Re “At a Critical Juncture, Ailing Audrey Stephens Anxious to Return”
[img]1633|left|Audrey L. Stephens||no_popup[/img]True to her vow the day before, Audrey Stephens, ailing with distressingly painful sciatica, returned to her post this morning as Director of the Office of Child Development.
Given the sweeping nationwide changes in attitudes and rules spawned by last Friday’s massacre in Newtown, as uncomfortable as the nerve problem is making her, it was worse being home in pain – doctor’s orders.
Back to Work
The post-Newtown news from the pre-school campus was that for the first time, all classrooms were locked – both those that lead outside and the doors that open to indoors.
Previously, only the classrooms leading outside were secured.
Said Ms. Stephens of the policy change: “I want to take a pro-active stance, not be reactive. I want children and families to be in a relaxed setting for learning.
“Now I know the days of old no longer are here. But we have created an environment where kids are free. They didn’t and don’t worry about (intruders). I do not want that to change.”
After 28 years as teacher and administrator at the Office of Child Development, which may sound more bureaucratic than traditional, she said families have quickly discover the campus environment not only is attuned to learning but also to nurturing.
When in-the-Dark Is Good
“Pre-school children have no idea – and they should not have any idea,” Ms. Stephens was saying, of recent events that have numbed the country.
“Right now, my job is being responsible for the children I have been charged with. Their environment must be a safe haven.
“When we make these changes, to be safer, they have to be done so that it is not apparent to the children. They must not be alarmed that anything has changed.
“If we lock one more door in the classrooms, that is okay. They are used to the doors being shut.
“They are used to having lockdown drills. I do them all the time. Earthquake drills.”
Some patterns, the director said, emphatically will not be altered.
“I am not, though, going to have conversations with children about subjects like shooters and killers,” Ms. Stephens said. “I am going to continue having conversations with children about being safe, the same kind we always have had.
“I will continue to talk to them about guns and those kinds of things that seem like fun, but really are not. I will say that guns are used by police officers. We don’t need them in school. We want to stress staying within the norm. We protect children. We keep them safe.
“When I am speaking with adults, I have them go through the School Safety Plan. ‘You will go through the plan,’ I say, ‘and we will practice it.’”
The School Safety Plan, implemented if a disaster strikes or looms, outlines where the preschool children may be picked up, at which of several gates, among strategic details.
“We want them to know that if (a natural disaster) happens, their children will be safe,” said Ms. Stephens. “Certain gates will be locked, and we let them know where they can pick up their children.”
