From his post in Morocco, where he and his wife Kate are serving in the Peace Corps, Parkside alumnus Robert Stewart '00 took some time to reflect on what his Parkside experience meant to him. There isn’t one thing he remembers most vividly, he says, “rather, it is a mix of everything -- the tight knit social groups, the library on the first floor, the music room, the ball pit in the occupational therapy room. There are too many good memories to count.” He recalls that Parkside did a wonderful job preparing him for the future.
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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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We are very fortunate at Parkside to benefit from a caring educational environment with an amazing student/staff ratio addressing the needs of our children. This has made for many smiles and sunny days at Parkside. In the distance, however, there are ominous storm clouds brewing. The current political environment may lead to an uncertain future for specialized programs like Parkside’s. There are proposals out there that threaten funding from the federal Department of Education. There are proposals to eliminate federal laws which guarantee IDEA funding for learning environments like the one we have at Parkside. In New York, the push towards Charter Schools has come at the expense of public programs, and support for tuition reimbursement at special education schools. Future funding levels for our school are not guaranteed.
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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.
Always learning and growing: That’s my motto. And, that’s why I love being an art teacher at The Parkside School. I have the freedom to create my own curriculum, and I maintain a balance of open-ended and guided projects throughout the year. I am inspired every day by my students who come up with original “WOW” art which might end up being the seed for an idea in a larger group project. I'm also inspired when children want to work together as team -- this mentality is perfect for actualizing large collaborative projects like the ones our classes have created for the upcoming “Black & White” Spring Auction.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read More“There’s nothing to be scared of.” That’s the advice alumnus Armand Klisivitch ’08 would give to Parkside’s eldest students as they prepare for the next phase of their education.
“Everything I learned at Parkside prepared me for the journey ahead. We all face challenges, but the skills and independence I learned at Parkside help me overcome them without a problem.”
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