Tweny-two years ago, Deborah Meier founded the Mission Hill School, a small Boston Public School located in Jamaica Plain. She hired me to teach at Mission Hill, which was noble because that founding year was also my first year as a teacher. Both Deborah Meier and Dr. Theresa Perry have been my mentors throughout my years of teaching. They both honored and encouraged my out-of-the-box teaching and willingness to take risks in education, in addition to the importance I placed on families, communities, and democracy. Because Deborah and Theresa believed in me, I was able to grow and to make mistakes, knowing that they would both catch me when I fell. These are the same values I instill in each of my students at the East Boston Early Education Center. I also continue to use the “Mission Hill Habit of Mind and Work” in the Science Makerspace. 

Please take a listen to this recent Ethics in Education Network podcast featuring my mentor, Deborah Meier. She talks about what makes a good school and building and maintaining trust and mutual respect.