Retiring director leaves a lasting legacy at JCC’s early childhood center

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

In her desk drawer, Dolores Greenfield still keeps a copy of the class photo from the last preschool class she taught before becoming executive director of the early childhood center at the JCC MetroWest. Some of the students in that picture have returned to the West Orange preschool with their own children in tow.

In the 30 years spanning those generations, Greenfield transformed what she described as a “straight nursery school” with a “good reputation” at what was then known as the Y in West Orange into a full-scale early childhood center on two campuses with traditional half-day preschool classes as well as a full-day preschool, before- and after-care options for working parents, family programming, day-care facilities for babies, and an after-school program for older children. The staff has grown from 10 to 70, the student population from 135 to over 375 at its two locations in both West Orange and Whippany.

Greenfield’s tenure at the center was marked by innovation and expansion. She fostered parental involvement in the school, implemented family education, and infused the curriculum with Jewish learning.

That’s the legacy she handed down on Jan. 10, when she retired as executive director of the Center for Children, Youth and Families at JCC MetroWest.

She will be replaced by Johanna Sohinki, who takes over as Early Childhood Services director on Jan. 31. (See sidebar, page 12.)

“I’m not disappearing,” Greenfield said. She plans to continue as a consultant as needed, and will also consult for the JCC Association in New York City and other preschools on its behalf. She also plans to spend her retirement visiting her 15 grandchildren who live on three continents; returning to art, her first passion; and working on the matchmaking committee at her synagogue, Congregation Israel of Springfield.

Teachers — many of whom first came in contact with the preschool as parents themselves — say her reputation drew them to the program. “There was an excitement that came out of her room,” said Sandy Sachs, a parent who would become a teacher at the school, run the Whippany campus’ early childhood center, and ultimately become director of the preschool at Congregation Beth El in South Orange.

And parents still remember the projects their children did in Greenfield’s class. “My daughter was in her last four-year-old class in 1979,” said Jo Davison, another parent-turned-teacher. “We were thrilled to be at the Y. I still have her ‘me’ book.”

Many current and past teachers said her constant prodding was critical to her success as a leader and mentor. Teachers were required to be certified in CPR and take continuing education classes, and as educational theory evolved, so did the school, embracing Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and other approaches in the classroom.

“She never seemed to be satisfied with the same thing we were doing. She always questioned us and stretched us,” said Donna Cohen, a kindergarten teacher who began, of course, as a parent. “Even when we had a terrific program, that wasn’t enough. She challenged us to do more.”

Sometimes her criticism was direct, as in, “Is that the same bulletin board?” Davison recalled her asking. “Things had to change constantly. That created a lot of excitement in the classrooms.”

Many of the teachers’ early memories of Greenfield are wrapped in personal reflections, like the invitation Cohen received for her entire family to have dinner in the sukka at Greenfield’s home.

Music teacher Ronnie Weinstein said that is just the way she treats people. “She’s very warm and caring. When she talks to you, you feel she’s interested in you and in your children and in your whole family.”

And then there is the community Greenfield created for them at the JCC. “We all helped each other,” said Davison. “It was expected of us. It was a team effort. That was the kind of school she ran.”

Mommy and Mishna

Greenfield bumped into the idea of early education as a career when her own children enrolled at the local day school in Margate around 1970. She had been substitute teaching at their preschool.

“The day school wanted to set up a preschool… and they asked me,” she said. “It was before I had any educational training. We set it up and I taught there for three years.” An artist by training, she was hooked, and earned a degree in early childhood education during a stint in Atlanta. In 1974, she returned to New Jersey and began work at the Y. She served as assistant director from 1974-1981, and became director in 1981.

Greenfield began taking on administrative tasks shortly after she arrived, and from early on, she saw potential for the school.

“I saw the opportunities for expansion even then. There were no parent-child programs; there was no such thing as lunch programs,” she said. “And suburban life has taken away the playgrounds and coffee klatches where parents with young children met each other. I saw the JCC as having the potential to replace them.” Although there wasn’t a particular moment when it clicked, she said she just began gathering information. “You know how knowledge is; you gain it from all over. I saw parents looking for more.”

She began with parent-child programs, today commonly referred to as “Mommy and Me,” and then expanded the role of parents in the school by establishing the Parent Advisory Committee, known as PAC, and inviting parents into the school for assemblies and other programs.

“Preschool teachers are trained to work with children. But in my heart, I have always believed the home-school connection is an opportunity to enhance the child’s experience, but only if the parents are involved,” she said.

But there was still something missing: Jewish education. The national JCC Association had a similar idea at the same time. “The JCCA was on a mission to maximize the Jewish life of JCCs. That tapped into my deep-seated commitment to Jewish education at school. It gave affirmation of where I wanted to see the school grow and move.”

Today, the curriculum is infused with Jewish education, from Shabbat and holiday celebrations, Israel visiting day, and Sunday in the Sukkah, to the annual tzedaka breakfast and the JCCA Pirkei Avot program piloted at the JCC MetroWest preschool. “We are building a Jewish memory for our families, and giving people opportunities to have very positive Jewish encounters,” she said.

The Jewish education component has had an impact on the teachers as much as the students. “I did not expect to become fulfilled in Judaism when I started here,” said Cohen. But from the first dinner in the sukka, that’s what has happened. “I have explored the inner meanings of every holiday we teach the children with [Greenfield] on a personal and educational level.”

That was Greenfield’s plan. “I know from my own experience, the way you grow is if you have knowledge. Part of what drove me into education was a search for knowledge. The personal thrust for me is that it’s not just secular knowledge but Jewish knowledge as well.”

The culmination of her efforts in this area came just a few years ago when the JCC was selected to pilot the Peer K Ethical Start program, the first formal values-based preschool curriculum, from 2002-2004. Developed by the JCC Association, it teaches Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, with the help of a doll named Peer K.

Today, she sees it as the culmination of her vision for the school. The program has teachers who never studied Jewish texts before working together to learn mishnayot, or sayings, from Pirkei Avot; children in the classrooms learning to apply teachings like “Look on the inside of the jug, not on the outside” to their everyday lives; and families coming to the JCC together in the evening for Pirkei Avot learning opportunities.

Her job has not been without its challenges, from keeping the curriculum focused on play in an era of ever-increasing academic expectations, to recruiting top teachers in a field where salaries are generally low. But when she looks back, she is content. “When you decide it’s time to retire, you should feel as good as I feel,” she said. “I’ve had an absolutely extraordinary career. I could never have envisioned that it would be as satisfying as it was.”

Johanna Ginsberg can be reached at jginsberg@njjewishnews.com.

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