Posts Tagged ‘Dane Peters’

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.

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

There was an article posted on the New York Times City Room Blog yesterday detailing the events surrounding the closure of the Little Room. As Paul Nelson (Assemblywoman Joan Millman’s Chief of Staff) correctly pointed out, we needed another year, and BHMS refused to consider it.

But some parents and elected officials including State Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman and State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, whose districts include Brooklyn Heights, say that the school is not allowing enough time to find a workable space for the Little Room, and is prematurely shutting it down when there are still other options.

“At this point, the ball is really in Brooklyn Heights Montessori’s court,” said Paul Nelson, chief of staff for Ms. Millman. “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.” [NYTimes.com]

Here is the board’s response to our letter of January 11, while they “appreciated our efforts and concern”, their position remains unchanged. From where I stand, this is the final nail in the coffin— it will take something short of a miracle to keep the program alive now.

Dear Little Room Families,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter. It was clearly the product of many hours of work, trying to make sense of a very difficult situation. We appreciate your effort and concern.

First, please know that the letter has been shared with the Board of Trustees, and that the Board has been kept abreast of all the developments you outline. You are correct that the Board was optimistic that a new sponsor would be found, and in fact, The Little Room Transition Task Force did identify two seriously interested, potential sponsors. Unfortunately, the regulatory approvals needed for the second sponsor to move forward have not been forthcoming; and we understand will not be, despite our, their, and counsels’ extensive efforts, and the political outreach of interested elected officials.

As you accurately stated in your letter to us, the regulatory structure sets up a “Catch-22″ for any sponsor. The state requires that a sponsor expend the effort, time, money, and other resources to admit students and ready the space with no preliminary approval, taking the risk that there will be no program for those students and no income to cover the costs. From our close communication with the potential sponsor throughout the process, it became clear that it is a heavy risk for a sponsor to bear and one that can be eliminated only by the State Education Department (SED) granting the pending request for preliminary approval. SED has advised that they believe no such preliminary approval is possible under the existing regulations, and they will not grant the requested exception.

We hope this clarifies for all of you the crux of the problem. The Board has considered the matter fully, and the decision to end BHMS sponsorship of The Little Room in August 2010 remains unchanged.

Thank you again for your continued interest.

Helene Banks, Board Chair
Dane Peters, Head of School

This letter was sent to Dane Peters, the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School headmaster, and Helene Banks, chair of the board of trustees, on Sunday, January 10, 2009. It was co-signed by 33 current and past Little Room families.

It explains the current situation, which is that the Little Room is basically at the end of the line in terms of having all approvals necessary to get a new adopting agency and space ready for the 2010-2011 school year.

There is a potential and very interested adopter for The Little Room, but due to circumstances, the window for them to find a new space has been short; with a bit more time, an appropriate space could be located. A new space for the program would require inordinately fast state approval, or, in the alternative, BHMS could extend its own self-imposed deadline. If neither of these solutions come to fruition, the program will cease to exist next year. As of this writing, we have not yet received a response from the school.

Dear Dane and Helene:

We, the undersigned current and former Little Room parents, are writing to express our deep concern about the future of the Little Room. Specifically, we ask that the BHMS Board reconsider its decision to terminate the Little Room program in August of 2010 and instead allow the Little Room to continue at BHMS for another year.

You will likely respond that the issues regarding the Little Room’s future were extensively debated last winter and that there is no reason to revisit the decision. For a number of reasons, we disagree. In particular, we urge you to consider the following:

1. When the Board made its decision, no Board member believed that his or her vote might be a vote to end the Little Room forever. Indeed, even though a number of elected officials suggested that moving the Little Room would take two years, the Board expressed full confidence that the program would find a new home by the BHMS imposed deadline. Some Board members expressed hope that the Little Room would be able to serve even more students in its theoretical new home. In short, there was nothing but (largely unjustified) optimism from the Board.

Now, however, the situation has changed. The Little Room has been unable to accept students for the 2010-11 school year. If it does not begin to do so in the very near future, it will mean that there can be no program in the next academic year.

The Board members made their decision with confidence that the Little Room would never face extinction. But now extinction is here. Given this new reality, would all Board members now make the same decision they did before? You cannot know unless you ask them.

2. Despite this grim situation, the Little Room has actually made great progress in finding a new sponsor. The YAI Network is, in fact, eager to adopt the program. As State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Joan Millman wrote to us, “We were encouraged by YAI’s professionalism and zeal for continuing the Little Room…[Chief Operating Officer Steve] Freeman and his team have demonstrated an incredible commitment to continuing this program.”

Unfortunately, as you are aware, YAI faces a catch-22: it is unable to lay out the money for major renovation of a new space for the Little Room without State Education Department (SED) approval, but SED has been unwilling to approve the facility before it is built out.

What makes this situation even more difficult is the BHMS imposed deadline. Given another year, YAI would have more time to find and renovate suitable space, to work with SED to get the necessary approvals, and to plan an orderly transition for the Little Room. It is unable to do any of this simply because of an artificial deadline imposed by BHMS.

YAI stands ready to achieve the goal that the Board has always claimed to desire. Do Board members want to stop this from happening simply because it cannot be done within the artificial timeline created by BHMS? Again, you cannot know unless you ask them.

3. Throughout this process, both you and other Board members have expressed your love for the Little Room. You have claimed to respect the program and to want to see it thrive for many years to come. We are certain, therefore, that you do not want to see the Little Room end unnecessarily. You have the opportunity to demonstrate your love and respect for the program by giving it the time it needs to complete the process of finding a new home. And in fact, given the situation in which the Little Room finds itself, you are the only ones who can now save it. We respectfully ask you to live by what you so often said and to do the right thing for the program.

We understand that you are eager for the Little Room to move out. Nevertheless, the plans you have for the Little Room’s current space can wait a year. One way or another, BHMS will enjoy many years without the Little Room. But the Little Room has only one chance to survive.

If the Little Room ends, thousands of special needs children will be denied the opportunity to receive an education that can change their lives. Such an outcome is not only completely unnecessary, but also goes against the Montessori philosophy and the school’s expressed commitment to diversity. We are sure this is not what you want your legacy to be.

We are eager to meet with you at your earliest convenience to discuss this situation. We urge you and the Board to reconsider the Little Room’s future at the next scheduled Board meeting. We look forward to hearing from you and discussing how to move forward.

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