As we continue our Meet the Director blog series, we are excited to introduce you all to Ms. Jill! Ms. Jill is our Omaha Director and she is a beacon of light for all of her families and teachers. She welcomes new families in with a smile on her face and she mentors her teachers to help them grow in their classrooms.
To get to know Jill more, we asked her a few questions! Our first question was “What started your career in early childhood education?”
“I have always had a love for children and teaching them and I especially love early childhood because our students need the earliest opportunity to succeed and grow.”
Next up, we asked her “Why did you decide to become a Director at Yellow Brick Road?”
“Seeing the expectations that YBR has for their teachers and the interactions that are expected with the children made me believe that this is the place that I belong.” Ms. Jill’s teaching staff is exceptional andthey each have nurturing relationships with all of their students!
One of our favorite questions to ask our directors is, “What is the best piece of advice you could give to a first-time parent while they are touring preschools?”
She said that she would tell them, “To take their time, ask lots and lots of questions, and then
trust their instincts. Make sure that you find some place that best matches your own life style and needs.”
When you tell someone that you’re a Director at Yellow Brick Road, everyone wants to know, “What do you look forward to most when you come to work each day?”
“I look forward to a couple of things! First, the hugs upon hugs that I receive every time that I walk into a classroom. Second, is to share all of the things that I know are great about YBR with prospective parents. I love showing all of the great things that we have to offer.“
As a Director, growth is imminate and unavoidable, in the best ways possible! So, we asked Jill, “In which areas have you grown professionally since beginning your career with YBR?”
“YBR core values have added so much to my professional growth. Not only do I strive to exhibit these values myself but I look for them in all of the staff in the building. By constantly watching for them in others I find myself automatically exhibiting the values myself.”
It is no secret that we care about our core values A LOT! We talk about them in every orientation, tour, staff development day, and especially our classrooms! We had to ask Jill, “Which of our core values stands out the most to you?”
“They all are so important but my favorite is Collaboration. We can not be a successful group of people without working together. It takes everyone working together to build a place that our children can be successful.”
Our final question that we asked Jill was this, “What piece of advice would you give to a teacher beginning their career in early childhood education?”
“Be patient with not only the children and with yourself. Give yourself the time to learn and grow. With time and patience you can become the great care giver you want to become.”
We love having Ms. Jill in our Omaha school! When we came into the Omaha area, she was welcoming and supportive of our school, our program, and excited about our promises to our families! She has helped us uphold those promises in our Omaha location, and we are so thankful.