Education is About Teachers, Teachers, Teachers

by Mary McKown, Alum Parent and Board Member

Real Estate is all about: Location, Location, Location.

Education is all about, you guessed it: Teachers, Teachers, Teachers.

In the Spring of ’07, my husband and I embarked upon the elementary school search for our three children.  We strongly felt that choosing the right foundational school was key to their education. When we entered the Wilson School building, it felt like home. We immediately connected.  Eleven years later, our three children have successfully completed their elementary education at Wilson and are all thriving teenagers in secondary school. As an engaged parent while my children were at Wilson and now as a member of the Board of Trustees, I truly understand that the teachers were the linchpin to my children’s experience.

Breaking it down, I reflect on the following factors that endeared me to the value of the teachers and their contribution to my children's stellar outcome:

1) Wilson teachers are significantly long-tenured.  That tenure provides invaluable continuity. Just because they have been there a long time, doesn’t equate to a stale “because we’ve always done it that way” approach.  To the contrary, the teachers amazed me with meaningful evolution and innovation.

2) The presence of male teachers in the lower, primary, and upper grade levels gives a desirable gender balance frequently unheard of in an elementary school.

3) The two-teacher-per-classroom model is a stunning game-changer.  It really adds a great deal to have two different sets of strengths, two different life perspectives, and twice the attention of a traditional single teacher classroom.

4) Professional development is a key marker for quality of education.  Wilson invests in professional development at a level that is three times the norm.  

My three children, with three distinctly different personalities --as well as strengths and interests -- all received a highly tailored education from a staff of exceptional educators.  Those teachers really cared deeply and were enthusiastically dedicated to making the Wilson experience extraordinary. They only have one childhood, and I am so grateful that my children’s primary education was in the capable hands of the Wilson teachers.