Announcements

Dane Peters, Head of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, will be part of a panel discussion this Sunday (Feb 21) at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, NY on the topic of “Making Change Contagious”. The event starts at 12:30 PM, and it’s free and open to the public, so if you’d like to attend ask Dane a question, feel free to pop by!

Plymouth Explores “Making Change Contagious” on Sunday 2/21

How do successful organizations evolve and change? How can we promote our mission via strategic planning and “intentional” change?

As Plymouth Church prepares a strategic plan for the future, the Plymouth Council invites you to a conversation with three leaders of non-profit initiatives that successfully met the challenge of change.

Sunday, February 21, 12:30 p.m.
Reception Room

Our Panelists:

Paula Kascel
Deputy Executive Director, Bravo Lincoln Center Campaign
Former Director of Strategic Planning, The New York Botanical Garden (1999-2003)

The transformation of the New York Botanical Garden in the 1990s from a demoralized non-profit facing near-bankruptcy to a world-class education and research institution has put the institution back on the cultural map. The turnaround of NYBG has been examined by the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia in case studies on strategic planning for non-profits.

Dane Peters
Head of School, Brooklyn Heights Montessori School

Brooklyn Heights Montessori, serving 250 students in Grades K-8, has grown in recent decades to become a vital center of childhood education in Brownstone Brooklyn. The school recently completed an extensive strategic planning exercise and, based on the resulting plan, purchased an old firehouse on Dean Street as part of its goal to increase enrollment by 15%.

Rob Rogers
Principal Architect, Rogers Marvel Architects

From large-scale public projects, such as the re-design of Governor’s Island, to institution-specific buildings, including a new campus for Westchester Reform Temple, Rogers Marvel has earned a reputation for comprehensive, sophisticated solutions that carefully address a project’s inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Photo: Colin Purrington

BHMS Head of School, Dane Peters, circulated an email today (Feb 5) suggesting that the supporters of the Little Room might stage a rally outside the school this weekend, that rumor is not true.

The Little Room is a high quality special needs education program for pre-schoolers located within the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School (BHMS) in Brooklyn, NY. Sadly, the program is being closed by BHMS and this blog was created by a group of concerned parents who wish to inform the public of its value and insure its ongoing existence. Please consider signing the following petition asking BHMS to allow The Little Room another year to move to a new sponsor.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Ms. Helene Banks
Chair, Board of Directors
Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Dear Ms. Banks:

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens writing to respectfully implore you to consider extending by one year the date by which the Little Room needs to find a new home.

We understand that the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School Board of Trustees has concluded that there is no chance that the Little Room can be saved even if an extension is granted. Many parents, educators, and politicians unaffiliated with the Little Room have stated that they believe that the universally-admired special needs program has a chance of survival if YAI (an organization that already operates seven preschools for special needs children in New York City and is seeking to become the Little Room’s new sponsor) and the Little Room community are allowed more time to overcome the regulatory hurdles.

As State Assemblywoman Joan Millman’s chief of staff Paul Nelson, who has been involved with negotiations with the state, says, “At this point, the ball is really in Brooklyn Heights Montessori’s court.” “We’ve tried to do too much in too short a time and we need another year, and they’ve refused to consider it. We’re going to keep asking them.”

It seems clear to us that if more time is granted to allow navigation of the bureaucratic hurdles then there is at least a chance that the Little Room program can be saved. In order to keep even the small possibility of an acclaimed social service program with widespread support and plaudits alive, we respectfully ask you to grant the Little Room program an additional year to find a new home.

In an economy as harsh as any we’ve ever lived through with budget cuts looming at the federal, state and local levels, we’re hoping that BHMS will agree that we should make every effort to support critical social service initiatives in our community. The program’s value is beyond dispute. Please help make every effort to save it. Thank you for your kind consideration.

What is the Little Room?

The Little Room is an award winning education program that serves 27 special needs children in 3 classrooms each year – ranging from those with speech and language delays to those on the autism spectrum. It evaluates many more children from the greater community to determine whether they need “related services” like speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, and also provides services to a number of those children. The Little Room program was founded in 1970 by the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School.

Why does the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School want to close the Little Room program?

Precisely why BHMS wants to end its affiliation with the Little Room remains unclear: the school has offered different reasons at different points in time. Parents of children served by the Little Room learned in December 2008 that BHMS was planning to vote on whether to close the program at the end of the 2008-09 school year. Although parents – once they learned of the impending closure vote – were allowed to read (but not have a copy of) a report of a “task force” that had been meeting to discuss the future of the Little Room (the existence of the task force had not previously been made public), that report did not explicitly discuss the immediate closure of the program.

Hasn’t everyone known for a while of BHMS’ plans to close the Little Room in August 2010 if a new sponsor is not found?

After learning in December 2008 of plans to close the Little Room in the summer of 2009, Little Room parents worked quickly together with the help of elected officials and others, and, under pressure, BHMS agreed to allow limited additional time – less than a year – for the Little Room to find a new sponsoring institution and navigate the state regulatory bureaucracy to get approval of the program’s transfer to a new sponsor. Elected officials and others told the school at that time that this would not be enough time, but that was all the time the school was willing to give.

Isn’t the problem that the State Education Department won’t approve the transfer of the Little Room to the new sponsor?

Despite claims from leadership at BHMS that the State Education Department will not approve the transfer of the Little Room to a sponsor that was located in October 2009, elected officials – including Assemblywoman Millman’s office and State Senator Squadron’s office – and others involved in the negotiations process disagree. They think that, with another year at BHMS, differences could be worked out, and the Little Room program could be saved. Recognizing the extraordinary loss to the community that the loss of the Little Room would represent, they are working hard with the State Education Department and the potential new sponsor, YAI, to allow the transfer to happen.

Isn’t the problem with the new sponsor, YAI, and what it is willing to do?

Although YAI expressed an interest in adopting the Little Room early in 2009, BHMS first chose another institution as a potential sponsor, and only returned to YAI in late September 2009 after negotiations with that first potential sponsor fell through. YAI has since been diligently working with the state and elected officials to allow the program to be adopted in a manner that would preserve what makes the program special. This process has only been ongoing since approximately October 2009 and is very much still an active process.

Why does BHMS need the space immediately?

BHMS has not made clear what, precisely, it needs the space for, and why it needs that space starting in September 2010. If the school discussed its needs openly, perhaps all involved could work together to meet those needs and allow the continued existence of a much needed and widely respected program serving special needs children in Brooklyn.

What can I do to help?

You can add your voice to the multitude of voices asking BHMS to give the Little Room another year to negotiate the regulatory process and effectuate the its transfer to a new sponsor. Elected officials have asked to extend the program for another year. Local preschool directors that rely on the program to provide therapies to local students have also asked the school to provide more time. A petition you can sign is available here. You can also speak to parents you know at BHMS and ask them to support efforts to save the Little Room, by signing the petition and by talking directly to the school’s leadership about the need to do everything possible to save this incredible program.

More info about The Little Room from the BHMS Family Handbook 2009-10 after the jump.

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This is a copy of an email that was sent out today by Dane Peters to the BHMS community. As you can see by the text below, it appears that the future of the Little Room has taken a serious turn for the worse.

Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 3:39 PM
To: Dane Peters
Subject: LRTTF Update #19

Dear BHMS Community,

I write to report on an emergency meeting that The Little Room Transition Task Force held this morning. This past Tuesday, 9/8/09, we were advised by the League Treatment Center that it is no longer interested in adopting The Little Room. We are extremely disappointed and distressed about this unexpected development.

The League identified two main catalysts for its decision. First, it pointed to the recent letter written to BHMS by six elected officials several weeks ago (a letter I mentioned in my last update). That letter highlighted a concern that BHMS ensure that The Little Room would remain “clearly distinct” from the League even after the League’s adoption of the program. Second, The League noted that its meetings with the Little Room’s staff and leadership had raised concerns that The Little Room expected to maintain a level of separateness and independence that was inconsistent with League’s vision of a successful merger of these schools. The League advised that, after careful consideration, it would not move forward because it believes adopting the Little Room could undermine the morale and cohesiveness of their strong organization; a risk they cannot take.

In response, we have immediately reactivated our discussions with YAI, which was the only other potentially viable option identified by the task force this past spring. YAI is open to this discussion, and a YAI representative went yesterday with Dan Wood to look at a nearby space that has just become available. We will follow up with YAI swiftly and fully, to see whether this option can become viable.

The Task Force is distressed by this setback, but will continue to work hard to find a viable solution for the continuation of the important services provided by the Little Room.

Sincerely,

Nicole Gueron
Chair, Little Room Transition Task Force

Dan Wood, former Principal of the Harlem Success Academy has been appointed as interim Head of The Little Room. He will officially begin his tenure on February 15, 2009. Dan Wood fills the vacancy left by the departure of Sonia Nachuk in late Decemeber 2008.

Despite the recent decision regarding the future of the Little Room, the school is currently recruiting 4 year olds for the 2009-2010 academic year. So, if your child is currently enrolled in a program and you are not happy with the placement, or if you have a 4 year old and you think will need a placement next year, please call Elizabeth Kooperkamp at 718-858-5100.

On Friday, the The Little Room parents received this communique from Dane Peters, on behalf of Nicole Gueron, Chair of Little Room Transition Task Force:

Dear BHMS Community,

I am writing to introduce myself to those of you who do not know me, and to update you all on the Little Room Transition Task Force (LRTTF). My name is Nicole Gueron. I am a member of the BHMS Board of Trustees and, at the Board’s request, I am chairing the Little Room Transition Task Force. I have two children at the School in Lower Elementary.

The Executive Committee of the Board met several times over the winter break to write the Task Force’s charges and, working with the leadership of the Little Room, to set out the composition of the Task Force. Once school was back in session, specific Task Force members were welcomed on board. The Board and the School are very grateful to each Task Force member for agreeing to devote so much time and energy to the Task Force’s work.

The LRTTF members are:
Nicole Gueron (Chair), Trustee & current BHMS parent
Helene Banks, BHMS Board of Trustees President &current BHMS parent
Dane Peters, Head of School
Elizabeth Kooperkamp, Interim Co-Head of LR
Liz Helbraun, Interim Co-Head of LR
Joan Maguire, LR Teacher
Debra Colantonio, BHMS Teacher
Lorri Paulucci, LR Related Services Teacher
Bess Hauser, LR Current Parent
Ragan O’Malley, LR alumni Parent
Anselm Fusco, Trustee & current BHMS parent
Kim Bourne, Trustee & BHMS alumni parent Special Education Consultant- TBD (in process)

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Unbeknownst to more or less all of the parents involved with the program, The Little Room transition Task Force held their first meeting today (Jan 15). Further details, such as the names of the people who are actually on the Task Force, will (hopefully) be forthcoming.

According to the BHMS calendar, there is an open house at the Little Room on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 9:00 AM.