Our Preschool Teacher – Miss Jenny

 

Jennifer Chapman is an experienced teacher and parent, with a diverse background in early childhood development. Holding a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Portland State University, she has worked as the lead teacher at the Early Learning Community in Forest Grove and at the Gaston Community Preschool.

Jenny is mother to three kids, and her twin boys attended Hillsboro Parent Preschool for the 2016-2017/2017-2018 school years. She finds value in learning from the different styles and approaches of parents she meets and feels that the cooperative preschool model helps to promote true friendships between families, create a support network for parents, and provide a safe and nurturing environment for children.

In her time as a teacher, one of the facets that she has enjoyed most and found had the largest impact in children’s lives was working closely with parents and families. She has observed that helping parents to become educated in early childhood development improves their confidence, enjoyment, and involvement in parenting. She loves the philosophy of cooperative preschools because they encourage parents to learn about child development and learning as well as foster best practices within the classroom.

Jenny believes that children learn naturally through play when provided with a safe and nurturing environment, so she feels that her job as a teacher is to provide the optimal environment for such natural learning to occur.