Early care and education providers are navigating a start to a school year unlike any we have seen before. Teaching, Leading and Caring (TLC) invited Leadership Initiative member Christine Wicks to share her perspective as the Pre-K Director at Dream Charter School. Background This summer as an organization, we decided that we would start the school year with…
Equitable Access to Technology for Remote Learning
My internet service …is not reliable, very slow speed and it cuts off very often. I have had to upgrade in the hopes that I will get adequate internet service. Which mean it is more expensive when they eventually mail me a new modem.”.” – Workforce Survey Participant The New York Early Childhood Professional Development…
Collaborating with Families to Complete Developmental Screening in Blended and Remote Learning
Many educators have expressed how their relationships with families have strengthened during remote learning. We have seen how educators and families have collaborated closely during these past months and how these partnerships have been necessary to understand and advocate for children and their families. One area where this is especially important is during the first…
Social-Emotional Family and Child Engagement While Remote Teaching
Pre-k is for social-emotional development and that seems to be missing remotely. I can see it working for older grades, such as 3rd grade and beyond but nothing under. The children cannot really interact – they cannot practice sharing or other social skills and that is the most important in pre-k. – Workforce Survey Participant…
A Better Model for Remote Learning in Early Childhood
Learning how to engage with my 2-year-old students online. I feel like my co-teacher and I are just another YouTube video they are watching on the screen. They don’t stay interested long (of course) but because we’re not teaching in person they can’t be redirected easily and we can’t easily follow the child’s lead. We…
Supporting Multilingual Learners in Remote Learning
I personally cannot translate every great resource I find and I feel like my multilingual families are missing out. But I’m also not the greatest Spanish reader myself and cannot go through lots of pages trying to find good resources in Spanish. – Workforce Survey Participant The New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute in…
Delivering Preschool Special Education Services Remotely
One of the goals of the TLC blog at the Institute is to share a variety of perspectives on teaching, leading, and caring as we all adapt to new and different circumstances. In recent weeks, Lori Falchi posted about Collaborating with Families of Children with Disabilities and Cecilia Scott-Croff posted Grace in My Journey, a…
Keep Making Puppets! Tutorials from Jim Henson and Puppetry in Practice
Remote learning doesn’t make a lot of sense with young children, but puppets can help. They can be made out of anything on hand. They draw out children’s creativity, language and emotions. And, best of all, they turn the corporate video conference space into a children’s puppet playspace. At Teaching, Leading and Caring we have…
Connecting with Families for a Slice of Early Math Fun
“I want to include math in remote learning.” Checking in with Ms. Spencer, I heard her concern for her toddlers and a new goal. As an early childhood coach, I have seen Ms. Spencer and her partner teacher, Ms. Lakisha, give 110% as they collaborate with families to support children’s learning at University Settlement’s Children’s…
Embracing New Students: Siblings
Since the statewide shutdown, our class rosters have grown significantly, but not in the way you might expect. Although our preschool is no longer accepting new enrollees, we find ourselves serving more children as our students invite their siblings to join our virtual programming. “Lucy, it’s time for school!” three-year-old Sam calls off-screen to her…