Today we’d like to introduce you to Maggie Born, Alissa Born, and Teah Brannam
Hi Maggie, Alissa, and Teah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Sisters, Maggie and Alissa Born, first met Teah Brannam when Teah enrolled her daughter, Doris, at the school where they both worked, Alissa as the director and Maggie a Pre-K teacher. Maggie and Alissa had dreamed, for some time, of their own school, one where kids would rediscover childhood through play and connection with nature. Teah was running her own business after leaving a corporate job when she realized that she too dreamed of a school like that for her child. Alissa and Teah originally bonded over Teah’s spicy 2 year old who they together nicknamed the Dragon. That same 2 year old would become the first student enrolled at Firefly Community School after the three would together realize their shared dream – which they did over a plate of nachos.
Teah – I remember asking Alissa what she wanted to name this school, she said, “Firefly Community School”, enthusiastically and like she had known this for sometime. She further explained “You know like when we were kids and we would go outside and catch fireflies and put them in a jar, and everyone was there, and you got to stay up late”. She wanted our school to be a community and that is exactly what we are now seeing, a community of parents, teachers, and children who work and grow together.
In our 4th year we moved to a larger facility that allowed us to grow. The space was close to our first school and had many of the things we wanted, like space for a large wooden play structure, this time we hired someone to build it! Our new facility also allowed us to add a nutrition program to our school. We recently opened an infant program and hope to offer a kindergarten class in the future.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In the beginning there were lots of trips to Home Depot. Due to the unique needs of a school, especially one for young children, finding a building for our school was a long process, it took months. Our first school needed a lot of work. We had some money but not enough to prevent us from having to do a lot of the work ourselves. We painted, installed new lights, ripped out bushes, installed sod, rented an excavator, and built a playground.
There was an interesting aspect of our partnership that offered the three of us the opportunity to grow in our own ways. Teah had not ever worked with children but was passionate about offering children a school that considered them first and valued the idea that her child was well cared for and supported when she was away.. Maggie and Alissa saw first hand the importance of supporting teachers and creating spaces for children to learn and grow in ways that support the unique learning opportunities of early childhood. The sisters also knew the in’s and out’s of working with children. Their mom, Candy, ran a homecenter when they were kids and they had been working with children in schools from the time they were in highschool. Teah learned all about kids, ratios, and circle-time and the sisters got a crash course in how to open your own business.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our community school offers care to students from 3 months – Pre-K. We often hear from visitors, “wow, it’s so quiet in here” which is not typical for a school full of little kids. But the calm is by design. When we allow kids to engage in their interests and spend lots of time outside (where they are not so quiet…) they will take the opportunities to calmly and intently explore, wonder, and investigate, which is when real learning happens. We, on purpose, let kids be kids. Our behavior expectations are rooted in the practices of Conscious Discipline which we believe better allows our students to emotionally regulate at school and home.
We follow aspects of the Reggio Emilia philosophy that include allowing the child to participate in their education by curating an environment that is inviting and thoughtful. For example, students are offered the opportunity to plan their day at circle time every morning. By offering a piece of paper with a simple line for their name, the student has engaged in critical thinking, decision making skills, handwriting skills, and more. We believe that children are capable learners with unmatched curiosity that should be supported and encouraged.
We are so proud of the home cooked food offered to our students. Our family style service encourages our kids to build relationships with each other as they share their meals together. We love watching our students grow together as they try new foods and practice their manners at meal times.
We love it that our school offers an inclusive, diverse, and safe place for everyone. Our teachers, parents, and students are all part of creating a successful experience for our students and their early childhood journey. There is a lot happening for parents of young children and we are really proud of the support we offer to our parents through education, support, and a commitment to their child’s healthiest growth. Firefly recently started offering parent coaching as part of their ongoing mission to support parents during the earliest stages of their child’s life.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Covid happened right as our school was hitting its stride. We had recently met capacity at our first facility when the pandemic started. Looking back, we can recall how it seemed that early childhood education had not been considered in the response, we fell in a gray area which left us with little direction.
It was hard. We made videos of us reading books and singing songs, posting them online for our kids to watch at home and we were so happy to hear about how much it meant to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fireflycommunityschool.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireflycommunityschool/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fireflycommunityschool
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fireflycommunityschool6033?app=desktop
