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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Franz Michael Ressel, 4, gives Lynne Noel a hug after she came by to visit her old stomping grounds at the Cupertino Co-op Nursery School. Noel spent 10 years as a teacher and 13 years as the director of the nursery school before retiring last June.
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School Mate
Longtime director of the Cupertino Cooperative Nursery School retires
By Jana Seshadri
'I don't know how to describe a perfect person like Lynne," said Christine Flechsig of Lynne Noel, who retired after 23 years of working as the director of the Cupertino Cooperative Nursery School in Sunnyvale.
With a background in public school teaching in the state of New York, Noel started her stint at the nursery school in 1975 as a teacher, when her daughter was 3 years old. Noel became parent board president when her son began attending the school, and, in 1978, became its director.
Noel said her interest has always been in teaching, especially the early childhood years.
"These young minds are like fertile fields, and it's very important what we sow in them," Noel said.
"She always puts the child first," Flechsig explained. When a parent or teacher walks into the school, Noel always bends down and makes eye contact with the child during the initial greeting, Flechsig said.
Noel said the most enjoyable part of her workday was the hugs and smiles she receives from each child every single morning in the school.
"That's just the way she is--a nurturing soul," said Michelle Edgecumbe, current director of the school. "Lynne always makes sure the child feels safe and secure."
Flechsig, the school's current parent board president, said that knowing Noel for the past three years has changed her whole family's life and has made her a much better parent to her two young sons.
After her daughter was born, Noel said she and a few of her teacher friends looked around for a school like the Cupertino Cooperative, where parents are required to participate in and contribute to their child's education.
"The appeal is that as parents, we still have our finger in the pie while getting parenting support," she said.
It's mandatory that parents put in one day a week at the school, either during the morning or the afternoon program, and help out in committees that interest them. They can help out by contributing 10 committee hours per school year in whatever area of the curriculum they like, including arts and crafts, cooking, gardening, science and music. In addition, parents are required to attend two Monday night meetings organized by the school, where they have opportunities to listen to guest speakers and discuss parenting issues.
Noel said the hardest and least enjoyable part of her job was reminding someone that they had not met their responsibility.
According to Flechsig, Noel was very involved in the meetings and would reassure parents and teachers about their accomplishments in the school and would often steer them down the right path when it came to child development. She added that Noel is full of wisdom. Flechsig said that Noel often says, "There's no problem too big that can't be solved."
"Lynne taught us how to parent with kindness and respect," she said.
Edgecumbe started at the nursery school as a parent with her oldest child, who is now 10 and in the fourth grade. Subsequently, she has been back with her second and now her third child. She took over where Noel left off and started to teach the 3-year-old class five days a week. When the interim director left, Edgecumbe was asked to take over as director.
Established in March 1953 and located at 563 W. Fremont Ave., the school is partially financed and sponsored by the Fremont Union High School District Adult Education Department. The FUHSD underwrites two-thirds of the teachers' salaries, Noel said.
The financial backing of the FUHSD along with the parental commitment make it possible for the school to maintain the tuition of $85 a month for each child.
The families who have enrolled their three-, four- and five-year-old children in the school are from varied cultural and ethnic backgrounds, Noel said. She added that at times, parents have found so much enjoyment and fulfillment in being a part of their child's education that they cut back their work schedules.
"I used to have a full-time career before my son, Cody, joined this school," Flechsig said. "Then I simply quit my job."
The school currently employs three teachers, who set the general curriculum for the children. Noel said the most challenging part of her job was staffing the school and finding the right people to fit in with its philosophy.
Noel, 60, said she had 23 years as director to set the tone and philosophy of the school. Cupertino Cooperative, under Noel's guidance and direction, follows the developmental approach to learning. Noel said she believes that children who have healthy, social interaction will grow into healthy, socially interactive adults. There are no computers in the school, as computers don't do much for social interaction, Noel said. The school's huge backyard houses toys, a few pets, including chickens, a strip of vegetable garden, where the children have planted lettuce, carrots and peas, and a storage shed with bikes, balls and huge blocks. Inside the school are more than a hundred board games, an extensive art supply area, a playroom with a loft and costumes, more pets, including rats, a science area, and a music room, which also doubles as a playroom during rainy days.
Noel said one thing she never enjoyed doing in the school in 23 years was feeding a live rat to the school's pet boa constrictor when she was assistant director.
"It was such a mess after the snake finished his meal--with blood and flesh inside the cage--and I wanted to clean it up quickly because I didn't know how to explain it to the children," she said.
The school certainly has some appeal, because according to Flechsig, of the 88 families who patronize the school, 53 families are returning alumni. She added that even now students very often visit their "teacher Lynne," sometimes several years after they've left the school.
More than 500 people attended the retirement party that the school had for Noel last year. Noel received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the California Council of Parent Participation in Nursery Schools last year.
Noel said she and her husband decided to retire last year to complete projects at home and pursue their other interests, such as camping, hiking and traveling around the world. They have embarked on a month-long trip to Africa and are making plans to travel to Antarctica next year. Noel said she enjoys being with her grandchild and will now make time for her other loves, such as reading, baking, going for long walks and being with people.
Even though the responsibility of being the school's director no longer rests on Noel's shoulders, she is still very much involved with the school as a consultant and is currently helping Edgecumbe with the transition.
As one parent said, "This school is really her baby."
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
