A Newcomers Perspective on MEE
When moving your entire family to a new town and technically starting over, you are faced with numerous obstacles. But for most families, making sure your children have a smooth transition is a top priority above everything else. Below is our story.
In May of 2011 we decided to buy a house in Ridgefield, which many say is the quintessential perfect town. I immediately started exploring schools, and to my dismay I didn’t find any Jewish nursery schools. Coming from Westchester both of my son’s attended Jewish day schools and we loved having them experience our religion as a part of their daily routine. My real-estate agent told us about MEE in Danbury and mentioned that she thought that it would be moving to Ridgefield in September. Perfect I thought! My agent also put me in touch with her friend whose children had and currently attend MEE. About a quarter of the way into the conversation with her friend, I knew that the school would be a perfect fit. She spoke highly of the teachers and how they create a warm and caring environment for the children while making learning fun.
Next on the list was to speak with Naava (the director) and Taila (teacher). It was crystal clear that the driving forces behind this school have a true passion for sharing the gift of education in a warm and loving environment. It didn’t matter to me that the school was practically starting over, or that the class size might be small. I felt that a school with dedicated visionaries who truly love what they do will surely succeed.
So without having the opportunity to visit the school or meet the teachers, I made my decision to send Jake to MEE. To my delight, Jake couldn’t be happier! The class size is perfect and the children are wonderful. Naava the director had shared with me her hopes and dreams for this new school and she had made some promises to the families, some that I was skeptical they would meet on time. She said there would be a playground built this year and sure enough you can see that adorable playground today (it took our last school three years to build a new playground). She also discussed the new space on the second floor and how construction was to be completed in less than a few weeks (we all know how long construction takes, if they say 3 weeks they mean 7). On the first day of school I entered the building for the first time and discovered that the Temple itself is an incredibly gorgeous structure. Then I walked up to the second floor for the nursery school, and true to her word, the space is beautiful, warm and welcoming….and it was completed on time.
So needless to say we took a chance on sending Jake to a school that I had never seen or personally met the teachers or other families. But the gamble paid off and our son Jake is thriving at MEE. The families have been very supportive and the teachers simply wonderful. I’m thankful that Jake will have the opportunity to learn more about his religion, meet new friends and be taught by some of the most loving teachers I know. But most of all, I sleep well at night knowing that Jake wants to go to school each day and that his transition was an easy one.
-Amy Margulies
