Our beautiful Teacher Appreciation lunch on Friday. Thank you PS 107 families for all of the love!
Dear PS 107 Families,
Happy Mother’s Day to those of you who are mothers or who are in a mothering role — and my thoughts are with all of you whose mothers may no longer be with you, or who have complicated relationships with the mothers in your lives. My own mother, Beverly Cohen, celebrated her 77th birthday yesterday, on May 13th, and today, on Mother’s Day, I honor the impact she has had on me, personally and professionally.
My mother is a retired teacher who dedicated her career to those students most in need of high-quality teachers. In retirement, she volunteers with the Prison Literacy Project, tutoring inmates in preparation for the GED, and as a result of the relationships she developed over 20 years of doing so, she has become a fierce advocate for criminal justice reform. The vast majority of inmates that she worked with over the years struggled to learn to read, either because of undiagnosed dyslexia, poor reading instruction, or another language-based learning disability.
My mother’s experience deeply influenced my desire to ensure that all of New York City’s students receive high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction, which is what led me to agree to become one of the NYC Public Schools structured literacy pilot schools this past winter. As you may have heard, at a press conference last Tuesday, Mayor Adams and NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks announced major changes to the way that all NYC schools will teach reading and writing over the next two years. I was honored to stand on stage with them, representing not only PS 107, but the thousands of NYC children with whom I’ve worked over my nearly two decades in the public schools.
PS 107’s district, District 15, is a “Phase Two” district, meaning that our entire district is required to select and implement a new curriculum for the 2024-25 school year. (Phase One districts will be implementing new literacy curriculum in the 2023-24 school year.) However, because our teachers are already engaged in professional learning about structured literacy, we expect to implement the shifts that we are able to in the 2023-24 school year. We will maintain our strong phonics program, Recipe for Reading, which has already made a significant impact on our students’ reading skills, and will add more components of structured literacy in the new school year. I will share further details about this as we make decisions as a staff based on what we are learning.
In other news, we are in the final stretch of the 2022-23 school year, and we are in the thick of planning for next year. One of the major things that we do as the year wraps up is make up new classes for the next school year. This is something into which we put a great deal of time and thought. In general, we aim to have our classes for the new school year set by the end of June, though we do not share class placements with families until August as we are enrolling and discharging students throughout the summer.
Classroom teachers take into consideration many factors when placing students in new classes, including social-emotional needs; academic skills; friendships (and social challenges); teacher-student match; and more. We aim to build classes that are truly diverse in every way, classes that reflect our greater society so that students learn how to be part of that society. Specialty teachers, who have a birds’ eye view of entire grades, review new classes to ensure that they are balanced and that children who should not be placed together, are not. Ms. Rinah and I take a final look at new classes before they are shared with families in August. We use our professional judgment to ensure these classes are the best possible fit for all of our students.
Because of this, please be aware that we do not:
take requests for specific teachers;
make changes once class assignments have been sent out in August (this has a domino effect); or
meet with parents specifically to discuss individual class placements.
We make every effort to ensure that children are with at least one friend in their new classes (note that it may not be their best friend — and this is ok!). In our vast experience with young children, we know that they settle into new environments and make friendships very quickly, and that this is an invaluable skill for them to have as they grow. We assure you that our teachers, who are deeply aware of how your children interact in the classroom, are committed to making certain that all of our students are in an environment in which they will thrive. Our incredible guidance counselor Sarah Green and social worker Colleen Dondero are always available to support children who may be having a harder time with the transition to a new grade and new class.
As we make up new classes, it is also important for us to know whether you are planning to return to PS 107 next year. We would appreciate it if all families could fill out this brief survey, indicating your plans for next school year. Even if you aren’t sure yet, you can indicate that on the survey. Please note that this is an informal survey, and you are not bound in any way to what you write on this survey. It is simply for internal planning purposes.
Last, but absolutely not least, thank you to parent Laurie Tamis for spearheading last week’s Teacher Appreciation festivities. Our staff felt so appreciated, thanks to Laurie, her team of parent volunteers, and every family who contributed in some way. Our staff is so grateful for this amazing community!
Thank you to parent Biba Milioto for organizing spring Movie Night on Friday! Movie Night is such a blast — everyone had a fabulous time watching Lyle, Lyle Crocodile under the stars in the Big Yard.
As well, enormous thanks to parents Spring Hofeldt and Sarah Harlow, along with our wonderful art teacher Julie Brunner Cross, for organizing a fantastic Art Day on Saturday. The arts are so important to PS 107, and it was great to see that on full display this weekend.
Have a wonderful week!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna