Posts Tagged ‘Save The Little Room’

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.

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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.