Alumnus Conor Devlin '06 Delivers Graduation Speech
On Thursday, June 15, 2017, The Parkside School celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2017. Our thirteen graduates will be going on to school's including the American School of Milan, Community School, The Computer School, Lowell School, Mary McDowell Friends School, Summit School, and York Prep.
During the ceremony, which was held at the JCC on 76th and Amsterdam, Conor Devlin '06 reflected on his Parkside experience, and gave our newest class of alumni some great advice. The following is the full trascript of his speech.
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Parkside Alumni News
Over the past year, Parkside has heard from a number of our alumni. They've shared their adventures and accomplishments, and reflected on the impact Parkside had on their lives. We hope you enjoy reading these alumni "notes" below.
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Parkside's Fund for Teacher Excellence
In 2014, The Parkside School held a benefit at Del Posto honoring Al Roker and Deborah Roberts. It was a festive evening, featuring “A Night of Comedy” exquisitely crafted by Sherri Shepherd with comic Joy Behar, Judy Gold, Diane Neal, and Tammy Pescatelli. Leading up to the event, Parkside set the goal of creating a dedicated fund that would help our school attract, develop and retain exceptional teachers and offer outstanding professional development opportunities.
The event raised more than $3.1 million thanks to 64 donors and a generous leadership challenge from the Isenberg family. Today, the fund’s balance has grown to more than $3.5 million, and the impact of that support can be seen throughout our school. Parkside’s annual budget for professional development includes more than $65,000 specifically for teacher training, consultants, conferences and initiatives that strengthen our curriculum and allow our staff to be leaders among special education professionals in New York City.
There is exceptional work happening year round to support our teachers and therapists. The following is a representative sampling of the type of impact the Fund for Teacher Excellence has had on our school.
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Staff Spotlight: Roberta Favant
Before coming to Parkside full time in the Fall of 2016, Roberta Favant worked in an inclusion program but was looking for a school whose resources were dedicated 100% to special needs students. “As a speech and language therapist, my purpose is to support special needs students, and I wanted to work is a setting designed for them. The Parkside program places a particular emphasis on language learning, and that has been the focus of my practice over the years,” she said. Ms. Favant had attended professional development workshops at Parkside, including the Constable Reading sessions as part of the Parkside Summer Institute, and a Carol Gray lecture on social stories. “The workshops were excellent, as is the reputation Parkside holds in the special education community, she recalls.
Ms. Favant took some time to share with us her unique perspective on The Parkside School, our students, and our philosophy of teaching.
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Why I Give
Every day I feel lucky that my son William goes to Parkside. William is a funny, smart, loving, happy and in many ways a complicated little boy. He needs to be at a school where the directors, teachers, therapists, and staff not only recognize, but understand his strengths and challenges, are attuned to his feelings and appreciate him for his unique self. A place where he can feel part of a community and develop an identity. Parkside gives him all of these things and more.
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Q&A with Mr. Tramontana
Mike Tramontana is Parkside's gym teacher and head of the arts and movement program.
Q: Why do you teach?
A: At first I wanted to become a teacher because I knew I wanted to have a family of my own, and I’ve seen many friends complain of “not having enough time” for their children. I thought having the same schedule as a child in school would increase my overall time with my future children, something that is very important to me. Now that my wife is pregnant with our first child, due in April, I’ll finally get to see if my plan worked.
Once I began teaching, I lost sight of that original idea. Ensuring the children in my class were always safe, smiling and having fun during gym became my priority.
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Your Dollars at Work – New Directions in Social Studies
In 2015-2016, because of generous donations to our Annual Fund, Parkside embarked on a journey to expand our Social Studies curriculum to encourage experiential learning, opportunities for students to interact with living history in their local environment. With the help of curriculum consultant Lisa Greenhut, an educator from The Museum of Natural History, a dynamic new curriculum was introduced. Topics included timelines and mapping, our American Flag, The Statue of Liberty, the history of New York City, Slavery, Founding Documents of American Democracy, Italy, and more - all with engaging classroom activities and resources, integrated technology experiences, and exciting field trips.
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