THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, June 21, 1985 25 AN E RA Roz Gilson concludes *e an innovative 29-year , career at Shaarey Zedek's . Beth Hayeled schools. o BY CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ Special to The Jewish News 1•• Neal Duchin EN D O F Mrs. Gilson helps Danny Kahn, Kim Brotman and Jenny Weinberg prepare for Shabbat. Rosaline Gilson is making a wish, and her formula never fails. As a teacher at the Beth Hayeled Nursery School of Shaarey Zedek for 12 years and director for the past 17 years, she has made this wish ap- proximately 6,000 times. The wish is a blessing in honor of a student's birthday. Today's birthday boy, Daniel Weiss, is wear- ing a crown made out of green con- struction paper for this special occa- sion. The other 15 children in his nursery school classroom are eagerly awaiting Gilson's litany. • "May God give you a long and healthy life," says Gilson. She opens the Siddur, the book she refers to as "talking. to God," and reads a He- brew passage. She ends her speech with, "hazel Tov to you, Daniel, and all the mishpachah." The children sing "Happy Birthday" and dig into kosher cupcakes. Everyone is happy, including Daniers_parents. This homey, family •atmosphere in the Beth Hayeled, which means "House of the Child," is something Gilson has perpetuated for 29 years. But, as the 1984-1985 school year ends, so ends an era at Beth Hayeled. Rosaline Gilson will be stepping down as director. It has been 29 years of nurtur- ing pre-schoolers who are now prod- uctive_ members of society — .physi- cians, attorneys , accountants, etc. Dee Dee Kahn, executive director of Medi-Speech Service Inc., is a former Beth Hayaled graduate and now sends her so _ n there. "Roz Gilson al- ways made the children feel very special. I always felt special going to Shaarey Zedek and I wanted my children to have that same feeling," says Kahn. Under Gilson's direction, the school's enrollment has skyrocketed. When Gilson was named director in . Saying the blessings for Jennifer Meisloffs birthday. 1968, the school had 98 children and 12 staff members. Presently, the enrollment is 330 students with a staff of 18. "Mrs. Gilson has greatly ad- vanced the growth and development of our nursery school and kindergar- ten at Beth Hayeled. She has intro- duced high standards for preschool education and has enlarged our bi- cultural program which offers both Jewish subjects and learning skills," says Rabbi Irwin Groner. Gilson's innovations have brought national recognition to the school. It was- a recipient of the Solomon/Schechter Award bestowed by the United Synagogue of America in 1979. She has implemented_many programs: a Shabbat family dinner, a parent-toddler program; an enrichment class with topics like science, foreign countries and art; an extended-day program to accommo- date working parents; and a newly- formed computer program. "I think a lot of the changes here show what has happened in the general society. There is a greater appreciation of early childhood edu- cation. So there is an increased enrollment," states Gilson. She has kept pace with the latest research in early childhood development. She is past president of the Metropolitan Detroit Association for the Education of Young Children and was an organizer of the Michi- gan Jewish Educators of Young Children. Her professional affilia- tions include memberships in the National, Midwest, and Michigan Associations for the Education of Young Children. Presently, she is on the planning committee for the Midwest Conference to be held in Detroit in 1987. As Gilson sits in her office, clut- Continued on next page