Birch’s Gladys Tavares Burns the Midnight Oil
With nearly 25 years at Washington Heights Education Center, this Early Education teacher represents everything we aspire to at Birch Family Services.
Karen Hazel, Principal of Washington Heights Education Center; and Gladys Tavares, WHEC Early Childhood Education Teacher
“Gladys Tavares represents all the qualities that we aspire to here at the Washington Heights Education Center. She is warm and welcoming, infinitely patient, always respectful and committed to excellence in education. Now, approaching her twenty-fifth year here at WHEC, it is impossible to chronicle the number of students she has impacted since she first started as a Teaching Assistant.
“At 5:00 PM when the lights are mostly out in the building, Gladys can often be found in her classroom hard at work. – WHEC Principal Karen Hazel”
A mother of five boys, Gladys put herself through school at night, receiving a Bachelor’s degree from City College in 2012 and became a certified Early Childhood teacher in 2014. She has helped to mold our Universal Pre-K program into one that is highly respected and sought out by the community.
Gladys’ classroom is uniquely inviting with floral shops during planting time, student art inspired by Vincent VanGogh’s “Starry Night” and Raincloud-in-a-Jar science experiments. At 5:00 PM when the lights are mostly out in the building, Gladys can often be found in her classroom hard at work.
As the school building leader, I am eternally grateful for all that Gladys does to enrich the culture here at Birch Family Services, her collaborative interactions with others, and her drive to propel the students and families in our community to accomplish new heights.”
–WHEC Principal Karen Hazel
Washington Heights Education Center is a Birch Family Services program that provides early childhood services for preschool and K-2 children with developmental delays as well as typically developing four year olds.