In Support

February 4, 2010

Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201

Attention: Mr. Dane Peters

Dear Mr. Peters,

I write to you with an open heart to ask that you reconsider the current deadline date for the vacancy of The Little Room. I am the Principal at neighboring Linden Tree Preschool and frequently refer parents to BHMS when they are looking for a quality private education for their child(ren). Having had no personal experience with BHMS myself, my recommendations come from the wonderful services I have had with The Little Room. Linden Tree welcomes children with special needs and on the many occasions a SEIT has been required to work with a child in our classroom, our best experiences have been with The Little Room staff, especially Annie and Liz. I am also very familiar with families whose children have been fortunate enough to attend classes at The Little Room, many of them trying now to help save it.

It is our hope that you consider our request to briefly hold off on your expansion efforts for what is already a highly successful and respected program and do what is right by our community, The Little Room staff, its families and future children with special needs, who are nothing less than deserving of a nurturing and safe environment in which to learn. It simply seems on a most basic level, the right and ethical thing to do.

I would hope the outpouring of heartfelt considerations from myself and other heads of schools in the area will allow the officers at BHMS to reconsider the departure date of The Little Room.

With kind regards,

Susan L. Kuhlmann, Principal
Linden Tree Preschool

Mr. Dane Peters
Ms. Helene Banks
Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Dear Dane and Helene,

I write, once again, to urge you to help our community save The Little Room. As you both know, the services rendered by this very important program reach well beyond the twenty-seven students enrolled. Many families enrolled at Plymouth Church School use the team at The Little Room to conduct evaluations and provide services to their children who are in need of early intervention.

Downtown Brooklyn is bursting with young families. I know that your growth is providing necessary educational space for young children. It does sound, however, that The Little Room is close to finding a new sponsor. It is my hope that BHMS will make every effort to keep The Little Room alive.

Yours sincerely,

Gail Rose
Director, Plymouth Church School
plymouthchurch.org/plymouth_church_school.php

On January 28, 2010, State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman and Councilmembers Steve Levin and Brad Lander wrote the following letter to Helene Banks, Chair of The Board of Trustees of BHMS.

View the PDF version of this letter here.

Ms. Banks:

When the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School decided in December 2008 to end its long and mutually beneficial relationship with the highly acclaimed Little Room Program, the Board established a deadline that ultimately proved to be an insufficient amount of time to find a suitable location for the program.

BHMS originally discussed the possibility of transferring the Little Room to YAI’s network of programs last spring. However, it was not until late October that YAI was seriously considered as a possible organization to operate the Little Room. This left YAI only a matter of weeks to locate a space, negotiate a lease and begin a build-out for a September, 2010 opening. YAI Chief Operating Officer Steve Freeman and his team worked tirelessly to accomplish these goals as quickly as possible, but unfortunately the only feasible location proved to be problematic. Specifically, the landlord of this space declined to include a clause within the lease allowing YAI to opt out should they not receive necessary government approvals for the opening of the Little Room. Without this clause, YAI was forced to request that the New York State Education Department (NYSED) depart from its standard protocol and provide a pre-approval of YAI’s Little Room application. Our offices worked hard to obtain this pre-approval, but ultimately NYSED rejected the request.

While we are disappointed by NYSED’s unwillingness to adapt to the circumstances of the Little Room program, this extraordinary request for pre-approval was only made due to challenges specific to this potential space. Given more time, YAI could conduct a wider search and locate a site and a landlord more amenable to the specific requirements of the Little Room. Given how close we are to finding a new home for the Little Room with YAI, an extension of BHMS’ self-imposed termination date for the Little Room is the only possible way to save this exemplary program.

There are two possible options that we would like the Board of Directors to consider: The first option is for BHMS to extend the termination date from August 2010 to August 2011 and operate the Little Room for the next school year. An additional year would provide YAI ample time to complete all of the necessary paperwork and to identify and properly prepare a new home for the Little Room, starting in September 2011.

The second option is for BHMS to allow YAI, beginning in September 2010, to operate the Little Room program in its current location within the BHMS complex. YAI would rent the space for one year as it looks to find a permanent location for the Little Room. This option would also permit YAI to complete the transfer application to NYSED more quickly and with fewer obstacles.

Although the Little Room has many dedicated advocates, at this point its fate rests in the hands of the Board of Directors of BHMS. We hope to have the opportunity to continue working with you to save this vital program.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Daniel Squadron
State Senator
25th District

Joan Millman
Assembly Member
52nd District

Steve Levin
Council Member
33rd District

Brad Lander
Council Member
39th District

January 20, 2010

Dear Dane Peters,

Open House Nursery School is one of the few “mainstream” early childhood programs in Brooklyn welcoming children with special needs. Every year we become more convinced of how precious this service is. We are writing to urge you to do all in your power to ensure the continued existence of The Little Room. We all know that the Little Room has created a highly successful environment for small children with special needs. But just as importantly, it has provided other centers such as Open House with experienced, well-trained evaluators, teachers and therapists. Without its support and inspiration our school may be less able to include children with special needs.

As it becomes clearer and clearer what a critical difference early intervention can make in a child’s development, the prospect of losing The Little Room is wrenching. There are simply not enough special needs teachers, evaluators, and centers to go around, and certainly there is none to take the place of such a vital resource as The Little Room. Just as Maria Montessori showed the world a new way to teach children, The Little Room demonstrated to all of New York City how therapeutic services can change the future for young children.

Not too long ago Open House experienced the need to relocate. We are all too aware how much time it takes to find, renovate and finance a move. Surely someone at BHMS remembers the challenges faced when it relocated from Montague Street to Bergen Street. If extending The Little Room’s stay at Brooklyn Heights Montessori for one more year will make the difference between its collapse and its survival, we strongly urge you to do all you can to extend its stay. Providing a reasonable time frame for relocation demonstrates respect for The Little Room’s contributions to BHMS and to Brooklyn.

Sincerely yours,

Eileen Shannon Director openhousenurseryschool.com

Amy Herrick Assistant Director

This is a copy of a letter sent to local elected officials from Hope N. Prosky, director of Grace Church School in Brooklyn, NY.

December 17, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

As the Director of Grace Church School in Brooklyn Heights, I am deeply concerned about the future of The Little Room. For many years, The Little Room classes, evaluations and related services have enhanced our downtown Brooklyn neighborhoods. Over the years, our Grace Church School children have been serviced by this superb organization; the staff are disheartened and dismayed by the possibility of such a loss to the community. Many pre-school children will be unable to partake of the essential services The Little Room provides.

As the Director of Grace Church School and its School Psychologist, I sincerely hope that serious consideration will be given to keeping The Little Room at BHMS!

Sincerely,

Hope N. Prosky

Jo Anne Simon
NYS Democratic Committeewoman & District Leader
52nd Assembly District
356 Fulton Street, 3rd Flr.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718 852-3528
Fax: 718 875-5728

December 16, 2008

Helene Banks, Chair, Board of Trustees
Mr. Dane Peters, Head of School Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Dear Mrs. Banks and Mr. Peters:

I write to strongly urge you to reconsider your plans to close The Little Room program.

As a former teacher of young children with communications disorders, I recognize the importance of this program perhaps more than most. Young children with speech and language disorders are particularly in need of small, highly specialized language enriching programs at an early age. Most children are little sponges when it comes to language. They pick up its uses and rules naturally. When that does not happen, future learning is irrevocably compromised, unless the right programming is obtained. Evaluations, therapies and educational interventions by appropriately skilled teachers and clinicians are invaluable and sets a child on a positive course for the long term.

The closing of The Little Room would be a loss to a key piece of the educational infrastructure available to children and families. The effects will be devastating. Programs such as The Little Room are few and far between. Locating alternative appropriate services is extremely difficult because few real options exist. Parents of children with special needs are overwhelmed with their children’s individualized and extraordinary needs. They cannot just send them off to the local school. They are frightened for their children’s future. The process of securing the right programming is emotionally and physically draining, expensive and time-consuming.

Surely, leaving families and their special needs children without a safety net is not what the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School intends. I urge you to investigate every possible option for retaining the program and pledge to do whatever I can to help effectuate a positive outcome.

Very truly yours,

Jo Anne Simon

cc: Hon. Joan Millman
Hon. David Yassky
Hon. Martin Connor
Hon. Velmanette Montgomery
Hon. Marty Markowitz
NYS Senator-Elect Daniel Squadron

View the PDF version of this letter here.

December 15, 2008

Helene Banks
President, Board of Trustees
Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Dear Ms. Banks:
We are writing with serious concern regarding the fate of the Little Room program. As described in Sunday’s New York Times, and as we have heard from parents and members of our community, the Little Room is a high-quality, award-winning special education program for preschool children. We want to underscore the importance of preserving such a vital service for Brooklyn residents.

As we understand it, the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School Board is planning to meet on Tuesday to decide the future of the Little Room. We hope the Board will strongly consider keeping the program and embracing the Little Room as part of the mission of the school.

At a minimum, we ask the Board to make a strong, clear commitment to ensuring the long-term survival of the Little Room. Because public funding undergirds the program, we feel there is a strong public interest in ensuring that the Little Room continues to survive and thrive. We believe this would entail keeping the program at Montessori through the summer of 2011, and hiring a new director capable of guiding the Little Room through a transition to another location.

We also ask for the opportunity to meet with the Board briefly prior to your discussion on Tuesday so that we may present our concerns in person.

Mary Cooley of the office of State Senator-elect Daniel Squadron will serve as contact person for the undersigned as a group. You can reach her at mary@danielsquadron.org or 646-472- 5712, or you may reach any of us at our offices.

We look forward to working with you, the affected parents and members of the community to formulate a solution that preserves the Little Room and the essential services it provides for the children who need them.

Sincerely,

Christine Quinn
Speaker, New York City Council

Marty Markowitz
Brooklyn Borough President

Daniel Squadron
New York State Senator-Elect

Joan Millman
New York State Assembly

David Yassky
New York City Council

Bill de Blasio
New York City Council

View the PDF version of this letter here.

December 12, 2008

The Board of Trustees
Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

To the Members of the Board of Trustees:

I understand that you will be voting on Tuesday on whether or not to maintain the Little Room program as part of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School. According to your web site, the Little Room provides “a modified Montessori curriculum within a small therapeutic classroom.” I am told that the program currently enrolls 28 three- and four-year-olds, as well as providing related services to some 30 children and evaluations for another 60 to 80. Further, I have been informed that the program is highly regarded around the country, having won a Leading Edge award for curriculum innovation from the National Association of Independent Schools in 2004.

While it is certainly your decision as to whether your organization will keep the Little Room as part of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, I trust that as a leader in Brooklyn’s educational community, you understand the gravity of your obligation to both the families involved and the community at large. Since this award-winning program is publicly funded, I believe there is a strong public interest in maintaining it somewhere in Brooklyn, preferably close to the current location. Therefore, should you decide to no longer host the program, I urge that you do everything in your power to facilitate its transfer to another worthy sponsor, either by conducting discussions with other organizations or by assisting parents, staff, and advocates in their efforts to do so, and by aiding in any eventual transition.

I join all of Brooklyn in appreciation of your stewardship of the Little Room over the past 38 years. Given its critical importance to generations of Brooklyn children, I trust that you will ensure that this important program continues to survive and thrive.

Sincerely,

Marty Markowitz