactions, and those positive interactions can be at home," she said. "It can be with their families. It should be at the school.”

So the chance to tell Biden about it when she visits their classrooms is amazing to her. The first lady will tour Day One while discussing early childhood education and the education workforce.

Data from New York’s Education Department shows enrollment in Pre-k programs has more than doubled in under 10 years. A study by CDC found early education can improve the social and cognitive development of children.

Estefany says she’s excited to share her firsthand experience with another teacher, who also happens to be first lady of the United States.

“She will understand what it looks like to work with a family who is struggling, not only financially, but maybe I would say with mental health," Umbach said. "And working with a child who has been exposed with that.”

The focus for programs like Day One that serve children around the nation should be expansion, according to Umbach, so families of all income levels can have the opportunity to get their children valuable early education.

“For those families specifically who don't qualify to the child care subsidy, we also offer a scaled-fee payment," she said. "So in that way, we're going to be able to accommodate and continue serving a lot of families.”