Category: Blog

massive school cuts

Posted on by Admin

PS 180, like every other school, has been hit by the budget cuts. Every day it seems like another service is being cut. Our principal has been the master of getting money from stones, but even he is saying that we need to organize NOW. So a great PTA meeting this last Sat. I have to say I am impressed in that I have not seen a drop in PTA meeting attendance. We're starting grant writing workshops in earnest. I touched base with a friend who is VP of a firm that specializes in grant writing for non-profits, so once we're on our way she can help with polish.
ALSO our school has been awarded the 2010 Outstanding Early Childhood Program Award. Apparently it has been many years since a Public School has won this award which is given by the NYC Interagency Early Childhood Professional Development Institute. So that's pretty awesome....

In addition to grant writing workshops which I'll be attending, I'm also arranging a Feb cocktail party with raffle and a letter writing campaign to some local officials who are pretty open about wanting higher office. Time to get better at playing the game...

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day For Preschoolers

Posted on by Admin
Painting courtesey of BRUNI Sablan BRUNI Gallery http://www.brunijazzart.com

Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday observed by all states.  This means your little one has the day off school.  While this is a major holiday, Lee's class didn't do anything special to celebrate and I'm not sure if he learned anything about who Dr. King is (at least that's what he told me.   I'll have to double check with his teacher). Continue reading "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day For Preschoolers" →

BeFitNYC Week: New York Recreation Centers Open House

Posted on by Admin
photo: Curtis Gregory Perry

Do you have a 2010 fitness goal?  Well New York City parks is inviting everyone to visit their many recreation centers to try them out and learn how to be fit.  From Monday, January 11 through Saturday, January 16, the centers will host a variety of fun events and activities - all for FREE! Continue reading "BeFitNYC Week: New York Recreation Centers Open House" →

The education gender gap

Posted on by Admin
photo: ladybugbkt at flickr.com

I just discovered a new blog with an intriguing topic - why boys fail (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/whyboysfail/) - written by Richard Whitmore, a former editorial writer for USA Today.

His post "I'm not sure this is the right approach, but..." links to a story from England's The Independent that says boys as young as 3 & 4 years old need to work more at writing to stop them from falling behind girls.  I agree. Continue reading "The education gender gap" →

What happened in December

Posted on by Admin

Happy New Year everyone!  I remember not too long ago that everyone was worried about the 2000 millenium bug and here we are, 10 years later already.  Wow!

We're back from a month long holiday break and rearing to go.  This year, I plan on expanding the blog's scope to provide updates on what is going on in education throughout the U.S as well as in our individual classrooms.  When I started this blog the intention was just to write about what our kids were doing in their individual classrooms.  But once you enter the world of education you quickly see that what is happening in policy affects what happens in preschool affects what happens in elementary and high school classrooms is intricately connected.   We'll bring you as much info as we can to keep you updated and informed.  Knowledge is power.

For now, I'll let you know what Lee was up to for the month of December.  The kids covered:

- naming and identifying letters Dd, Ee and Fk

- naming and identifying numbers 3 and 4

- living and non-living things

- Jesus and his birth

The month was filled with all sorts or activities from the Christmas concert to Santa's Workshop, where kids got to purchase donated items as gifts for their family and friends.  There were bake sales, holiday parties, fundraisers...my head was dizzy from all the activities.

At the end of January will be the end of the 2nd quarter and time for another report card.  This time I will scan the card and post it so that you can see all of the criteria used to evaluate the kids.

PTA meetings

Posted on by Admin

The PTA meetings are well attended at 180. We had about 30 parents at our November meeting and it's great to see that the "Jag Dads" (our school mascot is a jaguar) are really getting active. The school has an amazing auditorium and the dads are planning a monthly movie based on a book. The idea is to read the book, see the movie and have a discussion after. Of course moms are welcome, but the idea is to have dads make this their night and I'm all for it!

We discussed budget cuts and how it will impact the services we have now. We're ok for the short term, but if there has to be such drastic cuts next yr, we're in trouble. I've joined the fundraising committee, I'll see what we can drum up....our first raffle is this week. My company, as usual, has donated sevices :)!

Brayden adores, adores his teacher and his classmates. He runs to school every morning and even his teacher remarked at what an amazing , loving group of boys are in the class. They hug each other each morning and pat each other on the back. Can't believe how cute they are!

Charter school fight for space in New York City

Posted on by Admin

In my school district, the choice of public schools leave something to be desired.  That's why I was very excited to learn of plans for the first public French-American charter school in New York City to open here in September 2010.  My enthusiasm has dampened a bit since I've started researching and reading about charter schools and the recent charter school movement in New York.

Charter schools are a key part of President Barack Obama's plan for the reform of our education system.   NYC's Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, also thinks that charter schools play a vital role in improving the city's public education system, and has made increasing the number of the city's charter schools a key initiative of his third term.

An article in today's New York Times discusses the city's strategy, thus far, of awarding space to new charter schools.

It's a debate that will only get more and more contentious as more public schools are closed down to reopen as charter schools, themselves public schools but supported with private money.  Personally, I disagree with this tactic and feel that this is a way of privatizing our public schools, which I ABSOLUTELY disagree with.  Why can't we invest in improving the schools we currently have?!

Should we continue to open new charter schools or should we work on improving our current schools?  Please leave a comment and tell us your thoughts.

Public School K and Pre-K Admissions 2010

Posted on by Admin

Another great quick guide that was sent out from my sons Parent Coordinator this week gave a quick list of deadlines for Public Pre-K and Kindergarten applicants for the 2010 school year. Last year I pulled my son out of private school at the last minute and the process was such a complete headache trying to enroll him in the fall when I discovered that most of the parents had enrolled in all of the best schools in the spring.

Anyway, hoping to save you some headache.  Here you go!

"Please see below for the admissions timeline for general education kindergarten and preK. It seems that we will have the same procedure as last year meaning that you must fill out an application for a kindergarten seat in your school zone between February 1st and March 12th. I am not sure how non-zoned siblings will apply. They have not made any announcement regarding a Lottery. I will distribute that information when it becomes available."

Kindergarten Admissions Timeline For Children Born in 2005:

Kindergarten Registration Intake Period Begins February 1, 2010

Kindergarten Intake Period Ends March 12, 2010

Schools Notify Families of Kindergarten Offers March 22, 2010

Families Pre-register at Schools April 12 - April 23, 2010

As they have in the past, zoned schools will give priority to Kindergarten students who live in their zone.

Pre-Kindergarten Admissions Timeline For Children Born 2006:

Directories and Applications Available March 1, 2010

Pre-Kindergarten Information Sessions March 2010

Pre-Kindergarten Application Period Ends April 9, 2010

Pre-Kindergarten Offer Letters Distributed to Families May 31, 2010

Families Pre-Register at Schools June 7 - June 18, 2010

To receive e-mails regarding the Pre-kindergarten registration and enrollment process go to:

http://app.bronto.com/public/actionpage/execute_page/?fn=Mail_ActionPage_FormResponse&pid=gs7wz340yhnhdp8ducgcddkzwd0cc&page_type=addcontact&ssid=4776 <http://app.bronto.com/public/actionpage/execute_page/?fn=Mail_ActionPage_FormResponse&pid=gs7wz340yhnhdp8ducgcddkzwd0cc&page_type=addcontact&ssid=4776>

Nursery/Day Care Listing

Posted on by Admin

I was online looking for a quick list of nursery schools and daycares to share with a friend and came across an invaluable resource. This site lists some of the most selective to the most affordable and community based childcare options for all of Manhattan, so if you're a Harlemite that's looking for something local or simply to expand your options than this is a great quick list. Enjoy!

http://www.metroprofiles.com/NewYorkCity_ManhattanDayCareCenterDirectory.html