Join Mayor Bowser tomorrow at Stevens Early Learning Center in support of investments for affordable, quality childcare and to strengthen early childhood education programming for children and families. Thursday, 6/3 at 11:00 am, 1050 21st Street, NW.
View the full press release Mayor Bowser’s investment on high-quality child care on here.
What is your role at Stevens for the SY20-21? How long have you been teaching? This will be my fourth year teaching Pre-K in DC. Prior to joining Stevens ELC to teach Pre-K 4, I taught in mixed-age Pre-K classrooms in local charter schools. I am excited to join the Stevens team and begin a new adventure.
What do you love most about the early childhood education (ECE) age group? Young children consistently inspire me with their ability to flourish when provided with the tools, strategies and opportunities they deserve. When offered respect, time and support, our youngest learners build caring, adaptive, and creative classroom communities together. I also feel that working with young children brings out the best in me. They inspire me to be curious, patient, welcoming and forgiving. I feel lucky to be part of a profession that cultivates joy, creativity and friendship between students, families and educators.
Can you share a little about your teaching philosophy? I believe in the power of high-quality ECE experiences and the importance of reflective and responsive practice. I believe my primary responsibility as an educator is to design a responsive education experience that introduces school as a place of joy, growth, questioning and support for both students and families. I believe children thrive best when we hold high expectations for both them and ourselves, but always remember that everyone requires time and love to grow.
How can we make virtual learning successful? Be responsive and adaptive while also anticipating needs. As teachers, we need to think through the details from the perspective of our students and their families at all times. We then also need to work individually with families to tailor the experience to their family’s unique needs
What are some of your favorite children’s books? Gazpacho for Nacho by Tracey C. Kyle and Little Cloud by Eric Carle
What was your favorite childhood book? My favorite childhood book was Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Fun fact about myself: I have 9 nieces and nephews!
What is your role at Stevens for the SY20-21? How long have you been teaching? This year I will be teaching in Stevens Communication and Education Support (CES) classroom! This will be my third year in DCPS. I previously taught in a CES classroom for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students.
What are you looking forward to the most? This will be my first year with the early childhood age group, but I am looking forward to creating a classroom environment that encourages students to lean into their curiosities as young learners and supporting them as they explore new concepts.
Can you share a little about your teaching philosophy? I think it is best to lead with love. In order for students to be successful in the classroom (and beyond), I think it is so important to continually communicate to each student, through my words and actions, that they are valued, and their thoughts, ideas, experiences, and emotions are heard and they matter. Building those relationships with students and creating a classroom space that is grounded in respect can influence how they develop and see themselves and others. I think students learn best when they feel they have a team on their side always rooting for them!
How can we make virtual learning successful? At challenging time like this, I think we can make virtual learning successful by remaining understanding when collaborating with the students and all of those who support them. Learning, teaching, and living in these circumstances can be overwhelming so it is critical that when working with everyone in our community we remember that everyone is adapting, learning as they go, and trying their best to support the students. I always want to communicate to students, parents, and families that I am grateful for their support and participation in virtual learning and want to be considerate of their student/family needs in order to have this be a positive and constructive experience.
What are some of your favorite children’s books? I love reading books from the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems. My students really enjoy these characters and think they are so funny. Often times, I’ll read the stories out loud with a lot of animation or do silly voices and the students will repeat some of the text back, so I love hearing them have fun with the story as well!
What was your favorite childhood book? I’m Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell.
If you could have any super power what would it be and why? I would love to have the ability to fly. I think it would be cool to see things that I can typically see, but from a different perspective. Also, I would love to have the ability to travel far and wide so quickly, whenever I wanted!
We are so excited Ms. Tsou from the Fillmore Arts Center is joining the Stevens ELC staff!
What is your role at Stevens for the SY20-21? How long have you been teaching? My role at Stevens for the SY20-21 is the Physical Education Teacher. I have been teaching health and physical education teacher for 2 years.
What do you love most about the ECE age group? I love being a part of my students’ start of their educational journey and seeing them happy and healthy. I love being a positive role model for my young learners!
Can you share a little about your teaching philosophy? As a health and physical education teacher, my philosophy is to teach my students the motor skills, knowledge and behaviors to be physically active. I value providing my students with the ability and confidence to be physically active and healthy for a lifetime.
What are some resources to help make virtual learning for PE successful? Amazing resources on YouTube that will help make virtual learning successful include “Have Fun Teaching” YouTube channel, “Cosmic Kids Yoga” YouTube channel, “GoNoodle | Get Moving” YouTube channel, and “Little Sports” YouTube channel.
What are some of your favorite PE resources that families could use? Some PE resources I love include the YouTube channels listed above as well as the “Healthy Helpings: A MyPlate Game” to help make learning about balanced meals fun!
What was your favorite childhood PE-related memory? My favorite childhood PE memory was playing with the giant colorful parachute. I loved playing Cat and Mouse underneath the parachute!
If you could have any super power what would it be and why? If I could have any super power it would be super speed, so I can be active and healthy!
Learn more about our music teacher and what kinds of resources he recommends for your family at home!
What is your role at Stevens for the SY20-21? How long have you been teaching? I will be the music specialist at Stevens for the SY20-21. I finished my MMEd at Boston Conservatory in 2015 and went on to teach PreK through 8th Grade music in Massachusetts. I am very excited to teach our new students this year!
What do you love most about the ECE age group? Teaching this age group reminds me that music is for everyone. Regardless of ability or background, anyone is capable of engaging in, and finding joy in, music. Just like our young learners, anyone can find joy in singing, dancing, and music making!
Can you share a little about your teaching philosophy? “If you’re not having fun then you’re doing it wrong.” It sounds simple enough but it’s true; students are more likely to be engaged if the lesson is exciting and full of joy. Especially at this age, where children learn through tactile/kinetic experiences. In order to foster interest in our subject areas, we should show the kids why we fell in love with it too!
How can we make virtual learning successful? Virtual learning will be successful if the community – teachers, families, and peers – are there to support our students during this very strange time in our lives. If we all make the commitment to our students, we will get through this with flying colors.
Are there any resources you recommend for families? As far as music resources, I just recommend any music making apps or websites that are user friendly and get kids making music quickly. For smartphones there are an endless number of apps. A fun website for students and parents to explore is Incredibox, where you can easily make your own songs.
What are some of your favorite children’s books or music resources? For Books, I love Oh, The Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss, as well as Strega Nona by Tommie dePaola.
For Music, I always recommend a cd by Raffi. Also check out 1, 2, 3 Andres! For some great bilingual children’s music.
What was your favorite childhood book or music memory? Sitting in the car with my dad listening to all of his Rolling Stones albums. Then memorizing the words to all the songs. Then singing those songs to anyone who would listen, making my dad laugh.
If you could have any super power what would it be and why? I would love to teleport!
What is your role at Stevens for the SY20-21? How long have you been teaching? I am one of two Early Learning Supports Teachers at Stevens. This is my 17th year teaching and my 13th year in DCPS. I spent the last 12 years at Oyster Adams where I opened and taught in the ELS classroom. I also opened an inclusive Pre-k classroom and taught a year of kindergarten. I am very excited and honored to be a part of the Stevens community!
What do you love most about the ECE age group? Teaching in early childhood is pure joy! I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in creative work each and every day. I love the passion with which young children approach everything in their lives. They are compassionate and kind and fiercely love their friends. They dive into every activity with commitment, courage, and creativity.
Can you share a little about your teaching philosophy? I strive to build a warm, loving, structured, and equitable classroom community. Children thrive in an environment where they feel safe, loved, and heard. In my classroom community, children have a voice in developing the classroom community and learning space. Children learn best when they have opportunities to grow, explore, and express themselves through play, construction, creation, discovery, and design.
How can we make virtual learning successful?
What are some of your favorite children’s books? There is so much joy and creativity in children’s literature it’s hard to choose! Here are some favorites:
Hug, by Jez Alborough (this is the loveliest little book about helping a friend)
Oh No George by Chris Haughton (his books have a sweet sense of humor and gorgeous illustrations)
What was your favorite childhood book? I loved Richard Scarry books because of the intricate and detailed illustrations. I would pore over them for days and days.
What is a fun fact to share with our families? Fun fact: I studied to be an actress before becoming a teacher! It’s been a natural transition from acting to teaching because like acting, much of teaching is about listening, observing, reflecting, and responding. I love to incorporate my musical training and singing into my teaching as much as possible.
Meet one of our Early Learning Supports (ELS) teachers, Kristen Brown!
What is your role at Stevens for the SY20-21? How long have you been teaching? This is going to be my 8th year teaching and my 4th year teaching with DCPS. I will be one of the Early Learning Support teachers. Previously I taught in a prek CES classroom.
What do you love most about the ECE age group? I love ECE because you can incorporate so much learning into play and see so much progress in students so quickly! I love teaching foundational skills that I know will benefit each student forever.
Can you share a little about your teaching philosophy? I believe each student learns best when instruction is tailored and differentiated to meet their own learning needs. Education is not one size fits all. I love creating materials and adapting the curriculum for my students to make sure every student has access to learn.
How can we make virtual learning successful? We can make virtual learning successful by having compassionate collaboration. This is such a challenging time for so many for many different reasons. Building relationships with families and students is key before learning can take place.
What are some of your favorite children’s books? Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus by Mo Willems, Dot by Peter Reynold, Pete the Cat, Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
What was your favorite childhood book? Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey
If you could have any super power what would it be and why? I would want to be able to fly so I defeat my fear of heights and also get from place to place faster!
Previously we shared the DC Public Library Books from Birth program with all our enrolled families in our e-newsletter. Families can sign up for a free book each month until their child is 5 years old!
Check out this presentation below to learn more about our librarian, Violette Taylor!
DCPS School Planning 