D E PA R T I N G FAC U LT Y
Jacqu e l i ne K i e ff Lower School Psychologist: 1993-2015 by Beverly Malone, Teacher Training Institute Director and former Lower School Director
For the past 23 years, Dr. Jacqueline Kieff, as consulting school psychologist at the Lower School, has gently, calmly, and unostentatiously committed herself to supporting the children and the adults who surround the children, which include the parents, faculty, and administrators. She has always seen each child through the lens of the family that they are a part of. She once told me, “To help a child, you need to help the family understand the unique strengths and challenges of the child so that they can then eventually help that child. Children and families are complex and it takes time to develop trust and a relationship. It is not a process that should be rushed.” Care takes time. Jacqueline’s care has always taken the form of making sure services were coordinated, communication was clear, and above all else, delivered with compassion. She created “staffing” meetings, which brought parents, teachers, and outside adults (testers, tutors, etc.) together to forge a community of support for the child. Faculty and administrators were always kept abreast of events in a child’s life so they could adapt and scaffold curriculum and support the social and emotional life of the child. The parents she worked with always knew she was building a “team” of adults. The parents I spoke with wanted to thank Jacqueline for her time, her concern, her attention, her help, her advice, her wise counsel, her encouragement, and her knowing understanding.
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Children also benefited directly from Jacqueline. She joined forces seven years ago with Kindergarten teacher Maria Barton to establish the Banana Splits program—a support group for children whose parents are separated or divorced. Maria says, “Jacqueline is patient, kind, open, and sincere. She always made sure that the children felt heard and cared for, safe, and comfortable.” Jacqueline has been graceful in everything she has accomplished at BB&N. So, I quote from Buckingham alumna Ellen Goodman ’59’s column about the “Graceful Exit”: “There is a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job…is over—and to let go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance in our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving on rather than out. The trick to retiring well may be the trick of living well. It’s hard to recognize that life isn’t a holding action, but a process. It’s hard to learn that we don’t leave the best parts of ourselves behind, back in the dugout or the office. We own what we learned back there. The experiences and the growth are grafted onto our lives. And when we exit, we can take ourselves along—quite gracefully.” Jacqueline has supported so many of us at the Lower School and her skill and knowledge will be truly missed. I think, however, a very young child in the Banana Splits group summed it up best. “Thank you for everything. I will miss you. Have fun in your free time.”