By Amy Schrei, Director of Communications and Marketing
In June 2024, the first class of Tower Tots will graduate, commencing the longest lifers in Tower Hill’s history.
These five students—Janie duPont, Tessa Gattuso, Tommy Hanna, Grayson Kyle and Demetri Moutsatsos—will complete 15 years at Tower Hill. The two founding teachers of the Tower Tots program, Jeannie Snyder and Julie Roca, have touched the lives of hundreds of students and their families and are still active members of Tower Hill’s faculty.
CREATIVE CURRICULUM
Interest in Tower Hill’s Tower Tots program is at an all time high. Snyder and Roca designed the program and curriculum from scratch. When the school began contemplating a three-year-old class, Snyder and Roca were working at Tower Hill as kindergarten and preK teachers respectively. Snyder expressed interest in working with Tower Tots and then recruited her colleague and friend Roca. They were both excited to take on a new challenge and welcomed the opportunity to create a brand new program.
In the year before Tower Tots started, Snyder and Roca spent their off hours researching all aspects of the program to determine what was most appropriate for three year olds, from social-emotional learning to ordering age-appropriate materials and furniture. Interwoven throughout the curriculum was acclimating the young students to the expectations of school without academic pressure, as well as developing life skills and exploring the world around them.
The classes incorporated lots of props, games and puzzles for the children to explore on their own.
For example, they introduced the “I Can Zip” club. Once children mastered zipping their coats, their picture would be hung on the door. The “I Can Zip” club is still part of the Tower Tots curriculum today.
“Ms. Roca and Ms. Snyder were always very encouraging,” remembers Moustsatsos. “They taught me many skills and lessons that set me up for success in my Tower Hill journey.”
The foundation of the Tower Tots curriculum was built around purposeful, guided play complemented by lots and lots of singing. Snyder and Roca wanted to create a warm, comfortable space that would feel like a home away from home.
“We wanted them to love school, love coming to school and to feel loved,” says Roca.
Both teachers had the flexibility and freedom to dream up interactive, experiential lessons that explore the breadth, depth and ingenuity of early childhood.
One of the most popular units was camping, where they set up a real tent in the classroom, built a pretend fire and read books about camping. A fellow teacher, Julie Smith, “hiked” to the “summit” of the Tower Tots classroom by climbing in through the window, bedecked in her hiking gear. Smith shared the contents of her backpack and spoke with the Tots about all the fun things involved with camping and hiking. Another former teacher, Chris Morrow, came and sang camp songs with the children.
The construction unit was also an all-time winner. Snyder and Roca took advantage of construction occuring on and around campus and used it as a learning tool. The students visited the construction sites on campus to see trucks, excavators, tools and workmen. The lesson was supplemented with toy versions of the equipment they saw and books about construction. Students learned vocabulary around the topic of construction and engaged in imaginative play wearing hard hats and safety vests, while “constructing” with cardboard boxes and blocks.
The Tower Tots curricular freedom reached its pinnacle one day when the class heard a helicopter outside. Snyder and Roca rallied the children and went in search of those noisy, whirling blades. They wound up in Rockford Park, where the helicopter had landed.
CARING AND NURTURING
For some students, Tower Tots was their first experience in an organized classroom setting. This age group undergoes one of the largest developmental leaps, especially in language and vocabulary. It is also a transformative time in terms of physical stamina and fine motor skills. At three years old, kids are ready to socialize, but still need lots of nurturing and guidance from adults.
“Most people don’t realize how interactions with little children must be joyful, hands-on and deliberate. As teachers, we encouraged the building of self-help skills and supported our students as they learned to recognize and control their emotions. We felt that these skills, along with language development, were important for our students’ future academic success,” says Snyder.
The teachers utilized positive peer pressure, because when their friends mastered a skill such as putting on their coats, the students were encouraged to learn for themselves. They started the “Tower Tot Try” in the dining hall to encourage students to try new things—different foods at lunch, such as a variety of vegetables and fruits. The teachers had a strong suspicion that the children would like Swedish meatballs and encouraged them to try them, which they loved. The goal was for the children to take safe risks.
“Julie and Jeannie were exceptional guides,” says Alaina Brandon, mother of Grayson and Seattle Kyle ’22. “They went above and beyond, surpassing all expectations with their incredible work. And they did it all with kindness and compassion.”
“Julie and Jeannie created such a fun and safe learning environment,” echoes Thomas Hanna ’91, father of Tommy ’24, Bo ’25 and Sam ’27. “Our experience with them paved the way to matriculate our other two sons at Tower Hill, right behind Tommy. We will always have a special place in our hearts for Julie and Jeannie.”
The students and teachers also shared the classroom with a variety of class pets.
“Animals are a nice attraction and distraction for small children,” explains Snyder. “They learned responsibility by feeding and taking care of them.”
Chase the bunny would run around the classroom after students left for the day and went home every weekend with Snyder. A big, flop-eared rabbit named Mopsy came next, followed by a Guinea pig named Truffle. There were also three red-eared slider turtles that were donated by a Tower Tot family, two of which—Larry and Pickles—are still Tower Hill residents. Roca continues to help care for them.
“Although I do not remember a lot about being a Tower Tot, I remember the class turtles,” says Gattuso. “It was a good way to see an animal in its habitat.”
PARTNERSHIP
Snyder and Roca were true partners and co-taught Tower Tots for six years, though they have been teachers at Tower Hill for 21 and 26 years respectively. Their previous experience teaching kindergarten and prekindergarten informed their Tower Tots classes, because they had a deep understanding of the developmental expectations of this age group. They stayed well connected with the preschool through gatherings and monthly get togethers.
When being interviewed, they often spoke simultaneously, echoing each other’s sentiments and completing one another’s sentences.
“I learned so much from Jeannie. She taught three year olds prior to working at Tower Hill and I gladly followed her lead,” Roca says of Snyder.
They attributed the success of the program largely to one another and the Tower Tots families, with whom they established another level of partnership. Parents were invited into the classroom each morning to chat with the teachers and walk around with their children. In the summer before school started, Snyder and Roca visited each child at their homes.
Lexie Hanna described Snyder and Roca as her, “favorite angel teachers,” and said that she “used to drop Tommy off and talk to the teachers for nearly an hour everyday. It meant a lot for them to take great care of my kids.”
Tommy himself reflects that, “Ms. Roca and Ms. Snyder have had a major impact on my time here at Tower Hill. Even when I pass by them in the hall now as a senior, 15 years later, they still recognize me and say hello. They have kept in touch with my family and me and, in my mind, remain a staple of Tower Hill. Their positive attitudes and beyond friendly personalities are certain to lighten your day whenever you see them.”
