This week (Sept. 10-14) is National Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) Appreciation Week!
Staff recruitment funds available to New York State child care programs have doubled
The Office of Children and Family Services has DOUBLED the amount of grant funding available to eligible New York State child care programs through the Workforce Retention Grant.
It’s time to apply for the OCFS Workforce Retention Grant
Nearly 5,000 programs have already received funding from the OCFS Workforce Retention Grant, which provides eligible programs with funding for payroll tax assistance, staff recruitment efforts and up to $3,000 in bonuses for each eligible employee! Don’t miss the opportunity to apply. The deadline is Sept. 15. Questions? Join OCFS for an upcoming webinar to…
Examining professional learning in a global pandemic
A research team examined professional learning (PL) experiences of New York City early childhood educators during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Getting ready for kindergarten with the Staten Island Alliance
The Staten Island Alliance for North Shore Children and Families hosted the “We Got Your Back” event at PS 21 on Aug. 3 for incoming kindergarten students and their families.
Early Childhood Career Development Center receives prestigious Heckscher Grant
The Institute’s Early Childhood Career Development Center has been awarded a grant from the Heckscher Foundation for Children for an innovative new work readiness program that will prepare participants for jobs in early childhood programs in New York State. The Career Development Center created the 15-week Early Childhood Work Readiness Program in collaboration with seven…
Policy Effects on NYC Early Education Centers
Dr. Maria Mavrides Calderon’s policy brief discusses the implications of compensation and work conditions policies affecting New York City Early Education Centers (NYCEECs). Throughout this brief, Dr. Mavrides Calderon (Early Scholar Cohort 2021) amplifies the voices of directors, teachers and parents working or attending NYCEECs. The brief uses information from a qualitative study conducted by…
Writing the History of Your Early Childhood Program
For the last several years, I have been researching and writing the history of the 93-year-old Amalgamated Nursery School for my doctoral dissertation at the CUNY Graduate Center, Urban Education, Policy and Leadership. This story, which started in 1929 with the founding of what was originally a kindergarten in the Amalgamated Houses, has taken me…
Diversifying Gender and Sexuality in Children’s Books:
About two decades ago, while I was a preschool teacher in Argentina, I gave little to no thought to the gendered dynamics of my classroom. I identify as a cisgender (i.e., my sex assigned at birth matches my gender identity), straight, gender-conforming woman. To a great extent, this positionality allowed me to be “genderblind” about…
The Many Joys of Early Childhood Mathematics
“Miss Ashley, Miss Ashley, give me numbers!” This is the request that started my path of awareness and curiosity about the possibilities of the mathematical minds of preschool aged children. Through sitting and talking with my students in the morning during breakfast, during center time, and during morning meeting, I discovered quite by accident, that…