By Regan Lipes
(AJNews) – Talmud Torah’s Early Learning Center (TTELC) is where so many little ones in the Edmonton Jewish community get their first start: playing together, socializing, discovering new things, and building bonds based on their shared heritage and identity. It is about community, and it is about the family that develops outside of the home too, according to Sacha Brodie the Director of the ELC. This feeling of ‘family’ is not just for the children who form lifelong friendships with their classmates, but for the staff who work side-by-side and watch them grow.
The last five years at TTELC have been a time of huge transformation and improvement. Program Coordinator Jennie Leonard joined the team 4.5 years ago and remembers starting out, as so many have, opening the front door and monitoring security. For the veteran childcare professional, this gave her time to observe and inventory what worked under the old system, and what would need to evolve. With 27 years of experience under her belt, many spent evaluating compliance with universal standards for health and safety, Leonard knew what needed to happen. “Definitely my vision coming into this was looking at improving and changing the Centre to meet today’s standards in childcare as well as the standards that I had in place and what I would have liked to see.”
When Brodie assumed the helm three years ago, she found that her vision aligned with the direction Leonard was already steering the ship. “I was impressed by the team,” explained Brodie in a recent interview with the AJNews held in the epicenter of where all the magic happens. “When I first came in for my interview and looked around, I immediately had a lot of respect for the women in the rooms. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be moments of chaos when working with little kids, but these ladies all had things under control. The children were on task and engaged, and activities were running smoothly.” This was exactly the kind of group of dedicated early childhood educators Brodie could work with. “I decided this place would be like my own baby,” she said with a smile.
She began by turning to the staff and listening to them: “They’re the ones in the rooms after all, so whenever I approach something like updating a space, I want to hear from the people who are using it every day.” This value that is placed on the observations and feedback provided by staff may be a huge factor in why TTELC is such a positive environment. “We go one room at a time. We clear out what has just accumulated over time and evaluate what is there, piece-by-piece. We look at: do we have enough toys, do we have enough materials, and does everybody have everything they need for their day-to-day purposes. Down to the furniture itself, everything is looked at through a seasoned educator’s gaze. “We have to make determinations like whether the chairs and tables are the appropriate height for that age group of kids.”
Both Brodie and Leonard were focused on the smaller details but never lost sight of the big picture. “I was always told that this was a bilingual centre but I never saw any bilingualism happening. There would be the occasional bulletin board with Hebrew, or the occasional song that was listened to in Hebrew, but I felt like there was more that needed to happen. It was a challenge and a learning experience, that’s for sure,” explained Leonard with sincerity. Neither Brodie nor Leonard are Hebrew-speakers, or even Jewish for that matter. “We both knew that we needed to be doing a better job fostering a bilingual environment,” added Brodie. “I did some research and found another centre in town that is also bilingual, and we went on a field trip and observed over there,” Leonard elaborated. “I also found studies from European bilingual early learning programs to see what is working for them. These studies identified that bilingualism was much more productive when a dedicated person would primarily communicate with the children in the second language.” Brodie explained that they began by targeting Hebrew language acquisition by designating one hour a day with older ELC groups for activities and instruction. She added: “But it isn’t enough to do this just for the older kids. We agreed that it needed to be universal throughout the ELC.”
Brodie and Leonard, a productive team to be sure, set up a system where each classroom would have a dedicated Hebrew-speaker: not just for one hour a day, but for language exposure throughout. “Since neither of us come from Jewish backgrounds,” explained Leonard, “we thought it would be really helpful to compile a reference with resources for our educators who aren’t Jewish.” Both Leonard and Brodie are adamant that this compilation of material is not a curriculum, as this term would connote expectations that must be met. “It is more like a place to turn to for ideas and material related to different topics and holidays to better support our staff as they provide for the kids,” concluded Leonard. This resource began as an undertaking pioneered by Brodie and Leonard, but soon the Education Committee at the ELC recognized the value in the endeavor and provided added support. Now educators have a resource for explanations, best practices, and even successful activity ideas. For any questions about religious observance, kashrut, or just making sure that things are done properly, Brodie and Leonard know that they can always turn to Rabbi Guy Tal at Beth Israel Synagogue. “Yes, whenever we bring in new foods or ingredients for things we always check them with Rabbi Tal.”
Brodie credits her team with the success of the ELC. “I remember when I first started out in early childhood education, and I had a director who almost never came into the rooms. I was doing everything by-the-book and went above and beyond. Because of this she knew she didn’t need to check up on me,” recalled Brodie. “I told myself that when I would become a director, I would always take the time to make sure that my team felt appreciated.” Perhaps this is why they can retain staff. “We haven’t needed to hire anybody new in over a year,” Leonard continued.
If the staff want to be there, then they will have more love and energy to give to the children. “When I go home, I always say that I have a hundred and one kids,” joked Leonard. “When they’re here with us, these little ones are our kids.” In an industry predominantly supported by women, it is no wonder that the female spirit of nurturing is at the core of how the pedagogy is approached, and how the management is maintained. Whether it be ordering Hebrew-language classroom materials and engaging visual objects to enhance learning or getting ready for the next holiday well in advance of art projects, Sacha Brodie is on the job. She knows that programming is in capable hands with Jennie Leonard, and the dynamic duo have unwavering trust in their team. The early Jewish learners of Edmonton are in skilled and caring hands.
Click here for more information about the TT ELC.
Regan Lipes is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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