Tuesday Vanstory

I heard about Miquon years ago during my morning commute to high school. A fellow student often talked to peers on the train about a magical place called Miquon, from which she had left and loved to the core. I was curious. The passion with which she talked about her school seemed so different from what I felt about attending my new high school. What reverberated in my mind were the words, “I love my school.”

Years later, when it came time to select a school for our first child, my husband and I decided to visit Miquon. I had never actually set foot on the campus. When I did, the search was over; all other possibilities faded. We imagined our son there, happy and thriving. That’s what he did for four years (Nursery-2nd grade). When we attended Miquon gatherings for parents, we felt we had found “our people.” I felt a strong sense of shared values, warmth, and community. My child was independent, socially connected, and exercised agency. He was known so thoroughly by his teachers. Miquon was a love experience for my child, and I dreamed that it might someday be a love experience for me as a Teacher. I am fortunate to have that opportunity now.

I respect children’s brilliance and grit and continue learning from them daily. What in the beginning is a class list of names on a piece of paper later becomes a community of whole, complex, gifted young people whom I grow to love over time.

I am a daughter, a sister, a wife of the best guy in the world, and a mom of two precious adult children. I am also a mad gardener and a passionate lover of nature.