The Fellowship's Impact on the SJCC ECS-Seattle
Fellows: Jennifer Birkner and Dara Medearis
The following reflections come from our school's timeline, a tool we used throughout the Fellowship to track our changes and growth.
Click here to download the complete timeline.
September 2011:
Before the first retreat, we read Schools that Heal, renewing our commitment to Emotionally Responsive Practice, as “receptive, motivated learning requires a foundation of emotional well-being.” We were inspired by our initial fellowship retreat to reflect more deeply on details and engage in tough conversations with one another as colleagues, and with families. This has made the bigger picture more cohesive.
October 2011:
We asked for more parent volunteers to help keep the school running smoothly. Teachers committed to more all-school meetings, on Monday mornings for Havdallah and all-school Shabbat on Friday afternoons and once a month on Friday mornings. We read A Letter in the Scroll, thinking deeply about what it means to be in Jewish Early Childhood Education. Through our introduction to concepts of appreciative inquiry, conversations about difficult moments are approached with a spirit of inquiry and seeds for change.
November 2011:
The ways teachers are supported in classrooms has shifted; teachers are more creative and helpful to one another. The leadership team is more responsive to teachers’ needs, both in the moment and long term.
The following reflections come from our school's timeline, a tool we used throughout the Fellowship to track our changes and growth.
Click here to download the complete timeline.
September 2011:
Before the first retreat, we read Schools that Heal, renewing our commitment to Emotionally Responsive Practice, as “receptive, motivated learning requires a foundation of emotional well-being.” We were inspired by our initial fellowship retreat to reflect more deeply on details and engage in tough conversations with one another as colleagues, and with families. This has made the bigger picture more cohesive.
October 2011:
We asked for more parent volunteers to help keep the school running smoothly. Teachers committed to more all-school meetings, on Monday mornings for Havdallah and all-school Shabbat on Friday afternoons and once a month on Friday mornings. We read A Letter in the Scroll, thinking deeply about what it means to be in Jewish Early Childhood Education. Through our introduction to concepts of appreciative inquiry, conversations about difficult moments are approached with a spirit of inquiry and seeds for change.
November 2011:
The ways teachers are supported in classrooms has shifted; teachers are more creative and helpful to one another. The leadership team is more responsive to teachers’ needs, both in the moment and long term.
"Understanding the value of empathy is something I learned in the Fellowship." |
"The Fellows have become a small family of teachers, directors, and leaders who will continue to impact the greater Seattle area through early childhood education." |
"This has resulted in common language not just for the younger grade levels and preschool, but also for the whole school." |