Employee of the Month

      Rachel Coolidge is Westview’s November 2024 Employee of the Month. Rachel is a rotating Teacher’s Assistant at Westview Child Care Center, which neighbors Westview Health Care Center and Country Living at Westview Commons in Dayville, CT. As a floating aide, she works to preserve the everyday flow of the curriculum by assisting with every student demographic between infancy and pre-kindergarten. She is a member of the original team hired at Westview Child Care Center; onboarding with the facility just prior to their opening in September 2023. When the first “graduating class” of students at Westview Child Care Center moved from pre-K to their kindergarten enrollment, it was a bittersweet moment for Rachel. She was delighted to see their successes in early education lead to their advancement, but she knew she would miss these students with whom she had formed such caring bonds.

      According to Rachel, her connections with her students are her favorite parts of day-to-day life at Westview Child Care Center. Utilizing her professional devotion, she hopes to establish an early touchpoint in her students’ lives that they can joyfully reflect back upon throughout their journey in education and growth in life. This passion is derived naturally. Looking back on her own life, Rachel recalls some of her own early educators with fondness. In addition to her experience gained over the last year as a Teacher’s Assistant at Westview Child Care Center, she has also worked at another local child care provider and privately taught her nieces when they were learning from home. Rachel earned an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Connecticut State Community College: Quinebaug Valley, and she plans to pursue further education in this field. Through all of her classroom education and hands-on experience, Rachel knows the art of teaching effectively and also possesses a great deal of practical knowledge and safety trainingؙؙ—including first-aid instruction and CPR certification.

      Rachel is the daughter of Deborah and Wayne Coolidge. She was born in Tucson, AZ when her father was stationed there with the United States Air Force; moving with her family to Danielson, CT around the age of 4. Her sister, Rebecca Chase and her husband Shawn Chase have two daughters, Lauren and Emily. The Coolidge family is very close and they enjoy spending time together. They all appreciate family outings—whether it is going to apple orchards in the warmer months or sledding together in snowier times, they try to make as many classic New England memories that they can. Family also connected Rachel to Westview well before she came on as a teacher at Westview Child Care Center: her cousin Pam has held an important role at Westview’s Outpatient and Aquatic Therapy Center for many years. Most of Rachel’s family works in either education or medicine, so integrating her professional role at Westview Child Care Center with the broader offerings of the Westview facilities is a natural connection.

      Additional modes of care are accessible to students at Westview Child Care Center if needed, and Rachel greatly appreciates that. While on the Westview campus, some of her students may benefit from exercise instruction from their Sports Medicine team, therapy from their Speech/Language Pathologists, or friendly visits and pen-pal correspondence with residents at Westview Commons through the “Adopt-A-Grandparent” program. Rachel appreciates Westview Child Care Center’s approach to “Caring for Generations,” their state-of-the-art facility for learning through play, and the collective of colleagues she works with. Together, they know that good communication between the child care center and the parents/guardians of the students is a highly important aspect of the operation. As collegial Teachers and Teacher’s Assistants, they too form a bond together—and Rachel expressed her appreciation for their acknowledgement as the November Employee of the Month.

      “I have major gratitude in receiving this award. By earning Employee of the Month, I am honored to know that my peers recognize the work that I do and how much I care about our students,” Rachel stated. “This award is unexpected and humbling, because I do not come here to be recognized myself—I come here to help our students to know that they are recognized for their wonderful talents, expanding knowledge, and unique personalities. Every day here is very rewarding to me!”

      Westview Executive Vice President David T. Panteleakos is proud to see the triumphs of Westview Child Care Center through the steadfast efforts of professionals like Rachel: “At Westview Child Care Center we are fortunate to have Rachel and the staff who have been here since day one—they help us to maintain the standard of excellent care we establish throughout our Westview family and are highly seasoned in our child care model. At the same time, an outstanding example can be shown and helpful assistance can be offered by Rachel to our new teachers that join Westview Child Care Center’s faculty,” Mr. Panteleakos commented. “As we continue to grow and enhance the experience for students at Westview Child Care Center, I am happy to have Rachel as a consistent example of teacher dedication. Congratulations to Rachel!”

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