Susie Jabbour, pre-kindergarten teacher and coordinator of the Outdoor Learning Center at Woodland Presbyterian School, has been recognized as an outstanding teacher through her efforts of exploratory teaching and learning opportunities for students.
Jabbour was recently honored as recipient of the Mary Ball Environmental Educator of the Year, on behalf of the Tennessee Environmental Education Association (TEEA), recognizing educators that help spread environmental education in their schools or community. The TEEA Board chose Susie as this year’s award recipient due to her many accomplishments in outdoor education and Master Gardeners program.
She also received the Hubert Smothers Award from the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools (TAIS), presented to teachers who have evidenced a deep commitment to the teaching profession and who have demonstrated excellence in all they do.
The Hubert Smothers Award criteria for nomination are substantial and far-reaching. Recipients of the award include longevity in the profession – at least 20 years in education – and people who care deeply for students and know how to engage and inspire them as well as caring deeply for their school and larger communities around them.
“Susie’s dedication to gardening has certainly been a source of joy for the entire Woodland community, including the students in whom she has cultivated a love of gardening and the colleagues she has inspired to join her,” says Sarah Wilson, TAIS Executive Director.
Courtesy of Susie Jabbour
Jabbour formed a committee in 2017 as a means to revitalize and repurpose the garden space on Woodland Presbyterian School’s campus. Although the garden was created in 2008, Jabbour’s vision in 2017, was to expand the garden by creating “themed” outdoor learning spaces to be used by faculty and students and woven into the curriculum. She wanted students to be able to actively work and learn in the garden.
Six years later, the garden consists of an interactive raised bed, running creek with a pond, dinosaur garden, fairy house garden, Princess and the Pea garden, two sand tables, music wall, recycled plastic pallet fort, mud kitchen, compost heaps and wormery, and a whole lot more for the school community to experience.
Outdoor learning provides students an appreciation for the Earth and the need to care for it,” says Jabbour. “Children spend much of their day sitting in classrooms. The opportunity for students to get outside where they can move, stretch their imaginations, and grow new ideas while collaborating with others is invaluable. We want to encourage a lifelong interest in and respect for the natural world and teach our students to be caring stewards of the Earth.”
Opportunities are provided throughout the school day and in after-school activities for students to work and learn in the garden.
After many years of work, Susie completed the Level One Arboretum certification through Tennessee’s Urban Forestry Council. She also graduated from the Master Gardener program and volunteers at community plant education events.
“Ms. Jabbour's dedicated career as an early childhood educator, coupled with her passion for outdoor education, has played a pivotal role in establishing a strong foundation for all our students,” says Adam Moore, head of school at Woodland Presbyterian School. “Her commitment has not only nurtured individual growth but has also built a stronger school community.”
Courtesy of Susie Jabbour
Woodland Presbyterian School is a co-educational 2-year-old through 8th-grade independent school whose mission is for students to embrace academic excellence, spiritual development, social consciousness, community collaboration, and a positive self-concept.
To learn more about the outdoor learning and gardening program and Woodland Presbyterian campus, visit woodlandschool.org.