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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 (LI-RTAC). Visit its web page for links to all partner organizations. Many have important COVID-19-related resources to offer: www.nassauboces.org/rtac
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And the survey says: New Yorkers want in-person schooling to resume this fall
"A screen cannot take the role of the teacher"--that was one of the top-rated "thoughts" for Long Island in a recent crowdsourcing of ideas regarding how community members feel about returning to school in the fall. Using the virtual conversation tool Thoughtexchange, the BOCES statewide gathered input from more than 60,000 participants.
Overall, in New York State, these participants were mostly parents (67%) or teachers (33%). And one of the most important issues: "[they] felt it was important for in-person schooling to be held in the fall, even if it is not full-time." The reasons included that parents aren't trained to teach and that teacher/student and peer interactions are an important component of learning. Other top areas of concern: cleaning and disinfecting policies and dissatisfaction with remote learning. When Long Island's results were looked at separately, the top themes were the same. Specifically, high-rated comments included: "All classrooms should have cleaning products, tissues and hand sanitizers. We need to continue practicing clean hygiene;" and "Students need to interact and move. Not sit in one room all day."
For more details about the data that was collected, and to download the state-wide report, visit the
Nassau BOCES website.
And in New York City, 75% of parents want their kids back in school, too
Just like the families in the rest of the state (see above), New York City residents want to send their children back to classrooms in September. Last Thursday, Mayor DiBlasio reported on a survey of more than 400,000 parents. According to NBC news, an "overwhelming majority"--or 75%--want to send their children back to public schools in the fall.
However, the Mayor pointed out that social distancing is an issue, and warned parents to expect staggered schedules--that is, kids may not all go to school at the same time or may only returned for in-person learning on dedicated days.
Read more.
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COVID-19
Pediatricians want children in classrooms this fall--here's why
According to
guidance recently issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, "schools are fundamental to child and adolescent development and well-being." That's one reason this group, devoted to protecting children's health, is stating that "all policy
considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having children physically present in school."
In an interview with the New York Times, one of the authors of the new guidance document, Dr. Sean O'Leary, underscored that "kids being at home led to increases in behavioral health problems." More importantly, he says, as we are learning more about COVID-19, we're finding out the ways it is different from most other respiratory viruses. "What we have seen so far...is that kids really do seem to be both less likely to catch the infection and less likely to spread the infection. It seems to be even more true for younger kids, under 10 or under 12."
When it comes to teachers and other adult staff members, O'Leary says, masks do work and physical distancing works. "If they are taking as many precautions as they can, I think the risk is pretty low."
Read more.
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YOUR CLASSROOM
From helicopter arms to the "disinfectant monitor"-- a child care center director answers questions about reopening
When Bright Star Academy in Oceanside began re-opening in mid-May, figuring out how to meet new health policies and procedures was a team effort, according to
Director Lori Bader. Interviewed for a blog post from the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, Bader describes a process that included a full week of training for her staff, and a focus on safety.
"I purchased lots of cleaning supplies. A cleaning company came to our program and did a training with my staff in the parking lot," she says. "They taught us how to use the cleaning supplies, explained the difference between sanitizing and disinfecting, and walked us through how to use them on different surfaces."
What's more, she made sure to engage her staff in the process, as they all learned how to deal with the new reality. "Each classroom came up with their own approach that made sense for their classroom space, age group and comfort level of teachers."
To learn more, including why parents bring clean towels daily and why toys are in ziploc bags,
click here.
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Learn what schools are doing about transition to Kindergarten in this pandemic-disrupted year
With schools closed for several months at the end of the school year, early educators weren't able to carry out traditional activities to ease children's transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten--but this transition remains as important as ever. In a special webinar for administrators and leaders of public school district-operated programs, we're offering ideas from four leaders.
Strategies to Help Families and Children Transitio
n from Pre-K to K in 2020: A Conversation with Program Leaders
Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Panelists:
Florence Barbour, Director, Harbor Child Care
Pam Renneisen, Director, St. Joseph's Universal Prekindergarten Program
Denise Ferrera, Universal Pre-K Associate, Middle Country Public Schools
Michele Pepey, Director of Special Education and Pupil Personnel Services, East Moriches Public Schools
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HELP WANTED
Are you an early childhood director in need of staff? An educator looking for a job? This new program can help
The Early Childhood Career Development Center is a grant-funded program that makes connections between Long Island educators and programs. Whether you're a recent graduate or a seasoned early educator, you can use the confidential process to provide a resume to a career advisor. And programs can--at no cost--post positions on the Center's job board. A trained advisor will then make connections for you with the job seekers.
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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.
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NASSAU BOCES
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220 Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org
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