jane o'hearn
Jane O'Hearn has been teaching at Jefferson Elementary in Green Bay for eight years, and has been in the SAGE program for five years. Currently O'Hearn's all-day kindergarten class has 14 students.

Jane definitely sees the benefits of the SAGE program in her classroom. Discipline has become a non-issue. With a smaller class there is more opportunity for community building amongst the students and it also enables her to diffuse disruptions quickly. While the curriculum really hasn't changed, having the children all day enables Jane to spend more time and have the children work more intensely on subject matters.

SAGE has also provided the resources for Jane to conduct parent visits before the school year. These visits give her the opportunity to assess the children before school starts and share with the parents the skills that are expected of kindergartners. With the parents, Jane also develops family service plans which create goals they want the children to accomplish. Throughout the school year, Jane keeps in contact with the parents through weekly phone calls.

Besides the direct benefits to children, Jane also feels that SAGE has been beneficial to her professionally. With the SAGE resources, the teachers are given more opportunities to attend workshops and in-services. Also, the teachers are encouraged to meet in teams often, and Jane admits she likes the cooperative aspect of the SAGE program. Jane concedes that the program requires more paperwork; however, she feels that every trade-off is well worth it once she gets back in the classroom.

"I believe that all children can and will learn when provided with appropriate opportunities and experiences," said Jane. "The SAGE program goes a long way in setting the stage for this to happen…it helps create a comfortable and positive emotional climate which is absolutely vital in the learning process. SAGE is one of the best no nonsense educational programs I've seen."