A Lifetime at the J :

Hannah Frankel

Some connections to the Mandell JCC begin in childhood. For one ECC teacher, that connection has come full circle.

“I came here as a preschooler in 1994 or 1995,” Hannah Frankel recalls. “My teachers were Jane Pasternak, Paula Baram, and Sharon Bercowetz.”

More than 30 years later, Sharon still works in the building—and now their paths cross again in the halls of the JCC. Only this time, Hannah’s a teacher. “I’ve been a member here my entire life,” she says.

This August will mark 11 years working in the JCC’s Early Childhood Center for Hannah Frankel, where she teaches three-year-olds in Room 2. She’s known to everyone as Miss Hannah.

Growing up in West Hartford, the JCC was a constant part of her childhood. In addition to going to the ECC, she attended Camp Shalom, took swim lessons, participated in summer programs, and spent time at the J with her family. Even after preschool ended, the connection remained.

 “The J feels like family,” she says. “Most of the people I know here, I see outside of work.”

That sense of connection shows up every day in the ECC. Many of the families she teaches remain part of her life long after their children leave her classroom. She still babysits for former students and keeps in touch with families she first met working in the ECC. “The joke in my family is that my mom used to know everybody because she was a doctor in town. And now I know everybody - we just kind of swapped. I think it's really cute.”

Sometimes, those connections come back around in remarkable ways.

One of Hannah’s first preschool teachers was Jane Pasternak. Years later, she found herself welcoming Jane’s grandchildren into her classroom.

“I’ve had all three of her grandkids in some capacity,” she says. “I still get invited to their birthday parties.”

Looking back through her old preschool photos—taken by longtime JCC photographer Paul Cryan—she can see just how long those connections have lasted. In one picture, she stands beside classmates she is still friends with today.

“One of my closest family friends and I met here when we were about two and a half,” she says. “We’ve spent holidays together ever since.”

Her path back to the JCC as an employee happened unexpectedly. After leaving a job as a nanny, she was getting her hair done when her hairdresser asked what she planned to do next. Sitting next to her at the salon, was Pam Powell, the ECC Co-Director at the same. And she suggested she apply.

“It felt bashert - meant to be,” she says.

She started as a floater in the ECC before finding her place in a preschool classroom, where she has been ever since. And few years later, Hannah had Pam Powell’s granddaughter in her classroom. A moment that brought everything back to the beginning.

What keeps her coming back every day?

“The people,” she says simply. “I love my co-teachers. I love the kids.”

Working at the JCC has also deepened her connection to Judaism.

“When I started working here, we celebrated all of the holidays in our classroom – hamantashen for Purim, Hanukkah parties, and we did Shabbat on Fridays,” she says. “It was a really nice way to reconnect to my Judaism.”

Now she’s continuing to grow professionally as well, working toward her Child Development Associate degree, alongside Crispin Abbot, another beloved ECC teacher, all while helping the youngest members of the JCC community begin their own journeys.

To add just one more connection, earlier this year, Hannah’s cousin, Ephi Stempler, started working at the JCC as the Cultural Arts Director, after many years away from the West Hartford community.

After nearly a lifetime connected to the Mandell JCC, Hannah sees her story clearly: Children grow up here. Friendships begin here. Families stay connected here.