Our long time preschool principal, Ms. Woodbridge, announced last week that she will be leaving at the end of the school year. It’s a big loss for our school community. As I met with her and our preschool teachers on Friday morning, I couldn’t help but reflect on some of the things that I have learned from this powerful educator over the past 8 months since I arrived at Lincoln. Admittedly, I’ve had to learn a lot about preschool just in the past few years. Yes, I have 6 children of my own, so perhaps my house sometimes feels like a preschool, but there is a big difference between coordinating the safety, development, and learning of hundreds of 3-5 year olds, and having kids of your own. I taught in the high school classroom, and then served as a high school principal. While I spent time on the leadership team of a middle school, and have experience tutoring elementary age students, it wasn’t until my last role as the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning that I was able to really immerse myself in matters of early childhood education. I learned a lot in that role, and now as the General Director at Lincoln, my education has continued as I’ve learned from Ms. Woodbridge and her dedicated team. Here are just a few of the major takeaways from our time working together.
Sweat the Small Stuff
So everywhere you look, we are surrounded by reminders not to sweat the small stuff. Well, that’s a nice idea, but when you are taking care of 3, 4, and 5 year olds, you’ve got to have the small stuff locked in. How do you ensure the safety of every little person as they make their way from car to classroom? How do you manage supervision, bathroom breaks, and snack time? How do you ensure cleanliness and safety when little people tend to have their hands on everything? As we prepared for coming back to school in hybrid learning mode, it was the preschool that often led out on logistical questions that perhaps we had not entirely considered.
Trust comes 1 student at a time
Ms. Woodbridge seems to know every little person’s name. When they get out of the car she is there to greet them by name, walking alongside as each child goes to wash his or her hands. She engages each student, asking about their day and what they are looking forward to learning about. She similarly greets parents, saying hello and often asking follow-up questions based on something she knows about each individual student. The level of personal engagement is remarkable, and it sets the tone for the rest of the school. Our parents have come to trust Ms. Woodbridge and her team at a deep level, as each day they send their most precious little humans into the school for another day of learning, confident that we are paying attention to the details and considering the unique needs of each student. That trust has been earned over time, and the preschool has driven a foundation of trust that we draw on until the day our students graduate.
Developmentally Minded
The level of concern for the development of our youngest learners has been apparent in every conversation with Ms. Woodbridge during the pandemic. She reminds me constantly that for our preschool students, virtual learning is simply not adequate. Of course we are proud of the virtual program that our students have had at all grade levels during the physical closure of the school, but Ms. Woodbridge has been a tireless advocate for getting our kids back on campus. In Costa Rica, we are limited to having 50% of students in our classroom spaces to allow for adequate social distancing. When we discovered that we would have a small handful of additional spaces on the campus, Ms. Woodbridge was quick to advocate that we fill them with our youngest learners. She and her team developed a system that divided each preschool and kinder class into two classroom spaces, rotating teachers and assistants in a way that provides continuity of instruction, supervision, and allows all students to be back on campus. She points out how large and fine motor development, emotional wellness, and holistic development all rely on caring, and often in-person instruction and services.