Local Teachers Spend 20 Years Working Together

Barbara Freeman and Ann Collins have worked side-by-side for 20 years. The two are the only paid employees at the South County Pre-Kindergarten Co-op in Davidsonville and both came to the job by happenstance after being stay-home moms in the 1980s.

When asked if the work collaboration is like a 20-year marriage, Freeman pointed out that "most marriages don't last that long."

Collins added that the two are more like family.

"We know each others' strengths and weaknesses," Freeman said. "We're both pretty even-keeled. We don't let a lot of things bother us."

One such occasion showcased their avowed unflappability. During class at the end of October, Freeman cut herself while carving a pumpkin in front of the children.

"It was a pretty bad cut," she said, laughing about it a few weeks later.

At that point Collins picked up the story — "I looked over and knew something was wrong," she said. She said Freeman was very calmly wiping the floor.

"Anyone else would've thought she was picking up pumpkin seeds or something. She was so calm," Collins said. "But when I got over there, I could see that she was wiping up a lot of blood."

The kids never knew, and even the co-op parent on duty that day didn't know the reason that Freeman washed up and quietly walked out the front door to take herself to the hospital.

"We both stayed calm, put on a pressure bandage, and I drove myself to get stitches," Freeman said.

"And then I took over for the rest of the class," Collins said.

But even a gash to the forearm isn't the worst they've been through together. The passing of time has meant the passing of elderly parents, and steering their own children through adolescence and early adulthood. They both said that they have shared a lot professionally and personally through the years.

How the team got started

Freeman came to SCPC when her son and daughter attended in the mid-1980s. When Jessica, her youngest, graduated and moved on to kindergarten, there was an opening for an aide. Freeman had an undergraduate degree in elementary education and taught public school before becoming a full-time mother.

"I applied and got it," she said. 

She worked at SCPC part-time as an aide, and a few years later learned of a part-time job as a teacher at Mayo Nursery School, also a cooperative preschool. She got that job too, and split her time between Mayo and SCPC, working three days a week at one location and two days a week at the other.

"My biggest fear during that time was that I'd show up at the wrong place," she said.

Then in 1991, Mayo hired Collins as an aide.

Her background was in commercial art. She'd worked as an illustrator and graphic designer at a printer in Rockville. She moved here in the 1980s, had two children and happily stayed home with her boys. Her life circumstance changed in 1991, when her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had never worked in education, but with two children to support, and medical bills mounting, Collins asked around and landed a job as an aide at Mayo Nursery School. The position gave her ready cash and allowed her to be available to both her children and her ailing husband. Plus, she loved it from the start, fulfilling her creative side by coming up with art projects with the students.

"My husband's treatments were about $800 a week, and we were using credit cards to get by," she said.

The two began their work together as two part-timers.

When Collins' husband took a turn for the worse, Freeman didn't hesitate to give her the time she needed to take care of her family.

"They told me he didn't have much time left in July or August, and school started in September. I don't think I was there at all. I didn't even go in. But when he passed, everyone came to the funeral. Barbara was there, I think all the kids and their families came too. It was a huge help in a really terrible time in my life," Collins said.

Then Ann Pearce, the lead teacher at SCPC left, and Freeman applied for the full-time teacher's job. She said that her time working under the former teacher was the best experience for training and mentoring. 

"Ann Pearce was a master teacher, and working with her was better than any college course," Freeman said.

With Freeman taking the lead teacher position, the aide's job was open and Freeman encouraged Collins to apply. In 1993, the two were ensconced at the Davidsonville school where they've worked together ever since.

Then a year later, Freeman attended Collins' wedding when she fell in love again and got married in 1994. 

What's Changed

Freeman said that she has carried through a number of things that Pearce put in place, like circle time, the music and songs, and the way she interacts with the children.

Both agree that they've had to deal with a number of changes over the years.

"There's so much more information and video games. Kids are a little more jaded coming in," she said.

Some of the things she used to do, she's had to discontinue. For example, with the 4-year-olds, some of the songs and dances that used to be a staple of the curriculum have been sidelined.

"I don't do some of the animal dances any more, where we go around the classroom walking like turtles or elephants. The children say, 'that's for babies,' if I try to do them now," she said.

"They grow up fast these days, they know more about current events. Some of the parents have greater expectations for the children than they did when we first started," she said.

"But we have parents that are very involved here. Parents who attend the co-op make a commitment of their time, and that hasn't changed at all. They all want to be very involved in their kids' education," Freeman said.

Jennifer Ross is a co-op parent at the school. Jennifer has a son, Alex, who is a graduate, and a daughter, Carly, in the 4-year old class.

"Miss Barbara and Miss Ann are the backbone of this school," Jennifer said.

"My son was very reserved coming [into the co-op], but after he went through the program, he walked through the doors of his kindergarden with confidence. He's in first grade now, but he recently told me that his preschool years were the best years of his life," she said.

Getting Older

Both agree that they have slowed down a little.

"The children are very understanding about it," Collins said. "We're a little slower coming back from the playground, but they line up very patiently," she said.

Neither seems ready to retire.

"I'm always ready to come back at the end of summer," Freeman said. "And I still enjoy it," she said.

Collins echoed the sentiment. "When I was a little girl, I wanted to do three things, I wanted to be a mom and wife, I wanted to be an artist, and I wanted to teach, and I've been given a gift by being able to do all three," she said. "I've still got a few years left here," she said.