This is a deep, professional practice

This week, I watched one of our teachers read a story to a group of children on the nature playground.

They sat, fully attentive, as she brought the characters to life. Her voice shifted with each character and emotion and she lingered on the pages the children loved most. She made connections to the children’s lives, turning it into a shared experience that extended beyond the book.

A few children stood off to the side and watched, then moved closer, drawn in without being asked.

This wasn’t just storytime. It was connection. While moments like these look simple, they are not. 

These moments require hours of planning, careful observation, and a commitment to creating spaces where children feel seen, respected, and invited into the joy of learning. What our teachers are doing, day after day, is highly skilled work.

The truth is, this work is demanding in ways that are often invisible.

It asks teachers to be fully present for many children at once, to anticipate needs, to hold emotions, to create structure and warmth at the same time. It asks them to give generously of themselves, throughout the day, and then return home and continue giving to their own families.

And too often, this work is misunderstood or minimized.

But there is nothing simple about what happens in our classrooms. There is skill and intention. There is deep professional practice.

When I first arrived at PIC, what struck me was the pride this team holds in their work and in this community. Their commitment does not end when the school day does. They are always thinking about how to strengthen their classrooms, how to support one another, how to make sure that every child and family who walks through our doors feels like they belong.

I am honored to lead this team, and I learn from them every day. They take this work seriously, not just in what they do, but in what it means. They care deeply about the children and families in their classrooms, and they hold themselves to a high standard. PIC is among the best because of what they bring to it every single day.