Staff Spotlight

Dena Sommer coordinates program for easing preschoolers into their first school experiences

by Mary Jo David

If you arrive at Smith Elementary at the same time as the students in the morning, you’re likely to see Dena Sommer smiling and greeting the children coming through the doors.

Although a large part of her focus as early childhood coordinator is the youngest in the schools, Sommer says, “I love to stand at the door, say ‘good morning’ to kids in all the grades, and connect with them as they’re just starting their day!”

Six years ago, Sommer was hired in the Stockbridge School District as a secretary for both community education and special education. She was a shared resource who spent half her time at Smith and half at Heritage School. As the queen of shared responsibilities, her job eventually morphed into a dual role as early childhood coordinator and special education secretary.

You can find her working at Smith Elementary, but her special education secretarial duties cover students across the district. Sommer is responsible for making sure paperwork is filed and computer records are updated to ensure the county has what it needs for special ed reporting.

In her early childhood role, Sommer coordinates programs for preschool-aged groups—a program she is proud to say has been expanded to five classrooms. One classroom is for 3-year-olds and the other four classrooms are for 4-year-olds.

“It’s amazing to see the progress of the preschool students. We focus on developing social and emotional skills in our 3-year-old program. We continue this with 4-year-olds, along with increasing their knowledge of letters and numbers prior to them entering Young 5s or kindergarten. Some have even begun to read words before they move on,” Sommer explained.

Sommer grew up in Chelsea with her parents and three brothers. She graduated from Chelsea High School and went on to Washtenaw Community College, where she earned an associate degree in business management. For some time in high school, she entertained the idea of becoming a lawyer.

“My mom was impressed with how I could argue my point when I was growing up,” Sommer recalled. “But she had an in-home day care, and I helped out a lot from the time I was 11 years old. I was all about kids, and I always connected well with them,” Sommer said. So eventually, working with kids won out over pursuing a law degree.

Sommer met her husband, Eric, through friends, and the couple has been married for 22 years. Eric Sommer’s family has a long history in Stockbridge, so ultimately this next generation of Sommers also settled in Stockbridge. She has had a longtime interest in architecture and loved to draw up house plans to scale on graph paper—even adding furniture to size in the drawings. This special interest paid off,  as Sommer was able to design the home that she and Eric had built in Stockbridge.

Dena and Eric have two sons: Chase, who is 19, graduated from Stockbridge High School, and Parker, age 11, attends sixth grade at Heritage.

“Chase was born nine weeks premature. Around about preschool/kindergarten we found out he had significant hearing loss in one ear. The Stockbridge school system was so supportive, between the hearing consultant, getting him a hearing aid, and so much more. It just hit home that this is a great place to raise a family.”

Education is a second career focus for Sommer. She spent 24 years working in a pediatrician’s office before Sommer ever considered looking for work with Stockbridge Schools. About 15 years ago, while on her way to work in Chelsea, Sommer experienced a single-car, rollover accident on black ice. She sustained a broken neck, multiple broken bones in her back, and nine broken bones in her left hand. It took months to recover, and she was at risk of losing her job as a result.

“Well, that was not going to work for me! I was determined to get myself back to where I was, and I eventually returned to work full time,” Sommer said. “I use this personal experience to help encourage students and my own children when obstacles seem impossible. I tell them to put their full mind and effort into what they’re trying to accomplish. That’s the important thing—to just keep trying!”

Sommer loves being part of the Stockbridge community—at work and at home. She just celebrated her seventh year helping to coordinate the community’s Daddy-Daughter Dance.

She enjoys watching kids having fun in their environment, whether it’s during school, on field trips, or sometimes dropping into their after-school activities. She especially enjoyed describing how her heart soared the day an extremely shy preschooler willingly jumped into her arms and gave Sommer a big hug for the first time!

As early childhood coordinator, she is responsible for staff who work before school, during school, and after school, not to mention the summer child care program. That tends to make it difficult for Sommer to hold in-person staff meetings. Instead, she uses emails and other forms of communication to remind her staff: “Parents and families are sending us their favorite people in the whole world, and it’s up to us to keep their children safe in our care.”

That’s a clear indication that she and her staff have their priorities straight, and Stockbridge preschoolers are the lucky recipients of Dena Sommer’s professionalism.

All photos provided by Dena Sommer, except where indicated.