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Meet Karen Haigh - Director Chicago Commons - Chicago, Illinois

November/December 2001
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/meet-karen-haigh-director-chicago-commons-chicago-illinois/5014235/

Never, when I was preparing for a career teaching in early childhood education, did I imagine that I would be a director for a large, multi-site program. Nor did I imagine that a program from northern Italy would be a major influence, not only on me, but on the children, teachers, and families I have worked with in the inner-city of Chicago.

Now, almost 30 years later, after seven years as a teacher, three years as an education coordinator and 15 years in administration, I am still teaching, but in a different way than I imagined when I first began. To me, teaching means offering people opportunities and challenges to be inspired, to be encouraged to explore, connect with, and try to understand and live in their world, in a productive way. So, as I administer the Child Development Program at Chicago Commons, I still see part of my role as that of a teacher.

As director of the Child Development Program at Chicago Commons, I am privileged to lead a team of 175 (soon to be 225 ) widely diverse staff members in serving over 1,000 (soon to be 1,200) young children from the inner-city of Chicago.

Chicago Commons is ...

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