NSU alumnus named Early Childhood Educator of Year

Jill Davis, early childhood teacher at Tulsa's Kendall-Whittier Elementary School and alumnus of Northeastern State University, is Oklahoma's Early Childhood Educator of the Year for 2009-10.

The award is given by the Early Childhood Association of Oklahoma and Smart Start Oklahoma. It is accorded to an outstanding professional teacher of programs for infants or toddlers, preschool or public school through the third grade. Davis was named the recipient at the ECAO conference Sept. 24-26 in Oklahoma City.

Commenting a few days after the conference, Davis wanted to thank her family.

"I would not be where I am today without the support of my husband, Joe, and son, Alden," she said.

Davis is National Board Certified as an Early Childhood Generalist. This year she won the Early Childhood Graduate Academic Achievement Award and earned her Master's degree from NSU with honors and a 4.0 grade-point average in Early Childhood Education.

In 2007, she was Kendall-Whittier's Teacher of the Year and among five finalists for Teacher of the Year in Tulsa Public Schools. She won the Early Childhood Undergraduate Achievement Award in 1999, and received her Bachelor's degree from NSU.

Davis maintains www.kinderfriends.com, a Web site offering resources and teaching ideas for early childhood instructors and families with young children. She also offers seminars on early childhood education with titles like "E-I-E-I-O to the Farm We Go," "Puppet Pizzaz" and "Run Run Run With the Gingerbread Man." She has made presentations at more than 75 conferences and workshops since 2004.

"I present on a variety of topics with practical ideas that early childhood teachers can take back to their classrooms to use the following day," Davis said. "A favorite is 'Dollar Store Teaching' where I show how to use the 'junk' you buy from the dollar store for games, centers, group times, et cetera."

Davis was told of and nominated for the award by Dr. Denise Daros-Voseles, associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction. Three others nominated Davis, including Kendall-Whittier principal Judy Feary. She also submitted essays concerning early childhood issues, her professional biography and philosophy of teaching.

From a young age Davis knew she wanted to be a teacher, but pictured herself teaching older students. When she moved to the Tulsa area shortly after the birth of her son, she elected to change her education major from elementary to early childhood.

"Under the guidance of a former NSU professor, Dr. Libby Ethridge, a whole new world opened up," she said. "I no longer saw children as a collective group of 'mini adults.' I realized they were unique individuals with unique learning needs. I also realized young children learn differently than adults."

Further exposure to the curriculum convinced Davis she wished to teach children just entering school.

"The more child development classes and field experiences I finished, the more that I knew I wanted to make a difference in the lives of young children and their families," she said. "My undergraduate work at NSU gave me the theoretical foundation and hands-on experiences I needed to be a successful educator."

As its name suggests, Davis' school stands in Tulsa's Kendall-Whittier district. Though adjacent to the University of Tulsa and the objective of vigorous reclamation efforts, the neighborhood remains home to many disadvantaged students.

Davis said she possesses the aptitude to create a learning program for any environment, and that Kendall-Whittier's urban setting is incidental to her goal of educating.

"NSU has an excellent early childhood program that prepared me to work with all young children, including those that attend Kendall-Whittier," she said. "Early childhood professors at NSU are amazing. They each have their own personalities and teaching styles that have made a unique contribution to my education."

Davis said NSU's education curriculum focused on all facets of educating children and helping teachers recognize the needs of students, whether emotional, physical, cognitive or social.

"This complimented my experience with working at Kendall-Whittier because the school has many programs designed to meet the needs of the whole child," she said. "The courses at NSU, especially the graduate courses, focused on the diversity that I see in my classroom children who are English language learners, children with special needs, children with unmet sensory needs, children that have dysfunctional family relationships and so on. For students who were not already working in this environment, the classes opened their eyes to things that were happening in classrooms like mine."

Davis said the best time to make an educational impact on children is before they ever enter school, but she believes she stands at the second-best window of opportunity.

"The rest of the early childhood years ages 3 to 8 are also important," she said. "There is a lot going on in the brain during these years. It is my job, as an early childhood educator, to provide learning opportunities that will meet the individual needs of every child."

10/08/2009

Published: 2009-10-08 00:00:00