Community Magazine September 2019

Elul 5779 September 2019 57 it comes to your child. Take the high road and don’t get involved with nonsense. Instill good values in your children.” Heather the Educator After completing her graduate degree in Early Childhood Education, Heather worked for 14 years in the public-school system – one year as a pre-K teacher, seven years as a first- grade teacher, and six years teaching second graders. Heather was a passionate and beloved teacher. After Heather got married and became pregnant with the triplets, she took time off from teaching to raise her children. When her triplets were starting high school (six years ago), she returned to work on a part-time basis. She eased her way back into work by doing substitute teaching in community yeshivot (Magen David, Barkai, and YOF) filling in for teachers on maternity leave for periods of six weeks. People came to know and trust Heather. When the subbing dwindled, Heather was ready for more, and was thrilled to be offered a full-time position at the Sephardic Community Center teaching three-and-four-year-old boys and girls. She had subbed there too. After four years of interacting with her students’ moms, Heather became very involved and invested in the children’s lives. “I interacted with so many mothers at the Center, even moms of kids from other classes. I loved the children and the moms. It was much more than just goodbye at 3pm. I got calls at all times, at night, during the summer, and during the year. ‘The kids won’t get dressed to go to school, they won’t go to sleep, Morah Heather is on the phone.’ Moms asked for advice and I coached them through it.” The Road to Coaching Heather’s reputation was well established, and it was time to move on again. She wanted more time to be available for her daughters when they were starting college. Why not offer parenting classes? Heather didn’t have coaching credentials but she had significant teaching and parenting experience. “Having a special needs child also puts a whole other spin on my parenting advice and skills. Having Philip in our lives helped me be the parent and coach that I am.” Last year Heather designed her own group parenting class and had enough enrollment to fill two classes. The news spread quickly through word of mouth. “I don’t believe in lists or mantras. I believe in good old-fashioned parenting. Live in the moment, don’t over-think things, and don’t get stuck. Deal with life as it happens.” Heather encourages parents to empower, embrace, and inspire their children. “Kids are people; there is a whole human being inside them.” What is unique about Heather’s coaching approach is that she is a heart-centered coach. Whether she is teaching or coaching, she does everything from the heart and in the best interests of the children. She tells her parents to be proud of themselves for taking the time to work on themselves and grow. Heather’s Coaching Model Heather provides private interactive group workshops with a positive approach to parenting. She also offers one-on-one coaching and couples coaching. Her private coaching groups generally include four to seven women for a series of four weeks, with a different mom hosting each week. “We talk about a different topic weekly. We brainstorm, work through issues, and come up with solutions.” Subjects covered include: how to say no, setting limits, sibling rivalry, bad habits, anxiety, and more. Heather also ran parenting workshops at Deal Sephardic Network in the winter and led a four-week parenting class at The Well in the summer. What’s Next? Heather was involved in the founding of Imagine Academy, which serves individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disorders, aged five to twenty one. Heather is hoping the school will be able to create a day-hab program for students who age out of the Academy at 21. She is also working with yeshivot to establish parenting workshops for the fall. You can connect with Heather at heatherdeutsch@aol.com , or DM her on Instagram@parenting_doneright. Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach. Her coaching specialties include life, career, and dating coaching. Ellen works part-time as an entitlement specialist at Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services. She can be contacted at ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com) .