Welcome Back to School from the Office of Early Learning! | |
Dear early learning colleagues,
As we head into another year of learning, wonder, and excitement for students and teachers, I want to recognize the dedication and hard work of early childhood teachers. Teaching and learning can only happen with the dedicated work of classroom teachers, school administrators, and school staff. In 2024-2025, the Office of Early Learning is here to support you to ensure students and schools have what they need to succeed and create environments full of play, wonder, and inquiry. We are excited to share many new resources this year, including the Science Everywhere initiative for prekindergarten, guidance on emergent multilingual learners and culturally responsive-sustaining teaching, and our forthcoming P-3 Cultural Education toolkit. Please reach out with any questions or feedback and have a wonderful school year!
Erik Sweet
Executive Director, Office of Early Learning
Please contact OEL@nysed.gov for general questions.
To reach the Executive Director:
Erik.Sweet@nysed.gov
518-474-5807
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Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children's Series
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Join the New York State Library for a panel discussion with the creators of Reading Rainbow, who recently published Creating Reading Rainbow: The Untold Story of a Beloved Children’s Series. This book tells the story of how the wonderful series came to be, and how collaboration between libraries, educators, and public broadcasting was instrumental in its development and success.
For more information on this event and how to register, see the New York State Library website.
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Best Practices P-3 Webinar Series
This year, the Office of Early Learning was excited to host a series of webinars that focus on best practices in Prekindergarten through Third Grade. Webinars on best practices this year included:
- The Value of Play: Play-Based Learning for P-3 Students
- Best Practices for UPK Collaboration
- Social Emotional Learning in the P-3 Classroom
Recordings of each can be viewed on the Office of Early Learning's Webinar Series webpage.
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Fostering Positive Behavior in the Prekindergarten Classroom
The Office of Early Learning recognizes the importance of addressing behavioral issues in early education settings. Efforts have been directed towards implementing strategies and interventions that promote positive behavior and minimize the need for exclusionary disciplinary practices. Our Positive Behavior Guidance memo and Positive Behavior Guidance webpage aim to equip educators with effective tools, resources, and guidance to support children's behavioral needs proactively.
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UPK Collaboration Council
The NYSED Office of Early Learning, in conjunction with the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, has formed a UPK Collaboration Council to identify successes and challenges to prekindergarten collaboration between school districts and community-based organizations (CBO). Membership is comprised of school district and CBO representatives, representatives from the Governor’s office, and other community stakeholders. The first meeting in July began to identity some of the challenges, including teacher certification, low per pupil rate and program and regulatory requirements.
The group also identified several successes in the UPK collaboration process, including professional learning opportunities, the ability to serve more students, and the opportunity for families to feel a part of the district prior to kindergarten. The group will meet four times with the next meeting in October and will begin to identify some possible solutions to the challenges to collaborating and some best practice examples from the successes.
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Office of Early Learning Meets with the Big 5 School Districts
The Office of Early Learning (OEL) is organizing three conference calls with the Big 5 school districts (Buffalo, NYC, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers) for the 2024-2025 school year.
One purpose of these meetings is to provide members of the Big 5 with an opportunity to directly discuss matters relating to Early Childhood programming with the Office of Early Learning. Another purpose of the meetings is to collectively develop solutions to common problems specifically faced by the Big 5 districts and to allow time for members to share successes and resources.
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Classroom Spotlight: Greece CSD
Below is an interview conducted with Julie Parsons, Director of Elementary and Early Childhood Education with Greece CSD about the indoor Play Zone they created for their PreK-2nd Grade students.
1) Why did the district decide to make this space?
The weather is not always conducive to outdoor play opportunities in Western New York. We were in the process of converting a K-5 school with a very large library that was not suitable for PreK-2 students, so we redesigned this space to be an indoor play space. We also converted a large classroom to an age-appropriate library learning environment. With the completion of our indoor Play Zone, our PreK-2 students now have the opportunity to have more gross motor play within their school day.
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2) What makes this space so unique?
The Play Zone is a dynamic and evolving environment that provides a diverse array of play-based opportunities, significantly enhancing students' engagement in peer interaction and collaborative problem-solving. Among the offerings are dramatic play, large motor activities, literacy development, and quiet sensory spaces, complemented by dedicated areas for reading and writing.
Furthermore, the Play Zone incorporates stimulating fine motor skill activities through the use of Lego tables and light tables, featuring a variety of manipulatives to promote active engagement. To ensure the space remains fresh and captivating, the Play Zone will be updated with new resources every few months, thereby maintaining student interest and fostering continuous exploration.
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3) What is the district most excited about?
Every child, regardless of weather conditions, has the opportunity to play, explore, and connect with their peers in an inclusive environment. This environment serves as a valuable platform for exploration and is a source of pride for our Greece community. In addition, we have thoughtfully integrated sensory spaces throughout the building to accommodate a wide range of needs. These inclusive spaces benefit all learners, not just Prekindergarten students, by providing enriching experiences that are accessible to everyone, ensuring that all children have the opportunity to thrive on a daily basis.
4) What advice do you have for other districts hoping to take on similar projects?
It is essential to consider how initiatives align with the needs and aspirations of families and children within the community. It is fundamental to identify the interests of students and use those insights as a foundation for future endeavors. Additionally, embrace creativity and prioritize a sense of innovation in your approach. Although we did not initially foresee the transformation of a library into a Play Zone, this inventive strategy ultimately emerged as the most advantageous decision for our community, providing enriching opportunities that benefit all members.
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Here is what our Greece Community Early Learning students are saying about their exciting experiences in the Play Zone:
“I really like the ice-cream stand. I want to go to the Play Zone every day!” -Kindergarten student
“I love the big Lite Brite and the beach house.” - UPK student
“My favorite thing to do in the Play Zone is ride the bikes!” - 1st Grade student
“I like the scooters in the Play Zone!” - Kindergarten student
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Integrating Local History and Literacy into the Early Elementary Curriculum
Looking for a fun way to integrate local history into the classroom? Historical diary entries could be a great place to start. The New York State Library’s Manuscripts and Special Collections unit has several “memoranda” books written by 8-year-old Mary Leavenworth of Franklin County, New York and her younger sisters from 1896 to 1926.
In these diaries, Mary chronicles the life of her family and community members from over a century ago. These entries offer an exciting opportunity for third graders to connect with history and inspire discussions about how life has changed – and stayed the same – since they were written.
See below for some excerpts from Mary’s diary:
February 10th, 1896
It was so stormy and I thought
I could not go to school
but Mr. Prentice came along
and I rode to school with him
February 11th, 1896
O my it was so stormy and the
roads was drifted so bad that
I could not go to school how bad I felt
March 19th, 1896
I had a sore throat and could
not go to school.
April 26, 1896
Letty and I went up on
the hill and found another
little lamb
June 1896
Mamma and I went strawberry[ing]
and got ten quarts.
Mamma and Clarence went and got 20 quarts
December 25th, 1896
I must tell what we got for
Christmas. Mamma got a pair of
shoes and a clothesline.
Clarence got a cup and saucer.
Letty and I got two yards of
ribbons apiece.
Chloe got a pair of shoes us three
girls got a new dress.
Chloe got a little knife and fork
and spoon.
Letty and I got five cents apiece
and I got a pocketbook and
we had some peanuts and candy
and I found ten cents in a sack [?]
of peanuts.
Students can be encouraged to keep their own diaries (daily or weekly) as a companion activity to exploring these entries. Entries could be written in a notebook or Chromebook, and students can document their daily lives in a similar way. Daily writing can help increase student writing fluency, and personal reflection can help bolster social emotional health.
For a digital copy of the diary Mary and her sisters created from 1896 to 1899 plus a complete transcription for 1896, please email mscref@nysed.gov and include "Vicki" in the subject line.
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Office of Early Learning
2024-2025 Webinar Series
As we prepare for the upcoming school year, the Office of Early Learning is pleased to announce a series of webinars designed to support and enhance our early education initiatives. These sessions will cover a range of topics, including science, inclusion, supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners (EMLs), and fostering positive behavior. We believe these webinars will provide valuable insight and resources to help you and your schools foster exceptional learning environments for our youngest learners.
Make sure to mark your calendars and register for the webinars below. See the flyer for more information.
Science Everywhere – November 6th, 2024 (3:00-4:00pm)
Fostering Positive Behavior in PreK – February 5th, 2025 (3:00-4:00pm)
Supporting EMLs in PreK – March 5th, 2025 (3:00-4:00pm)
Inclusion in PreK: Why it Matters – May 14th, 2025 (3:00-4:00pm)
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NYSED Partners with National Nonprofit to Launch Statewide Digital Teacher Recruitment Initiative
The New York State Education Department and TEACH are partnering to launch TeachNY.org, a new digitally powered recruitment platform developed in collaboration with a wide coalition of New York schools, districts, institutions of higher education, and education organizations. The mission of TEACH New York (TeachNY) is to identify and cultivate the next generation of teachers throughout the state.
TeachNY.org acts as the centralized hub for prospective teachers to explore the profession, access free resources, get straightforward information, and receive support in applying to educator preparation programs throughout the state.
Free resources include:
- One-on-one and group advising from New York teachers and certification experts
- A database of scholarships and funding for future teachers
- A search tool to find NY teaching programs
- Reimbursements for application and testing fees
- Support to prep for teaching tests
- Email encouragement and reminders
- Inspiring articles and content showcasing the best of the profession
In addition, TeachNY’s statewide public service announcement (PSA) and digital advertising will leverage TV, radio, and web platforms to elevate the teaching profession and generate interest among future teachers.
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Questions?
The Office of Early Learning provides technical assistance to districts regarding Prekindergarten - Grade 3 instruction and best practices. Our office also answers questions regarding UPK funding and program implementation. You can contact us at oel@nysed.gov or (518) 474-5807.
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Erik Sweet, Executive Director, Office of Early Learning
Lori Smart, Director
Tanya Amodio-Kovacs, Supervisor
Paulette Coppin, Supervisor
Grace Bombard, James Bordis, Samantha Chobot,
Lauren Cosamano, Carly Feldman,
Eric Feml-Nelsen, Jason Gish,
Tiffany Koo, Noelle Lake, Christine Lyons,
Terry Onofrio, Brandon Orszulak, Madison Ramnes,
Tina Rose-Turriglio, Christina Ryan,
Rachel Schlude, Michelle Sidoti,
Zak Snyder, Megan Tobiasen, Vicky Woods
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