L'DOR V'DOR
DAY SCHOOL STUDENT TURNED KINDERGARTEN TEACHER AND NOW A PRESCHOOL PARENT By Pamela Feldman, Martin J. Gottlieb Day School
Pam Lewis - day school student
My journey began as a preschool and day school student, then a teacher and now a parent. How did I end up here? In such an amazing, loving and special community? How did I become so lucky?
It all started with my mom and dad–Marla and Gary Lewis. When my family moved to Jacksonville in 1993 I began attending the DuBow Preschool. When I asked my parents what made them decide to send me to the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, they explained that “still being new to the community, it was important for us to connect with Jewish families in town. The warm and welcoming 24
Pam Feldman - preschool parent
environment is exactly what we wanted for our children.”
Fast forward to 2012 when I graduated from college with my bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Where did I apply for a job? To the place that felt like home– where I grew academically but also as a person. I wanted to have the opportunity to provide the same caring environment in the very same classrooms where I had thrived as a student. Today I lead students in creating some of the same memories that I experienced–Consecration and my parents decorating my fi rst siddur cover, Passover seder plays, Hanukkah
songs with project keepsakes, and Thanksgiving programs!
Fast forward to 2021. My husband, Jason, and I are trying to decide where we feel most comfortable sending our fi rst child to school. DuBow Preschool, of course! Just as my mom had decided for me all those years ago–the warm, loving and caring environment is just what Jason and I want for our child. Knowing that our son is going to make the same wonderful memories and have the same exceptional education that I received and now pass on to my students is truly a feeling that is unmatched.