Glacet Takes Helm of the Sewanee Children’s Center

by Kevin Cummings, Messenger Staff Writer
Carrie Mauzy swept pea gravel off the playground sidewalk as a pint-sized kid with spiky brown hair pushed a dump truck at her feet, spilling new gravel onto the sidewalk.
“She’s marvelous,” Carrie said about Sandy Glacet, the new director of the Sewanee Children’s Center, who had just helped a child off a fence and was now passing out toys on the playground.
Carrie is in her 31st year as a teacher at the Children’s Center, a parent-run school for kids ages 3 to 5 that a group of University of the South employees started in 1949.
“Sandy has a clear understanding of what young children need and what their strengths are,” Mauzy said. “She has a real vision for what’s current in education and bringing children back to nature and play-based learning. Children learn best through feeling, sensory and nature.”
Sandy, a Sewanee graduate, took over as director in August after Harriet Runkle stepped down. She started teaching at the center in 2012, but left for a year to return to her native France when her husband, Aymeric, the University’s chair of French and French Studies, was on sabbatical. The couple has two sons, ages 7 and 4.
“I want the community to know that the Children’s Center is a really great place for parents and children; we all work together to be sure the children have a good foundation to be ready for elementary school,” Sandy said.
She grew up two hours north of Paris and before moving to the U.S. was an assistant teacher for disabled children. Her parents still live in France; her mom is a nurse for elderly people and her stepfather works in the insurance business.
Genevieve Schutz, age 5, is a recent Children’s Center graduate and Sandy was one of her teachers.
“Miss Sandy is so understanding,” Genevieve said. “Whenever we needed help, she would understand. And she’s French and taught us French words like ‘bleu.’ She would give us challenges in French. I want to write a whole book about Miss Sandy!”
Genevieve’s mom, Regan Schutz, is former vice president of the Children’s Center Board of Directors.
“I can’t tell you how delighted—and excited—I am for the community’s preschool to be under Sandy’s guidance,” Regan said. “Coupled with the Rev. April Berends as board president, SCC is on its way to even more success.”
Sandy noted that the Children’s Center doesn’t pressure children to learn, but rather invites them to, creating special activities to generate a desire to learn. She smiles and her cheeks brighten when she talks about a student suddenly grasping a concept.
“Childhood is a childhood, we don’t need to hurry up,” she said. “They need to be ready and when a child is ready to learn, it’s so easy. You can see their face when they have that click. It’s just so great and it reminds me why I come to the center every day. I feel grateful to have my chance here.”
The Children’s Center, located at Otey Parish, is funded through money from the Sewanee Community Chest, school fundraisers and parent dues, and parents are also asked to participate in co-op activities, such as washing clothes or other work at the center.
“I’m really connected with the parents and the teachers,” Sandy said. “They are very supportive. The director needs to understand the routine in the classroom and to know the parents to have open communication. We have great teachers and we are all passionate and devoted about what we really believe is the right way to teach.”