A school is only as good as its teachers, and we work hard to attract and keep the very best. Our teachers are warm, nurturing, enthusiastic, and dedicated to the healthy growth and education of young children. Our teachers are highly skilled professionals, certified by the Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services to teach at the preschool level. For each class of 16 students there are two teachers, plus one parent helper. In addition, college student interns are often placed at WCNS, further raising the adult-to-child ratio.
Teachers consistently offer positive reinforcement to encourage children’s successes in all areas of development: physical and social skills, as well as cognitive skills. Teachers consistently model problem-solving language to help children internalize problem-solving skills, and to help them learn the words they need to identify and resolve conflicts positively. In the case of a dispute between two children, teachers will redirect the children, or remove them from the group to talk out the problem with them. Time outs are not used, but a teacher may remove an upset child from the group to provide comfort, so the child can calm down in order to work out the problem. Children are treated with the utmost respect, and their needs are lovingly met.
Teacher Bios
Margaret Clermont - (Director, and head teacher in the yellow room)
Margaret earned her BA from Boston University and her Masters in Elementary Education from Salem State College. She has continued her education, earning 21 additional credits in Early Childhood Education from Boston College, Wheelock College, and Massachusetts Bay Community College. Margaret taught fifth grade for five years in Milton and Topsfield, then taught five years as lead teacher for 4-year-olds at Wellesley Community Children’s Center. She has been the director of WCNS since the 1980s. Margaret is the proud mother of two grown sons.
Laura Palmer - (teacher - yellow room)
Laura earned her Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Aquinas Junior College and continued her studies for two more years at Lesley College. Laura lived in Alaska for six years, where her daughter was born in 1993. Laura first came to WCNS as a parent, substitute teacher, and camp counselor, then joined the staff as a full-time teacher in 2001.
Heather Seymour - (head teacher-purple room)
Heather graduated from Massachusetts Bay Community College in 1990, with an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education. She taught at The Preschool Experience in Newton, and for eight years at WCNS, before having twin daughters in 1998. She then ran a home day-care program for six years and returned to WCNS in 2005.
Mary Gilfoyle - (teacher-purple room)
Mary completed her BA at Lesley College, and her Masters in Creative Arts in Learning/Early Childhood Education at Lesley University. She taught at the Perkins School for the Blind for six years. She has also taught at the Bowen Coop Nursery School and the Little Red Wagon Playschool, in Newton, and the Evergreen Day School in Cambridge.