Staff Developer Spotlight: Ava Daniel

Ava Daniel joined Morningside Center in 2006 and has been a warm, steady, and vivacious presence ever since.

Over the years, she has trained and coached thousands of teachers in social and emotional learning, restorative practices, and racial equity. She has also helped  develop and pilot Morningside Center’s curricula, including for after-school. Ava has a BA in Communications from Hunter College and a MA in Psychology, specializing in Diversity Management, from Cleveland State University.

We asked Ava about how she came to Morningside, the rewards and challenges of the work, and if she had any advice for educators.

I came to this work after spending numerous years in the corporate industry. During that period, I had the opportunity to work with young people in a mentoring role. It was very rewarding and led to my wanting to do more intentional work, where I could use my skills of building relationships and connection to support students In developing skills that would allow them to thrive. I love that in doing this work, I can be of service to so many students and educators through training, coaching, and direct contact.

I am humbled every time I build a new relationship with a student and/or educator, where they trust enough to share their hopes, dreams, life challenges and sometimes secrets with me. The most challenging part of this work is that it is often undervalued. This means that time and resources are not always readily available to give the necessary supports for maximum impact. There have been occasions when I have left a school not feeling positive that there will be continuity to my work.

I have had many moving experiences in schools, both with educators and students, who often adopt me into their school family.

One morning I was on my way to an elementary school. I was exiting the train station, when a class that was going on a school trip entered the station. I was so focused on giving them space, I didn’t realize that I knew that class. Suddenly there was this loud chorus of voices yelling ‘Miss Ava!!!’  ‘Are you coming with us?’ When I replied ‘no’ some replied, ‘but why?’ After they went through the gate with their teachers, a young man said to me, ‘They must really like you.’ It made my day, that they wanted me to go on the trip with them.

This work has changed me in that I continuously challenge myself to do better. This work is not about business as usual. I look for opportunities to fill in my knowledge gaps,  I ask more questions and I have become a better listener.

If I can offer educators one piece of advice, I would invite them to visit or revisit what social and emotional learning is, so that they can use these skills to support themselves and their students, especially during these challenging times.