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Hello, my name is Donna Kaye and I have been with
Somerset Academy for the past 8 years. I was born in New
York, but have been raised in Florida. My parents and my
sister all live in Florida but the rest of my family
have remained up north.
Before arriving at Somerset Academy, my passion was
preschool. Although the roots of Early Childhood
Education extend as far back as Piaget and Erik Erikson,
it was a relatively new approach to education in the
early nineties. Not many colleges offered it as a major
and the ones that did, offered it as a pilot program. It
seemed so natural to learn by doing instead of by being
told. When I began my college classes, I was mesmerized
and took all of my lessons and applied them in my own
PreK classroom. Small groups, centers, positive
reinforcement, and hands on activities made perfect
sense to me; I felt that I knew where I belonged.
I went on from there to receive both my Bachelors and
Masters degrees in Early Childhood Education and have
also received my CDA. In May 2007, I completed by
studies and now hold my Doctorate in Child and Youth
Studies. Leaving the preschool arena was a difficult
choice but has proven to be very rewarding. Stepping
into a traditional classroom that included
accountability in the form of grades and pencil and
paper activities was at first daunting. It has been a
hard transition, and continues to be a difficult
balancing act, to encompass my love for the hands-on,
learn through play philosophy, while meeting the
standards set forth by the Department of Education.
Every chance I get, I continue to bring in the
strategies of ECE and the methods of NAEYC.
Somerset Academy’s first year in its new Chapel Trail
building was my first year there and it seems as the
school and I have grown up together. I have had a place
in both the teaching world and the administrative one at
Somerset for many years, but this is my first year as
the Assistant Principal of the Elementary, and my first
year without a class! I continue to work to help make
our school the best that it can be and still hold tight
to the philosophy that brought me to Somerset in the
first place; all children can learn and should be
challenged at their individual level.
It is my desire to make a difference in the lives of
others that keeps me motivated and keeps my love for our
school alive.
dkaye@somersetacademy.com
(School Notes)
Assistant
Principal
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