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Local Woman Completes 40 Years as Smith Campus School TeacherForty years ago next month Shauneen Sullivan Kroll graduated from Smith armed with a brand new degree in education and went right to work at the Smith College Campus School. She only planned to stay there for a few years, but she's been at the campus school ever since. The school and its parent-teacher organization will mark her retirement and celebrate her contributions with an open house on Sunday, June 1, from 1:303:30 p.m. at the Fort Hill campus, which houses the campus school's infant center and toddler classes. Kroll began her teaching career as an assistant in the 3-year-old group and has worked with pre-schoolers ever since. Today, she oversees 3- and 4-year olds as a supervising teacher and "level coordinator" at Fort Hill. In her forty years as an early childhood educator, she has seen fashions come and go and, with them, changes in curriculum and theory as well as in the school and greater Northampton communities. In the old days, Kroll recalls, the pre-school session lasted only from 8:45 until 11:30 in the morning. Mothers, who rarely worked outside the home, took over in the afternoon. Now, many children come from families with two working parents who opt for an "extended day" that lasts until 5. One of Kroll's greatest pleasures has been "looking at the world anew through the eyes of children." She has also appreciated the opportunity to work with the college students who teach or observe in her classroom. While shepherding the children of others through their early years, Kroll also raised four of her own. Her daughter, Sabra, was once a student of Kroll's as is Sabra's daughter, Courtney, now. It is with mixed emotions that Kroll has decided to move on to "a new adventure." "I love my job," she says, "but it's time to do something else." In addition to helping host the open house, the PTO has collected funds which, at Kroll's request, will be used to purchase something for the Fort Hill playground that will commemorate her service to the school. "Shauneen Kroll has touched and enriched the lives of countless children over the past 40 years," notes Campus School Principal Cathy Reid. "Her presence will be missed, but her influence will live on." |
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