NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Early education leader Corlears School launches free, public programming open to all NYC families Saturday, October 16. The Chelsea preschool and elementary school building opens to young children and their families as the Learn. Play. Grow. Center over thirteen Saturdays October through May. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and a panel discussion titled Why Community Play Spaces are Critical NOW!, moderated by Erin Billups, Spectrum News National Health Reporter, will set intentions for the Learn. Play. Grow. Center at Corlears.
The kickoff event and discussion, which will take place on Saturday, October 16 at 9 a.m. ET at Corlears School (324 W 15th St., NYC), will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony for media, trustees, and program supporters, followed by a day full of free public programming for the whole family at the Center. The panel discussion will examine the importance of play in a child's growth and development. Most importantly, the panelists will highlight the need for access to equitable play spaces as so many children spent well over a year separated from their communities. Corlears is setting the bar for educational institutions by opening their doors and using their expertise to build community around play and family connections.
The Panelists:
- Mansi Vasa, Director of Equity, Inclusion and Community Life
- Colleen Goddard, Early Childhood Specialist
- Alex Gelman, Director of Educational Program Operations and Pandemic Response Coordinator
- Kim Cullen, Executive Director & CEO, New York Live Arts
- Azadeh Jamalian, Co-Founder, The GIANT Room
- Michael Wiggins, Director of Engagement and Education, Little Island
- Adam Ganser, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Parks
For each of its programming weeks, the LPG Center will open the building to provide space and programming for young children, offering access to classrooms and the school's beautiful backyard playground.
"The Learn. Play. Grow. Center represents Corlears School's commitment to equity and belonging for all students. We have always focused on these important values in our classrooms and school community, and the Center reflects a structural level effort to create broader inclusion of the diverse New York City community of children and their families," said David Egolf, Head of School for Corlears School.
To make this opportunity possible, Corlears has forged partnerships with local nonprofits and businesses to create an impressive lineup of partners and programming:
- New York Live Arts: will bring movement-based artistic programming that explores the world of ideas through movement techniques, theater, and storytelling and supports the creative identities of young people and their grownups.
- Arts For All: will provide outstanding professional teaching artists to teach theater workshops designed for young children.
- The GIANT Room: will challenge participants in science, arts and engineering to collaborate and create new group projects each week.
- Love Child Yoga: will get the littlest children and their grownups going with music and movement classes each week.
Parents and caregivers can benefit from Corlears School's decades of early childhood experience with free workshops on each LPG Saturday. On November 6, the school's Director of Equity, Inclusion and Community Life, Mansi Vasa, will present "When Conversations About Race Come Home"; on November 20, Early Childhood Specialist Colleen Goddard, Ph.D., will host a workshop on the subject of mindful parenting.
The Center is part of the school's Learn. Play. Grow. Initiative to promote greater access and equity. The initiative also includes the Tuition Equity and Access Model (TEAM), which will support the school's long history of strong socio-economic diversity by allowing all enrolled families to contribute towards the maximum tuition at a sustainable level. The school expects that the initiative will make a significant difference for the New York City community, especially as families struggle to maintain children's academic growth and wellbeing during the COVID-19 crisis.
Families interested in learning more about Learn. Play. Grow., and how to register for programming, can head to corlears.nyc/LPG.
About Corlears School
Corlears is a nonprofit progressive independent school for toddlers through fifth grade, offering a strong academic foundation and vibrant, inclusive community for more than 50 years. Corlears was founded in 1968 to create a space for young children where the curriculum would stimulate creativity, be grounded in concrete experiences, and extend beyond the classroom while preparing students to become responsible and contributing members of their communities.
Over the past 15 years, the school has doubled down on this commitment, and began a school-wide social justice initiative seven years ago to further prioritize justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion through formalized training for all staff, adjustments to the educational program, and the application of an anti-bias framework across all areas of the school.
In 2019 the school adopted six core values: compassion, growth, courage to act, responsibility, belonging, and curiosity. For more information, visit http://www.corlearsschool.org.
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SOURCE Corlears School
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