Saluting Local Heroes of The Associated: The Teachers at the JCC

May 7, 2021 The Associated

The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded we all make sacrifices. We’ve worn masks, social distanced, postponed simchas and in too many cases, endured unthinkable tragedy.

Despite these hardships, some have looked beyond their personal challenges to help others who are struggling. We’re proud to say that a few of these brave and generous individuals reside in our own Jewish community.

From preparing hundreds of grilled cheese sandwiches to phoning neighbors in order to combat loneliness to helping survivors of domestic violence to making sure our youngest community members can go to school — these are a few local heroes who give us something to kvell about.

The Associated salutes these individuals who have been involved with our Associated system for their dedication and commitment this past year.

Like so many other schools, the Stoler Early Learning Center (ELC) at the JCC was forced to close last March when COVID-19 hit.

“We thought we’d be closed for a few weeks,” recalls Sharon Seigel, senior program director at the JCC.

So much for positive thinking. “In reality, the teachers taught virtually for six weeks and then we started to offer classes on Zoom, bedtime stories on Facebook and daily blog posts with ideas for home lessons and activities,” says Danielle Ashendorf, ELC director.

In June, the school made the difficult decision to reopen only one ELC — The Stoler Early Learning Center on the Owings Mills campus — with strict health and safety measures in place. Though it was “scary” to return to in-person classes, “the creative excellence and resilience of our educators has shown through,” says Ashendorf.

It wasn’t always easy and remains a challenge. Since not all teachers were able to return to school, there were staffing issues. The teachers who did return had to adhere to strict MSDE, CDC and Health Department cleaning requirements. Emerging data about the pandemic meant there were frequent changes in licensing and JCC guidelines. Teachers had to adapt then pivot quickly and repeatedly. Teachers worked mostly in isolation with planning and staff meetings held virtually. In order to keep children and teachers safe, students and teachers could not socialize or share space in the building.

In spite of it all, says Ashendorf, the teachers made these adjustments “without sacrificing their commitment to the children or their educational experiences. Our educators are thrilled to be back with the children, who are thriving! We are truly blown away at how quickly our community came back together!”