When it comes to teaching early-childhood education, Arlene Walker is a seasoned expert.
She’s been dedicated to children at Step by Step Christian Preschool since 1987. Now her time in the classroom is coming to a close as she starts a new chapter: retirement.
Walker’s wisdom, experience and dedication will be missed at the preschool, a ministry of the township’s First Presbyterian Church.
“I love the pre-K age group of 4- and 5-year-olds,” she said. “Pre-K is a big year of social and emotional growth, and it is so very rewarding to be a part of that with each child.”
Walker explained that communication with her students is the key to finding out what interests them. Conversations, she added, also validate their feelings.
“She’s a child whisperer,” noted Amy Delgado, preschool director at Step by Step. “She makes each child feel special when she’s speaking to them, as her attention to each child is focused and full. She does not half listen; when she’s listening to a child, she’s all in.”
In her nearly four decades as an educator, Walker has had a front-row seat to technological change. While she believes it has its place in learning, Walker is concerned that too much screen time for preschoolers is harmful. Fine motor skills such as cutting and coloring, she says, along with eye contact and creativity, can be lost to tech during the formative years.
So Walker has encouraged her students to develop skills that don’t require technology.
“Make me a picture of your family” she will ask to help them express themselves and think creatively.
Walker, an avid runner, also started a pre-K runners group at Step by Step.
“The children would run with her for a quartr mile each week,” Delgado explained. “At the end of the year, their parents would come and watch and there would be a medal ceremony. Decades of children – some who love to run and some who don’t – learned determination and grit through the program.”
Walker’s legacy at Step by Step has benefitted generations of preschoolers.
“Every year, I’m so excited to meet new families and to have younger siblings that I have taught before,” she related.
That legacy extends to Walker’s colleagues.
“The staff at Step by Step Christian Preschool has also learned a ton from her,” Delgado said. “She has been our head teacher for years. During staff meetings, we often ask for her opinion or advice, and she’s filled with so much wisdom. Her ability to love each child as they are, teach each child where they are and help each child with what they need, is what we all will remember about her.
“Her willingness to help any staff member and explain or show any teacher or aide what works is so appreciated.”
A native New Jerseyan, Walker earned her elementary education degree and early childhood certificate from Fairleigh Dickinson University. While she looks forward to an active retirement, Walker will stay involved with Step by Step as a substitute teacher.
Her dedication to the preschoolers was echoed by Walker’s granddaughter, a college sophomore, who once said to her, “Grammy, I want to be able to find a career that I love as much as you do teaching at the preschool.”
