Boston Office

Passion and Purpose

Whether working with preschoolers, teenagers, or single moms and parents, NEP Educators give their all—and receive back even more

No two days are the same for the NEP’s school-based Nutrition Educators. That’s why the program is so fortunate to attract a staff with the ingenuity, creativity, and flexibility to think on their feet.

“Anything can happen on a normal day,” says Tracie Gillespie, Program Supervisor at NEP’s regional office in Boston. “You might walk in expecting to teach a fifth grade class, and find they’re in assembly, so you pick up another class instead. We’ve even been in schools where a lockdown has kept us in place for the afternoon.”

Dedication and patience are prerequisites, but perhaps even more essential are the educational background and knowledge that NEP Educators bring to their jobs. Every staff member in the Boston office has formal training in nutrition or education, says Gillespie, and most have their master’s degrees or are working toward them. “They are truly passionate about learning new things and reaching out to this audience,” she adds.

That passion is obvious in staff members’ thoughtful and inventive teaching strategies, like one inspired educator who found herself facing a new and unruly kindergarten class at the beginning of the school year. Knowing that the youngsters weren’t yet used to sitting in a classroom, she cranked up the music, helped them glue tracings of their hands onto headbands, and soon had them marching around the room chanting, “Wash your hands! Wash your hands!”

Even middle schoolers, who are inclined to greet the notion of nutrition class with moans and groans, find themselves caught up in the enthusiasm of their NEP Educator’s weekly visits. “By the end of the year, it’s a complete turnaround,” says Gillespie. “They’re hugging their NEP Educators, crying through their goodbyes, and saying this was so much fun.”

Best of all, those lessons are making it home. Parents report being asked by their children to read food labels at the grocery store, and kindergarteners regularly run down the hall at the sight of their NEP educator, exclaiming, “Guess what I brought for snack today!”

Rewards like these do much to keep NEP staff members engaged, despite long hours and demanding teaching loads. Last year’s Boston-area youth program reached nearly 8,000 students in 53 schools, as well as over 150 preschoolers through Head Start. It helps that NEP Educators are so open to sharing their challenges, stories, and solutions with one another—and that the work they’re doing is so clearly making a positive difference in the lives of children and families.

“It’s amazing how much impact these programs have,” concludes Gillespie. “If we can get in there once, it’s a given we’ll be invited back.”

NEP’s school-based nutrition education programs are also available through our offices in Brockton, Fall River, Lawrence, South Hadley, Springfield, and Worcester.