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By Julia Lovett METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP January 4,2018 | 4 8 woman who has dedicated her | life to bettering the lives of children 2 and their families was recognized -- with a national award. I Beth Jonz recently received the Friends of Children Award dur- ing a special breakfast ceremony in Milton to honour her dedication 'and commitment as an early child- hood educator and advocate. ing with children and anything |. did S grave around being with chil- = dren," said Jonz, former director of Children Services Division with the J c Region of Halton. = Now retired, Jonz was educated at Purdue University where she | 2 received her degree in child devel- i opment and family studies. It was "From a very early age kloved be- | throughout her 40-year career that | her passion for children's education took flight and under hér |eader- ship, Early Childhood Education (ECE) changed and developed into a community-minded initiative. "This award equals Mary Beth, said Roxanne Young, manager of children's developmental services .for Children's Services, Social and Community Services with Region of Halton. "We really felt that this is ex- actly the kind of person that should be honoured for this" . - : Jonz developed her passion for ear- ly childhood education through her first position at a child-care centre in Michigan and later as education director for Headstart in Indiana. Later she became the parent educa- | "I was the education director but | | learned much more from the staff there in that position than | could've taught them, really" During her tenure in Indiana, Jonz worked with the children during the day and also visited the families at their homes. "So it was kind of looking at the child and the family as a whole ver- EEE x TF me & [oO sus just the child and that's what re- ally appealed to me,' she noted. Once she married and moved to Canadian Association for Young Children Qntario Provincial Director Dr. Ran the former director of Haltoh Region's Children Services Division, with the Fr Canada, she earned her credentials | and took a temporary child-care job as a way to get her foot in the door. tor for Hamilton family-services' child care-parent education program. "I loved that," said Jonz, a resident of Waterdown. : Young said her former colleague was a mentor who provided strong leadership and put a great empha- sis on collaboration -- and never: : i i ! el da Khattar (left) presents Mary Beth Jonz, iends of Children Award at a ceremony at A SR x « inn 22 . : EN RE id Se Sn ¥ a ha ep NEWS tions for anything, she would al- * ways reflect that back. "But we can only work at the top of our game when we have theleades- ' ship and the trust and respect that we had through Mary Beth." Jonz's influence and drive to de- velop state-of-the-art child care led to educators from countries such . as Japan visiting the region to tour and study the methods at places like Oakville's Margaret Drive Child- | care Centre, Sedgwick. Childcare | Centre and Maple Avenue Child- care Centre in Georgetown. | | "She took the time to stop and talk and discuss, and | think that was re- ally important," Young said. | Throughout her tenure, Jonz wit- | nessed a dramatic change in the way | young children are taught, includ- ing in the common curriculum and | services for children with "special exceptionalities" that are now recog- the Milton Community Resource Centre last month. Nikki Wesley / Metroland | 'A true friend of the children 'From a very early age | loved "being with children and anything | did gravitated around being with children. Mary Beth Jonz Award recipient Our Kids Network (OKN) nominated lost sight of why the organizations their director for the award that was she worked for were there. "Children and families and child- : ! care providers were always foremost | and we knew that was what we were striving for in terms of better quality of life for them and opportunities for children and families," she added. 1-888-878-2354 | wallacechev.com | 801 Main St E A ah : established by the Canadian Asso- ciation for Young Children (CAYC) that honours someone each year who demonstrates an "outstanding | contribution to the well-being of . children and their families" accord- . ing to an OKN press release. - --_-- po LO Rati nized through earlier intervention. . "Theres been an expansion of fund- | ing and support so I've seen a huge ~ Jonz will join a list of influential re- | cipients that includes musician and children's advocate Raffi Cavoukian of "Baby Beluga" fame, author Rob- ert Munsch and Jim Grieve, former assistant deputy minister of the Early Years Division for the Ontario | Ministry of Education, the latter whom Jonz counts as a mentor. "I'm thinking 'How do | fit into that category? These are really people who are much more influential than I am," said Jonz. "I'm humbled and honoured" The educator who spent 30 years with Halton Region -- 18 as direc- | gain," she said, noting, Canada 'is fast becoming a leader in recogniz- ing the importance of early years education and adding that the one- year maternity: leave policy is play- ing a role in a child's development. * ' Jonz is proud of what the region has accomplished and noted that a large part of her success was through the support of her hus- band Vic and children Alexandra and Andrew. Her current plan is to spend more time with her grand- kids -- but she has some other projects in the works. . Young said she continues the work tor -- said this is not an-award for | her alone but rather for her team and the community who support- ed the-work. That response, Young said, shows who Jonz really is. with Jonz's voice in her head. "She was a mentor to so many of us and | say | am who lam because of her she said. "Her legacy will go on "That sums up Mary Beth," she said. | "She would never take congratula- | ULTRAVIEW SUNROOF and on and on' . The event was hosted by Our Kids Network Early Years Committee. at the Milton Community Resource Centre. RN Ya IIs @