Archives for October 2019

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Great news for Staten Island families of children with intellectual disabilities.

The New York City Department of Education heard our calls and has expanded the Academics, Career, and Essential Skills (ACES) program. The ACES program provides intellectually disabled students, such as those with down syndrome, an opportunity to learn in their local community school. We requested that NYC DOE expand the program to elementary school here on Staten Island.

The first elementary level ACES program will begin this month for the 2019-2020 school year. The expansion came after months of trying to convince the Department of Education to roll the program out in full on Staten Island, where it had only been offered locally to middle and high school students, but not elementary school students.

Public School 58, located at 77 Marsh Avenue, will be the first Staten Island elementary school to offer the ACES program this fall. Previously, parents who wanted to enroll their child in the program would have to be willing to travel to another borough.

The middle school level of the ACES program will also be expanding to Intermediate School 34, located at 528 Academy Avenue, and will continue to be offered at Intermediate School 75, McKee High School, and Wagner High School.

The ACES program is crucially important to the success of students with disabilities, and I am pleased that the Department of Education has decided to expand it so that these students can truly receive the high-quality education they deserve. This would never be possible though without the determination of those student’s parents, and many other parent advocates like them, who fight each day to get their children the best education possible.

ACES Programs provide an opportunity to learn academic, work, and independent living skills in one of New York City’s local community school districts (elementary, middle and high school). The programs support students in learning daily living skills such as building relationships with peers and adults, grocery shopping, learning how to use a bank, etc.

The ACES student profile is identified by the following criteria:
• Students with a mild to moderate intellectual disability
• Academic abilities and skills are significantly below grade level. Students may need additional support when working independently or in groups. Assistive technology devices may be used to support learning and interaction
• Students may have mild to moderate behavior challenges, but no aggressive or self-injurious behaviors. Behavior challenges may interfere with learning and social opportunities. The student’s ability to carry out functional life skills such as grooming, dressing, eating, keeping safe, and socializing (known as adaptive behaviors) will be well below age expected levels. To assess independence and daily living skills, a student’s IEP Team uses an adaptive behavior test. Students with low adaptive behavior scores are often considered for the ACES program

Program Features
Class Structure: Students in the ACES program attend a District 1-32 school in a smaller class. The number of students in ACES special classes increase as students move from elementary school and middle school to high school.

In Kindergarten through eighth grade, most ACES Programs have up to 12 students in a special class, one special education teacher, and a classroom paraprofessional.

In high school, ACES Programs have up to 15 students and one special education teacher. The program emphasizes inclusive opportunities for students to join the school community and engage with peers who do not have IEPs.

Teachers and support staff are trained in specialized instructional strategies and assessments that support students in learning and applying work and independent living skills at home, in school, and in the community.

ACES Program classes follow the New York State Learning Standards. Principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and essential skill building are a part of the program.

I am grateful to Chancellor Carranza, his staff and our Staten Island Field Support Center and District Office for their partnership in making this a reality.

By Michael Reilly, NYS Assemblyman, former District 31 Community Education Council President and former NYPD Lieutenant.

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This fall, high school seniors will be balancing class loads, sports and special events, along with working on finalizing the list of to which they want to apply and crafting the perfect college essay. With so much on their plates, writing college essays can be extremely. It can be difficult to figure out what event most impacted your life or what was a major challenge that taught you a lesson. Should you use big words and show off your vocabulary, or is it better to sound like yourself and show off your personality? Is it better to be funny, boisterous or serious? The questions are endless, and most teens feel overwhelming uncertainty about their essay. Below you will find essential tips from Collegewise.com on what makes for a good college essay — and what mistakes to avoid.

1. Don’t try to impress the admissions officer—just tell the truth.
Being impressive is a good thing. But when you try too hard, you write the same stories as thousands of other students (it’s hard to overstate how many essays I read about the valuable lessons learned from sports, community service, or leadership positions). If you really want to stand out, tell the truth. Do you love your 1992 Dodge Dart more than life itself? Do you work weekends at a hamburger stand and claim to make the best burger in a 50‐mile radius? Those things are interesting. Share them. The colleges want to know.

2. Make ordinary stories unordinary.
You don’t need to have scaled Everest or invented plutonium to tell a story nobody else could tell. Your experience playing basketball or taking art classes or working at a shoe store are not the same as other students’ experiences. So tell the parts of the story that are uniquely yours. Inject as much detail as you possibly can. And keep asking yourself, “Could someone else applying to college tell the same story?” If so, do one of two things—add more detail, or pick a different story.

3. Don’t repeat information from the rest of your application.
I know you’re proud of what you listed, but the essay is your chance to share something new about you. So if you listed football in your activities section, don’t write an essay explaining what it means to be on the football team. You can write about something you’ve already mentioned, but share the parts your reader doesn’t know about yet. That keeps the material fresh and your tired reader interested.

4. Sound like you.
You’re not writing an essay for your English class. The college essay is an informal piece of writing. It should sound like you. If you would never say, “Hence, my winning of elections has become quite an inveterate occurrence,” please don’t write it in your essay. No quotes from famous people. No words you can’t define, spell or pronounce. I’m not suggesting you should compose something that reads like a text message. But colleges want to get to know you better. Let them hear your voice through your writing.

5. Parents, steer clear of the essays.
Parents are often the worst judges of their kids’ essays for the best of reasons—you love your student too much to be an impartial observer (the American Medical Association’s “Code of Medical Ethics” advises against doctors treating their own children for similar reasons). Colleges want to read the stories from the perspective of the teens who experienced them. And it was always obvious to me and to my colleagues when too many of the ideas came from Mom or Dad.

Collegewise is out to change the world of college admissions. They strive to provide top-notch admissions advice to students who need it, regardless of their ability to pay for one-on-one counseling services. Every year, thousands of people read their founder’s blog, tune in to their free webinars, and attend their college admissions seminars across the United States and Asia.

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While the temperature is still hot outside for many of us, back to school season is nearly underway. Kindergarten is an important step for all children and most parents are concerned about their child’s readiness for their first year of official schooling. To help assess, below are five vital areas in which children should ideally achieve before packing their lunches, tagging along on school supply shopping trips and heading to the classroom for their big first day.

Not all children will achieve every milestone listed below before starting kindergarten. There is a great deal of variance in how each child develops. While a child may exceed physical development goals, they could lag slightly behind in cognitive development. This does not mean they’re not ready for kindergarten — it simply means they might need some assistance in catching up or will do so on their own over time. However, worried parents can ease their minds and nervousness by seeking assistance for their concerns by asking for an evaluation through their school’s district special education department or requesting an evaluation referral from their child’s pediatrician.

Check out our 2019 Education Guide.

Physical/Gross Motor Mastery
Your child should be able to walk in a straight line in a “toe to heel” exercise and be able to catch a small ball. Children should also be engaging in active play, including jumping over a rope with two feet together and doing “two motion” activities such as running and kicking a ball simultaneously or hopping on one foot while rubbing the stomach simultaneously. Children should also be able to learn and then perform a simple dance motion with multiple steps although not all children will remember more than three step routines at a time at this age, or even in the near future.

Fine Motor Skills
Mastering fine motor skills are essential for starting kindergarten on the right foot. Children should have an identified dominant hand or at the very least, a preferred hand for grasping and doing things by this time. Children should be holding a pencil with two fingers and a thumb as opposed to “fist holding” a pencil. They should be competently utilizing a scissor to cut out shapes and follow a straight line and or pattern when cutting. Also, they should be able to use utensils such as forks, knives and spoons efficiently, write their names and dress themselves somewhat independently including zipping up coats, pants and skirts, buttoning shirts and pulling up their pants.

Cognitive Development
Cognitive development tends to occur rapidly prior to and during the kindergarten year. Children should be able to recognize and name colors and shapes upon entry to kindergarten. They should know the entire alphabet and be able to sound out each letter and know their own name. Some children will even have the ability to tell you their address and phone number. Additionally, children entering kindergarten should be able to count and recognize numbers ranging from 1 to 20. The attention span at this age is limited, yet children should be able to focus on an activity for at least fifteen minutes and summarize a short story highlighting the beginning, the middle and the end when asked.

Language Evolution
Language buildout ahead of kindergarten is dependent on several factors. For example, if a child speaks more than one language, there may appear to be some lag in his/her development. Also, if a child has speech-related issues or is shy, language development may be negatively affected. Most children entering kindergarten should be able to speak clearly, express their wants and needs, be able to follow three step directions and identify opposites such as “the giraffe is tall, and the mouse is small.”

Social and Emotional Growth
Social and emotional development is an important aspect of kindergarten and can impact a student’s academic trajectory for years to come. Be aware that some children will want to imitate their friends and may “own” friends, becoming jealous if other people spend time with their friends. Additionally, children tend to follow rules in kindergarten and may scold other children who do not. Seeking and gaining attention is an important part of social emotional development in kindergarten, thus some children will try to garner one-on-one interactions by singing, dancing, and asking you to look at something they are doing repeatedly.

By Dr. Folusho Otuyelu, an Associate Professor of Clinical Social Work at Touro College Graduate School of Social Work in New York City, a Licensure Preparation Manager and MSW Liaison of Child Welfare. She lives in Staten Island with her husband and three children.

Whether you’re a new homeowner embarking on your first foray into the world of interior design or someone longing to update your surroundings, decorating and furnishing your living space can be a daunting task. Here’s a crash course on beautifying your digs with ease.

Decorating with bold colors.
From dark and moody to vibrant and bold, colorful design is gaining favor among homeowners ditching safe, neutral palettes to create more daring, dramatic spaces.
Decorating with deeply saturated colors can be intimidating. Explore these ideas to welcome more bold colors into your home and create inviting spaces for living and entertaining.

Walls of color.
Say goodbye to beige and embrace the bold color trend by enhancing walls with hues that make a statement. The trick is to avoid making colors so loud that the space loses its stylish appeal. Bold doesn’t necessarily mean bright, so look for muted variations of the shades you prefer. Also remember that when it comes to design, there is such a thing as too much. If painting all the walls in a space will close it in or make it feel lost in the dark, try adding color in more subtle ways, such as an accent wall (or two), or painting the ceiling as your accent. Another option for implementing vibrant wall color: stick to smaller rooms, where the bold look is less likely to be overwhelming.

Illuminate color with natural light.
When decorating with statement colors, remember that lighting can make a significant difference in the overall aesthetic. In addition to lighting fixtures, be sure to incorporate plenty of natural light to bring out the best in those bold hues.
To bring natural light deeper into the space, consider skylights as an option with a solution such as Velux No Leak Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylights, which can bathe the space in natural light and open to bring in fresh air. Another smart way to capture natural light is by installing an option like Sun Tunnel skylights. With their low-profile design, they create a sleek appearance, and installation is also quick and easy. Learn more at whyskylights.com.

Bold furnishings.
An often overlooked but essential component of design is the furniture. Creating a colorful, inviting room doesn’t stop with the walls and floors; what’s in the room can bring the colors to life. Think of the space and all its contents, not just the architectural components, as your canvas for creating the space you envision. If you’re hesitant to invest in a pricy couch in a trendy hue, a compromise might come in the form of a richly colored accent table or chair.

Creative cabinetry.
Traditional wood grain cabinetry sometimes gives way to far more creative color schemes in kitchens and bathrooms. While white is still a popular choice, and can even be considered bold in the right setting, true color on cabinets is also gaining traction among homeowners. With the right backsplash, countertops and flooring, you can safely install cabinets in a uniform color throughout the kitchen, but another on-trend option is to reserve the color for an island base or just one wall of cabinets. You could even mix and match colors on the tops and bottoms painting cabinets just the way you always wanted but were afraid to bring it to life. Detail elements like the hardware provide another opportunity for a bold look. You can enhance the room’s design with standout pulls that lend extra vibrance to the space.

Fabric with flair.
Textiles provide nearly unlimited options to balance a bold design. Using lighter fabrics for elements such as draperies, upholstery, rugs and decorative pillows can soften the feel of a room with bold tones. Look for subtle patterns that pull in hints of the deeper hue to bring the look together, or simply coordinate shades from complementary color families.

Unexpected Pops of Color.
Designers often talk about adding pops of color to bring together a palette, but there are no real rules about where those color enhancements can or should be. Introducing vibrant color in unexpected places can be an especially impactful way to stylize a room.
One example is with a skylight blind, which provides a decorative element while also allowing for light control. If you prefer a trendy option like combining dark colors with metallic accents, consider options such as a metallic gold skylight blind from Velux to connect to the room decor below. More than 80 color and pattern choices heighten the drama of a skylight blind, and you can choose from features like room darkening, light filtering and Venetian-style blinds to add function as well.

Source: Velux (via Family Features)