Elana Levine spent her childhood in Sylvania, Ohio, where she lived until her family moved to the Cleveland suburb of Solon after she finished sixth grade. After graduating from high school, Levine headed to the University of Michigan and decided to make it her permanent home.
Levine’s father worked as a pediatric cardiologist, while her mother focused on raising her and her older sister and younger brother. Levine is particularly close with her niece, Camille. In her free time away from work, Lee enjoys activities such as cooking, baking, reading, walking, exercising, and exploring new restaurants with friends.
Haisley teacher assistant Randa Ajlouny has worked with Levine for several years and greatly admires her ability to connect with students and meet their needs in a positive, caring manner.
“And she’s funny,” she said. “The kids enjoy her humor.”
Principal Robin Kocher said Levine is a dedicated teacher and leader who draws on her extensive experience to support her students.
“Ms. Levine relies on the relationships she builds with children in kindergarten and continues to check in with them as they move through Haisley,” says Kocher. “She is also the unofficial Haisley historian. She helps to onboard new staff—including me—about important Haisley traditions, including the annual ‘I am Thankful’ assembly.”
What’s the first thing people say when you say you’re a teacher?
Most people say, “Wow, I could never do what you do!” I appreciate this sentiment, as I know the challenges of this profession.
Why did you pursue a career in education?
I pursued a career in education as it finally made sense to me that I was meant to work with children. At first as an undergrad, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But I found myself always ending up doing things with children. I also remember thinking that teaching would be sort of monotonous, doing the same old thing every day. I quickly learned that that was definitely not the case!
Describe an average workday.
I’m an early bird, so I tend to get to work about an hour to an hour and a half before school starts. I check in with colleagues, prep for the day, and try to get ahead of planning. Once the students arrive, we start each day with a morning meeting, followed by reading and math instruction. Our afternoon involves phonics, writing, science, and social studies. I try to weave in breaks and recesses as well. I generally head home shortly after all is wrapped up at school, to get some exercise and have some dinner before winding down. Bedtime tends to be early because kindergarten teacher = tired teacher.
What do you like about working at Haisley specifically?
The community! Having been here for my 23rd year now, I can say without a doubt that the staff, families, and students are what make Haisley so special. This community is talented, supportive, generous, hardworking, and most of all kind. I have seen countless moments where people have jumped when someone at school is in need. They are supportive at school, and personally, too. I’ve had a couple of surgeries over the years and had families bringing food, even helping me at home, and for a short period, my dear friends at Haisley picked me up to drive me to school when I wasn’t able to drive yet. My friends and family joke that I know everyone in town as I tend to often run into Haisley folks while out and about. I’ve even seen students and families at Detroit Metro, the Philadelphia airport, and the airport in Salt Lake City. Most amusing was hearing, “Hi Ms. Levine!” at a rest stop in Indiana while driving to go visit my family and finding a Haisley family also traveling! Having so many connections, especially when my family lives out of state, has made my Haisley community at times feel like my family here.
What don’t people realize about the work of a kindergarten teacher?
Teaching kindergarten is not for the faint of heart! This job is a job that requires the wearing of many hats, well beyond simply delivering curriculum. The task especially in kindergarten from my perspective is to foster a love of learning and education as well as raise children to be positive members of the community. With that comes supporting students and families in a multitude of ways so this work doesn’t necessarily end at the end of the work day. The work of a kindergarten teacher is challenging but so rewarding. With these challenges also comes so much excitement and magic that I think is unique to kindergarten. I sometimes feel like every day in kindergarten is like a day at Disneyland!
If you hadn’t become a teacher, what career would you have chosen?
Well, as a kid I thought I’d love to be a talk show host. Clearly, the gift of gab could be put to good use! As I was becoming an adult, however, I’m not sure I really had any other profession that I was drawn to.
What’s the happiest part of your workday?
The very beginning of the day when the students enter the building is always filled with a lot of excitement. Students want to show you drawings, share if they’ve lost a tooth, show you new shoes, etc. But I also love small group reading instruction time. Seeing students embrace my teaching and use it independently and with support is magical.
Any tips for classroom management?
Start first with building a rapport with students, a classroom community with common goals and expectations, and practice general classroom routines. Management comes easier with those things in place first.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known your first year teaching?
I wish I’d known as a younger educator that kids—like adults—carry their own baggage and trauma, and this often affects how they learn and their ability to navigate the school day. We often think being a kid is the easiest and best time of our lives, without a care in the world. But that’s not always the case. Knowing this now makes me better able to meet each student’s individual learning and personal needs.
Do you agree that all you really need to know you learn in kindergarten?
Ha, well maybe a lot of what you learn, yes! Kindergarten is such a pivotal year in both academic and social development. Again, if I can contribute to raising humans who are successful and have a positive impact on society, then I have done my job. And a lot of the tools to do that, such as problem-solving, kindness, sharing, listening, taking care of yourself, your materials, and others, and how to be a friend – these lessons all happen in kindergarten on a daily basis.
Your thoughts on the district’s focus this year on dignity, belonging, and well-being?
I think the district’s focus on dignity, belonging, and well-being comes at a time when we need it most. Our world can be a hard world to navigate, and caring for our mental state of mind has to be a priority in order to accomplish anything.
What’s the best compliment anyone could give you?
The best compliment anyone could give me is that my efforts haven’t been lost on them. Raising humans to become thoughtful, kind, and successful people is hard work and I just try daily to contribute to this.
What’s the funniest thing a student said recently?
Oh, where to begin? Hearing that students are going home and mimicking what I say is always cute. They often make comments about what I’m wearing, and once when a little girl noticed my boots, I overheard her say, “I don’t know why she’s wearing boots; she’s not a cowgirl!”
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing success with reading and writing in particular is so exciting! When students light up in an “a-ha moment” with the realization that they know what they are doing or can solve something tricky on their own: there’s that magic!
What’s the most challenging?
I once got a button that said, “#1 Chaos Coordinator.” It totally made me laugh out loud but in stopping to think about being an educator, it’s really quite accurate. Kindergarten is challenging because of all you have to juggle, from curriculum to problem solving, to the multitude and range of student needs. Keeping things productive, exciting, and moving along is one big juggling act.
How do you spend your summers?
In the summer I will often be traveling and seeing family, at a new restaurant trying some tasty food, or reading by my pool. I try to take in as much downtime as possible before the school year starts again!
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