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 FOR EARLY EDUCATORS

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PRE-K UPDATE
APRIL 29, 2020
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is proud to be part of Long Island's Regional Technical Assistance Center for Pre-K and Early Education. Visit its web page for links to all partner organizations. Many have important COVID-19 resources to share:    www.nassauboces.org/rtac

We all look forward to things "getting back to normal." At the same time, we know that routines won't be the same when our schools open up again. In this issue, we offer some perspectives on what the "next normal" might be like for you--and a way for you to join in the discussion.

Schools have reopened in Denmark--but things aren't like they used to be for teachers and students

Parents aren't allowed inside. There's no teacher staff room anymore. The library is
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closed. And children's desks are placed 6 ft. apart. These are some of the changes in one of Denmark's elementary schools, which reopened on April 15--the first schools in Europe to do so.

According to a report in the New York Times, schools have much more control over their young students than in the past. "The school's floors have been covered with new markings, showing pupils how far apart they have to stand. Hand-washing has become a part of the school routine--the first stop for all pupils at the start of every day, and then on the hour thereafter. Tea ladies have the new task of touring the school with disinfectant, cleaning each door handle at least twice during school hours."

Because the Danish schools opened first, they have, in effect, become a testing ground and a model for how schools might function in "an age of contagion." Read more.   (Note: In Norway, Kindergartens were scheduled to gradually reopen starting April 10.)

YOUR CLASSROOM
"Something is Different": Join us for a professional development event on what's next in early education

Getting back to normal in your early care and education classroom
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Everyone has been affected by COVID-19 in some way--including the children we work with. This session will provide you with helpful hints and tools for getting back to your "new normal" in your early childhood classroom. 

Presenters are the experts from Long Island's QS2 Training and Consulting, including Stephanie Dockweiler, Liz Box, Tami Pelosi and Janiva Jones. 

Registration: There is no fee for this two-hour Zoom session but pre-registration is required, and you must have access to the Zoom platform in order to participate. Email the following information to LizBox4@gmail.com :
  • Your name and the name and address of the program where you work
  • Cell phone number
  • Email address
Still have questions? Call 516-205-1947

What's needed most after the pandemic? Play

So says Fulbright scholar William Doyle, the man who literally wrote the book on the subject ( Let the Children Play). In an opinion column for the Washington Post, he
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urges schools to forget about trying to squeeze in more academics to "catch up" when their doors reopen. Instead, he suggests that educators focus on play. Not only does play have the power to "supercharge" more conventional forms of instruction, but it's an antidote to stress--an antidote that will be urgently needed after the months of COVID-19 isolation and bad news. 

"The executive function skills that kids develop through play can promote resilience, and play can restore safe and nurturing relationships with parents, teachers and other children," says an expert quoted in the piece. Read more.


Staggered schedules, Kindergarteners first and 7 other predictions for when schools reopen

NPR's Anya Kamenetz recently interviewed public health experts, education officials and other experts and compiled their thoughts about what schools might look like this fall---if they do indeed reopen. Stepped-up hygiene is an obvious change, but other suggestions may be more challenging to implement--smaller classes, for example. "Based on the typical size of a classroom in New York City, 12 would be the most children you could accommodate while maintaining social distancing."  One way to accomplish smaller class sizes might be staggered schedules, with different groups of children attending school on alternate days.

In Europe (see article above) elementary schools or Kindergartens have opened first, and that might happen here, too. "Those students are normally with one main classroom teacher, meaning fewer changes to existing staffing and scheduling." Click here for the rest of the predictions.


Looping and extra tutoring could help students readjust

Writing for Chalkbeat, a nonprofit education news site, reporters Matt Barnum and Kalyun Belsha ask how schools will help children get back on track--and they don't just mean academically. "Some students may have lost family members to the disease
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caused by the coronavirus and some schools may have lost staff members."

One proposal: extend the school day or year. Another is to provide tutoring to students who are the most behind. According to their report, a Brown University researcher "says the federal government should consider funding an army of tutors to enter schools at an unprecedented scale. This could have a secondary benefits of providing jobs for recent college graduates struggling to find work in a damaged economy."

And there's looping--the practice in which a teacher follows students to the next grade. This could provide emotional security for students who haven't been in school for quite a while and make it easier for teachers to help children catch up. Click here to read more about these and other proposals.
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
"Teaching, leading, caring"-- this new blog offers expert advice for early educators in a pandemic
The experience that preschool teachers, children and families are having is very different these days--but relationships remain essential. How can educators
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adapt? 

This question is being addressed in a series of timely blog posts from the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. Experts like Helen Frazier and Lori Falchi offer practical suggestions, such as making use of puppets to support children's learning. When you engage with a child (via remote learning), "your curiosity is key to asking questions and sustain back and forth exchanges. Your playful practice may help children to open up and participate more fully."

Another issue is how to observe children's development in the context of remote learning. One possibillty is through collecting their stories and memories of this pandemic. "For example, a family might take a picture of their children working together to sort and fold the socks. This might be an everyday chore and a family memory of solidarity during the quarantine....educators can reflect that through these familiar and everyday practices, the child is learning." 

New blog posts are going up every few days, click here to access them all.

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Domestic Violence is on the rise; but so are new resources

The isolation that's part of response to the current pandemic has led to an increase in domestic violence reports. New York State has launched a new texting program and
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confidential online service to help. Victims can text 844-997-2121 or visit www.opdv.ny.gov to confidentially chat with a professional at any tim

SEPA Mujer, Inc. has begun offering a 24/7 Spanish-language hotline for Latina victims of crime--sexual assault, domestic violence, wage theft, human trafficking. It is manned by volunteers from diverse Latin American backgrounds. The number is 833-762-9832.

On Long Island, there's a 24-hour hotline that connects domestic violence victims with a range of services: 631-666-8833. It's sponsored by Long Island Against Domestic Violence ( liadv.org )





About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a collaborating partner in the state-funded Regional Technical Assistance Center, which supports Pre-K and early childhood education on Long Island. The other collaborating partners are the three Long Island BOCES, the Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc., the Child Care Council of Suffolk, Inc. and the Family Leadership Network. 




NASSAU BOCES 
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220  Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org