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Our Program

Little girl jumping in the air on a promenade by the water
Children doing an art project in the classroom with paint and large brown poster.
Assorted rocks painted in various colors and designs.
Children in one long line smiling as they take a community walk outside the school.
Children on the classroom floor in their sleeping bags posing for the camera.
Two little boys at table doing a science project with fresh picked greenery in paper plates.
Pre-k children on mats in the gym exercising.
A little girl sitting at a table doing art project with mini marshmallows and red construction paper
Pre-K children smiling as they wait to enter a mock car wash with words Wax, Buff, Dry & Scrub

Units of Study 

Our units of study allow our little learners to expand their primary understanding of themselves and the world around them. A consistent thread of themes gives our teachers the opportunity to help the children become critical thinkers while building important skills. Purposeful and creative play, reading, peer interaction and parent engagement, are among the many methods and tools used to help our children gain maximum benefits. Our units of study are : Welcome to Pre-K, My Five Senses, All About US, Where We Live, Transportation, Light, Water, Plants, Babies and Transformation
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Below is a brief snapshot of one of our units of study:

My Five Senses

Essential Question: How do we use our senses to explore, investigate and understand the world around us?

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Example Focus Question:

How do we use our sense of sight?

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Outcomes

Enduring understandings that the student should have by the end of the unit:

There are five senses. They are smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing.

We use our senses to understand our bodies, learn what they need and keep us safe.

We use our senses to learn about the people, places, objects and environment around us.

We experience and interact with the world differently when our senses, such as vision or hearing, are impaired.

STEAM

Our STEAM program (science, technology, engineering, the arts and math)  allows our students a sound foundation toward proficiency in these subjects as they grow and learn. Challenging them with various activities helps them to use their minds and hands to create new things.  For more information, please see our STEAM page. 

Reggio Emilia

Our program recognizes Reggio Emilia as an important educational philosophy for early childhood learning.  Our teachers may draw from this approach which is based on respect, responsibility and environment through projects of exploration and discovery stemming from a child’s questioning mind.

Special Education

Our special education classrooms and services are available at Center Z111 located at 369 93rd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209 and Center Z112 located at 1423 62nd street, Brooklyn, NY 11219. We serve children from ages 3 to 5. Our program fully supports a child’s learning, speech and language, physical development, social-emotional skills, and other areas.

For more information on having your child benefit from a special education setting, please go to the NYC DOE website     

You may also view the the Family Guide to Preschool Special Education Services

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Dual-Language 

Our dual-language classes are a two-way immersion of English and a partner language, Spanish, Mandarin or Arabic. This instruction is an option for both native English speaking students and English Language Learners.

Pre-K students will benefit from a full day of class instruction in English followed by a full day of instruction in the partner language. This program provides the same academic content and addresses the same standards as English language classes. Parents may expect their child to reach bilingual, biliteracy and bicultural goals.

Literacy

We strongly believe that early literacy plays a key role in preparing children to succeed in school and life. Reading with and to the children is an important and fun activity at all our centers. Below is a view of the outstanding treasure of books present in every classroom of our program. Please click here to view our partial book list. 

Program Information

  • Our 11 centers are helmed by two principals and supervised by assistant principals. A site coordinator is also assigned at each center and available to parents and caregivers. Please see our administration page and centers page for contact information. 

  • Each class is led by a teacher highly skilled and accredited in early childhood education. A trained paraprofessional is also assigned to assist in every classroom. Classroom ratio may be a maximum of 18:1:1 for Pre-K classes and 15:1:1 for 3-K classes.

  • Every center has the avid participation of cluster teachers. Cluster teachers visit each classroom to add extra enrichment through instruction in various subjects such as STEAM, movement and music, math, science, visual arts and theater arts.

  • Our school nurses are highly trained and licensed medical professionals. They offer a spectrum of health services determined by New York State law, NYC health code and the Chancellor's regulations.  

  • Our social workers are certified by the state of New York and are available to all parents and caregivers in our 11 centers.

  • Our parent coordinator is available to communicate with parents via phone and email every school day and holds a monthly parent meeting for each of our 11 centers. Please see our administration page for contact information. 

  • An NYPD school safety agent is present at every school entrance at all times. Safety measures, evacuation drills and soft lock-down drills are strictly observed at every center.

  • School hours are scheduled from 8:30 A.M. to 2:50 P.M.

  • Breakfast and lunch are served daily in the classrooms via a family style setting. This allows for peer interaction and socialization. Our healthy menu includes fresh fruit and milk. We work with parents to the best of our ability if their child has a dietary or allergy restriction. To learn more about the NYC School Food Program, please go to: http://www.schoolfoodnyc.org/schoolfood/MenusDailyDisplay.aspx

  • Daily nap/rest time follows the lunch period. Each child is provided with their own cot. Parents are asked to provide a clean sheet and blanket.

  • Pre-K centers are closed on all federal holidays and many religious holidays as well. School administration maintains a strong communication with parents to inform of additional days that school may be closed or for a change in dismissal time. To view the NYC DOE school calendar, please go to: http://schools.nyc.gov/Calendar/default.htm?mo=10&yr=2016

  • Ongoing translation is part of our effort to effectively communicate with parents and caregivers. We have an active relationship with the NYC DOE Translation Unit as well as translators on site at each center. To know more about free translation tools available to every family, please go to: https://infohub.nyced.org/resources/communications/translation-and-interpretation

  • Each center benefits from a dedicated custodial team. Our custodians are responsible for the daily cleanliness of all classrooms as well as ongoing maintenance, repair, and safe operation of every building in our program.

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Two little boys looking sitting at a table looking at toy dinosaurs through magnifying glasses.
Boy wearing a Spiderman mask doing an experiment of blue dye in a cup of cotton & water
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