![]() ![]() Q: The Best Day Care/Preschool category is new this year, and you’ve gotten the top spot. And we have good communication with our families – our families have felt we’ve been very transparent - when we have an illness breakout, we’ve shared it with the whole school. We’ve been consistent with our health policies. Some people said it hinders development but it helps keep illnesses down. We learned when you keep children within their cohorts, it is great to keep illness away. When COVID hit, we talked about ways we ensure the children’s safety. I rely on the staff we hire to help make us the best. I think the key was, everyone, including our staff, was flexible in how we dealt with it. Q: What would you say are the biggest ways Spotted Zebra has been affected by the last couple years (as child care as an industry took a huge hit in general)?Ī: We went through it so cautiously. That skill has been invaluable in running a program like Spotted Zebra and in working with families, school districts and government agencies. Also, in working in the city of Albany I learned how to work with so many different people from all facets of life. The Spotted Zebra is an organization that falls under the scrutiny of several state agencies - NYS Office of Children and Family Services NYS Department of Health and the NYS Department of Education. Those skills were invaluable and helped me in the creation of Spotted Zebra. How have you brought that experience to your center through the years?Ī: Working for the city of Albany for almost a decade gave me a plethora of experience in working with different state and local agencies in the creation and implementation of programs that met a need in our community. Q: Being the former commissioner of the city of Albany Department of Youth and Workforce Services - there's working with kids in a public setting and now you're in the private sector. That model really benefits every child who comes here. We have 75 children at Spotted Zebra and over 30 children at Bizzy Bees, staffed with people who have their master's in special education or early childhood education. That’s what makes Spotted Zebra special: It’s not just a child care facility but also an educational facility to help children with special needs and all the other children there. When you put your chid into a preschool or day care, not everyone will have degrees and have master's degrees as licensed therapists. It has a lifetime impact.Ī: We have over 50 staff members, full- and part-time, and they’re all professionals, which is unique. It builds empathy with children, it teaches them even though we’re different, we’re all the same. I can’t tell you how many kids and families who've gone through our program, that they want to go into education or therapy. Q: In that integrated learning, do you find that creates a sense of empathy among classmates?Ī: Absolutely. We opened up another location with that on Wolf Road - that’s more of a traditional preschool where the classrooms are 2.5 hours in the morning. ![]() We created Bizzy Bees, a really cool program, and we invited the community in on it to experience this equipment. ![]() It helped build the awareness you want, visually and physically. What I found personally was that the children really responded well to sensory input and sensory stimulation. We started a sensory center - we still do it to a certain degree. Our goal is to find places to be innovative. The agency has been blossoming since then. Then we added on the kindergarten program (at Spotted Zebra). When my children were kindergarten age, I felt they needed one more year to be solid to enter public school. By the fall of 2006, we had three classrooms up and running with 14 children in each. In 2006, I decided I wanted to be here, this is where my heart was. Q: I'm a twin, so I can relate to a parent trying to find care for two kids at the same time.Ī: In the first class, we had five sets of twins and a set of triplets. and then transitions to a child care service who may not be familiar with them, or may not be using the protocols or techniques to bring out the best of them. Even to this day, before- and after-care when children are approved for specialized care is hard to find. Q: In a sense, starting Spotted Zebra was inspired by your own children, correct?Ī: Like every person, I had the dream for my kids going to a typical preschool and having that typical experience. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |