Eleanor Buckley Sugarman has been the teacher/director at Gentle Dragon Preschool since 1992.

She has been an early childhood educator for over thirty years and holds her BA from Connecticut College and her M. Ed from Lesley University. Her undergraduate studies included a major in Child Development and nursery through middle school teacher certification. Her graduate work was a self-designed program in Curriculum Development and Administration. She is Director II qualified with the MA Department of Early Education and Care.

Eleanor has worked in both parent cooperative and traditional preschool settings and is a parent herself of three boys. She has been a parent at a coop, and has served on various committees at her sons' schools.

She believes that a strong parent-school relationship is an important component of a child's first school experience. She begins the school year with a home visit to each child, and holds two conferences a year with each family. Parents and teacher set similar goals for the child together, and the two year program gives the child extended time for growth and change. Communication is further enhanced by daily contact and through direct experiences when parents help in the classroom. The community partnership program in Medford funded a parenting library at Gentle Dragon, which Eleanor shares with parents.

Over her years at the school, Eleanor has been gratified by the development of community among the families, with bonds that extend beyond the classroom and their years at the school.

Eleanor has been an active member of the Community Partnership in Medford since its inception in 1993. As the baby of the partnership, Gentle Dragon receives full benefit of staff and parent workshops, tuition assistance grants, and the services of educational, speech, and occupational therapy consultants. Eleanor herself has benefited from professional development opportunities and has developed ongoing relationships with the consultants, who provide invaluable insight into different learning styles and challenges.

As a community partnership school, Gentle Dragon is required to achieve and maintain accreditation through the National Academy for the Education of Young Children. Eleanor has successfully earned this distinction for the school, now one of the smallest schools in the nation with this qualification level. Maintenance of accreditation involves an in-depth study of all aspects of the program, and the development of portfolios that show documentation of over 400 standards for the classroom and the program, and annual updates. Eleanor has single-handedly provided the work for this accreditation, and has found the process to be thought provoking and stimulating, shedding insight and intent into all aspects of a developmental curriculum.

As families move through Gentle Dragon, Eleanor's long-standing presence provides continuity and stability at the school.