Please let me begin that I don’t look at it as training, experience, or help that I received last year; it was a partnership like no other I have encountered during my 24 years in education, 11 being in a leadership position.
I have to admit, when I set up my first meeting with Hannah Thompson, I was hesitant and was prepared to meet with an outside source that had great ideas but little practical help for our school. What a mistake that assumption turned out to be. From our first meeting, Hannah came prepared with physical materials to use in our classrooms for our new social emotional curriculum and a slew of online, easily accessible articles for teachers and parents. The amount of work she put into customizing the training and resources we needed is indescribable. You could imagine my disappointment when she told me she was moving to pursue her Ph.D in Child and Family Studies at the University of Nashville.
But… in true Start Well fashion, Hannah hand chose her replacement for me, and Kim Versluis became our new Start Well partner/trainer. She picked up right where Hannah left off and brought even more resources and supplied personal training sessions for our teachers. She also walked me through step-by-step the PTRYC process when working with a child and their family on goals for the child. She set up the entire team, including the parents and in her gentle, encouraging way, got everyone on board. At the end of the process, our staff was well-trained and able to train other staff on what we learned. The parents were willing and informed on what their next steps were for this year to help their son be successful in kindergarten!
Thank you Start Well for the BEST resource there is for our children of the future. With your help, I know this upcoming generation will be emotionally equipped, socially responsible, and educationally prepared for their future.