Corinne Bale

Feb 4, 2016

Dear Corinne,

Close your eyes with me and imagine this.  Joey and Tiffany are 12 years old and both sitting in their 7th grade classrooms participating in a science project about what homemade airplane flies best.  They are working with a group of their classmates and talking about their plans after school.  Joey will be practicing with the choir and Tiffany will be going to her gymnastics class.  The bell rings and they both walk out laughing and smiling.  Oh, I guess I didn’t let you know that Tiffany had a developmental delay and Joey is typically developing.  If you roll back the 12 years, Joey, Tiffany and countless infants, toddlers and preschoolers were fortunate enough to begin this critically important, inclusive learning and development journey in SPIN’s Early Childhood Center benefitting from the caring approaches and creative curriculum implemented by the highly skilled and talented children services team including a bright eyed, energized new Teacher Assistant in 2002 in our Childcare named Miss Corinne. 

Corinne, from the very first time that I saw you in action in the classroom, I was amazed by your ability to “do it all”, such as calm a full classroom of crying babies and have them in seconds laughing, singing, dancing, playing, learning, growing right before our eyes!  We marvel at your incredible ability to support the individualized needs of children ranging in age from three months to five years with and without disabilities treating all the children and their families with the utmost respect and care.  

In the classroom, you work with co-workers to provide a structured, learning environment and individualized activities that target each child’s strengths and areas of need.  Corinne, you demonstrate your leadership and competence in developing and implementing creative, age appropriate lesson plans and activities for the children.  You and Patti are an all-star team, working together with synergy, creating an environment filled with love, care, growth and development. 

The Children Services Managers, your nominators said in their nomination “Corinne is highly creative and flexible.  She is exceptional at absorbing knowledge, generalizing it into practice and then sharing with others.  Corinne is eager to take on new challenges and take advantage of new growth and learning opportunities. Corinne consistently strives to make learning fun and exciting. She incorporates Early Learning Standards into her lesson plans to ensure a well-rounded approach and curriculum She demonstrates SPIN’s Pillar’s in all that she does, taking great pride in her work.  Corinne’s commitment to be the best she can be for the children she supports and her dedication to the field of early childhood is strong and motivating.”

Corinne, you are a model of professionalism.  You have mentored so many new childcare employees who have relied upon you to prepare them for this challenging and oh so important work. Your people first and family friendly interactions create an environment of trust right from the start. You understand the importance of working as a team, and are able to communicate effectively and work cooperatively with your fellow colleagues and families. Families trust you to care for and develop their most important possession, their children! 

A current parent of a child in your classroom shared, “Corinne is a dedicated teacher; she is welcoming, energetic and genuine every day. The mornings can be chaotic, especially Mondays, with children coming in at different times, breakfast and general business to handle. Corinne is able to handle all of this with ease all while asking you how your weekend was. Corinne is always reassuring, positive and committed to addressing the child’s and the family’s needs. She provided support to our family and kept us informed of the new strategies to provide consistency across home and school environments. I am grateful to have her as my child’s teacher during a time when he is so impressionable. Corinne leads by example and it shows through the development of the young minds she influences daily.” 

Whether it is hearing you telling stories or singing songs on the daily nature walks, or creating a masterpiece for each to take home with pride to their families, or monitoring and documenting the children’s individualized outcomes, you do it with great integrity and pride.  

A little birdie, who is very important to me and who thinks the world of you, told me this “Miss Corinne understands each of their individualized needs.  She is so compassionate and giving. What I love to watch is Miss Corinne’s wonderful ability to teach them, love them, educate them, build them into the future leaders of tomorrow”. 

Corinne, on behalf of the SPIN Corporate Board, your colleagues, and most importantly the children and families you support each and every day, we congratulate you on this very deserving Employee of the Month Award for January, 2016. 

So, close your eyes and imagine Adrianna, Siena, Ethan, Maxwell, Eugene, Jaxon, Malcolm, Gia, Malayah, Jamei at 12 years old in the 7th grade and beyond making a difference in their communities because of the all-star early childhood SPIN team such as you, Miss Corinne, who invested in them at the most important time of their lives on their best, brightest life of possibilities journey!  

With Deepest Congratulations and Appreciation,
Judith Dotzman
Executive Director