East Grand Rapids — Long before education became her career, it was a source of fascination, even entertainment, for Jamiese Edmonson.
“I’m an older sister, and I remember being a kid and making my siblings play school,” Edmonson said.
She remembers her mother playfully chiding her, telling her that her younger siblings were supposed to be having fun when they were out of school. But Edmonson wouldn’t be deterred. She developed a whole structure and routine for her sister and two brothers, complete with reading assignments, math quizzes and more.
Now her siblings thank her for setting them up for success early on, and in many ways those school games did the same for Edmonson herself, who is now the director of Woodcliff Early Childhood Center. While she once treated her family members like students, she’s now treating students like family.
“I have big-sister tendencies,” she said with a grin. “I have kind of a nurturing, take-care personality, because I’ve been a big sister for so long, and I take pride in being a big sister.”
Edmonson chatted with SNN about what brought her to East, and why Woodcliff is such a great fit for her.
‘I consider myself a lifelong learner in every context, so being in education is just something that I love.’
— Woodcliff Early Childhood Center Director Jamiese Edmonson
Other positions you have held in education: While in college, Edmonson worked for Kalamazoo Public Schools as an activity helper at Winchell Elementary and as an assistant teacher in the Loy Norrix High School childcare center.
She was later a career advisor for Grand Valley State University, a lead career coach for Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency, and a site director at Jennings Development Interplex, a preschool in Kalamazoo.
“I’ve done all the possible roles you can think of. Just anything to get some experience,” she said.
Education/degrees:
- Bachelor’s degree in child and family development, Western Michigan University
- Master’s degree in youth and community development, Western Michigan University
What drew you to Woodcliff? East’s early childhood center appealed to Edmonson because of its dual focus on education and childcare.
“I feel like many places that you go to, it’s one or the other: you’re either at a school or you’re in childcare,” she said. “When I looked into Woodcliff and saw that they had the best of both worlds, where we’re working to transition students from a preschool setting (and) give them the tools that will equip them for when they go to elementary school, that really stood out to me.”
Why did you want to become an administrator? “I think I just felt ready. … I felt that I had something to give on the administrative side — kind of developing a program and helping it flourish. I felt like I had great ideas that I wanted to be able to have a platform for.”
Edmonson said she’s also learned a lot from her supervisors over the years, and she felt the time was right to take that knowledge and start passing it on to others.
What would you like to share about your family? “My mom went back to school in 2018, but we graduated together from Western. That’s really special to me,” Edmonson said, noting that she would have walked with her mom at graduation if it hadn’t been for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Name some great things about going into early education: “I think how fast children grow is something that’s so amazing. People don’t realize, until you’re with kids every day, how you blink and they’re doing something different — they’re able to talk more, or they’re developing new skills.
“I’d also say the focus on independence, like social-emotional skills — you see them developing.
“I think early childhood really builds the foundation for everything after that. These are the pivotal years. And just knowing that all of us that are here are so passionate about being part of those pivotal years.”
What is one thing on your bucket list? “I’ve never been to Europe. If I could take time and spend two weeks and, like, country-hop, I would love to do that, and bring just a backpack and live like the people live.”
What are your goals for your first year at Woodcliff? “What I hope for the year ahead is to really build my own systems and my own way of doing things, but I also hope to build my own way of engaging with the families.
“Something that’s important to me is to be in a partnership with the families, because at the end of the day, these are their children, but they spend so much time with us that I want to make sure they know that … our perspectives are important as well.”
Dogs or cats and why? “Both. I like dogs for the fact that they’re more cuddly, and I like cats because they’re less cuddly. I could never pick.”
Edmonson never considered herself a dog-lover until she met her partner’s dog, Sophie. Turns out she just had to meet the right dog.
What song would you pick to define you? “I don’t have a specific song, but I love Frank Ocean — ‘channel ORANGE (album),’ specifically. In my middle school years, it was very pivotal for that time. So when I hear those songs now, they take me back to those ooey-gooey feelings that I had in middle school.”
Anything else? “Education is something I’ve always been passionate about. … I consider myself a lifelong learner in every context, so being in education is just something that I love.”
Read more from East Grand Rapids:
• She gave the gift of greenery to her elementary school
• Written in the rocks: ‘Kindness will always win’
