Mark your calendars: Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8 – May 12! While we appreciate our teachers all year round, we want to take this week to shed some extra love on the wonderful humans who are truly the foundations of our Haven community.
Research has revealed that the brain develops fastest in the first five years of life. This makes Early Childhood Education (ECE), or the period from infancy to kindergarten, a fundamental building block for all future learning and growth. We know that these building blocks take a village.
With the belief that parents are the first and most important teacher in a child’s life, Haven comes in to support both you and your child during these years and beyond.
The secondary group of teachers we support is our incredible team of educators. Filled with a seemingly endless amount of love and patience, these educators provide the children who fill their classrooms an understanding that they are safe in a new environment outside of their home. They help us administer a research-backed, play-based, highly personalized blend of Reggio Emilia philosophy and Montessori-style learning, a curriculum designed to plant “emotional, social and cognitive skills needed to become lifelong learners” (UMass Global). They are the driving force behind our holistic approach to ECE, fostering worlds where our young children flourish through a selfless, almost parental level of care. Haven’s vision is realized because of this team.
As we watch our teachers pour into our students, we take great care in making sure they’re not pouring from an empty cup! Changing the narrative for often undervalued caregivers, founder Britt Riley is determined to “reset the bar by ensuring Haven caregivers are offered an industry leading compensation package, giving them the careers they have given themselves for years before arriving at our door.” Between the compensation and benefits packages there are other highlights to being part of the Haven family: we have small class sizes and low ratios, tuition and professional development assistance, occasional massages and wellness opportunities onsite and a well-supplied snack bin (????). These are just some of the ways we aim to recognize the sacrifice of our educators. This month and this Teacher Appreciation Week in particular, help us further that aim – thank a teacher today and share with us what your haven family has done for you and your little ones!
