Nursery school teacher honors one of school's founders with '100 days of dresses'

WESTERLY, R.I. (WJAR) — For 13 years, Lauren Sposato has been an employee at the Central Nursery School located inside of the Central Baptist Church on Elm Street in Westerly.

Sposato, who is a mother of two, said being a teacher is something she knew she always wanted to do.

Currently, she's the director and head teacher at the school.

"I just love everything about it. The kids, they’re very, very, sweet, kind ,and it’s just the best age group to be at," Sposato said.

While many people typically dress up for in-person work, Sposato said what goes into her work sometimes makes her do otherwise.

“We’re on the floor a lot, we’re outside a lot, we do art projects, we get dirty, so typically I get into a rut by the middle of the school year and then it’s a lot of yoga pants," she said. "But this year I decided to switch it up."

"When I wore my dress this year on the first day of school, I said to my co-worker, Tia, 'I think I’m going to do a Barbara Higgins dress challenge, I’m going to see how long I can wear a dress,'" said Sposato.

Prior to her hiring, Barbara Higgins had worked at the school for a few decades.

She was one of its founding members.

“She’s like a staple in the community," Sposato said. "I have parents who come in with their children that went here, and they will ask if Barbara Higgins still comes in to visit or if we still get to talk to her."

Sposato said Higgins does drop in from time to time, though she retired several years ago.

“She always wore dresses. We have pictures of her from the past, in the archives, in dresses at work. She still to this day, when she comes in, she is wearing dresses," said Sposato. "I love to wear dresses, so I felt like it matched very well."

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After wearing a dress the first day, Sposato continued to wear a different one each day.

Inspired by Higgins' style, she would take a picture, in the same position of the same mirror, and post it to her social media page on Instagram: @Eat.Playluxe.

“It forced me to pull some things out that I had not really worn in a really long time," said Sposato. "I’ve been going to a lot of stores in town and then tagging them in the Instagram post so that it helps them. Some of them I order online. During the holidays I tried to buy holiday ones. I had Valentine’s Day ones with hearts, Christmas ones I got from Amazon with presents and Santa."

Sposato said some she gets on consignment, others are from big box stores.

Her students enjoy it very much.

“One mom came up to me and told me that she put on a dress and boots the other day and her child said, 'You look like Mrs. Lauren,'" said Sposato.

Sposato said eventually people started asking what she was doing and wanted to know more about her dress challenge.

Her co-worker, Tia Burgess, also spread the word.

“As people started asking and finding out what I was doing, they thought it was really sweet," said Sposato. "Especially the people who know her to pay tribute to someone that was so special to the school."

Sposato said her closet is completely full.

Initially, her goal was to wear 50 different dresses, but she's surpassed that.

“We got to 50 and I thought 50 was going to be it, so I had the kids draw pictures and I ironed them on a white dress and wore that for the 50th day," she said.

"Then I sent out a poll on social media asking if I should keep going, so I did. I made it to 100, today is 103. It’s a challenge in itself to see how far I can go," she added.

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Sposato, though inspired by Higgins, didn't want to bother her about what she was doing, but word spread through a recent Westerly Sun article.

“She called me when I was away and she saw it and it was super sweet. She said, 'Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and saw it,' and it was just the sweetest thing,'" said Sposato.

“I’m happy that it reached her and she knows how much everybody appreciates her," she added.

Sposato said she's glad her wardrobe choices are helping to lift the spirits of others, including herself.

“It kind of gets me excited to get dressed in the morning because it’s something new," she said. “I like it. It doesn’t get me in a rut, it’s like something new every day and I plan it during the week."

As for the remainder of the school year, she's going to try to keep up with the dress challenge.

“I am going to donate some," she said. "A few of my friends have gone on and said, 'Oh I really like this one,' so I think I’m just going to pass them on,'" she said.