Annual Fund

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Staff Spotlight: Roberta Favant

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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

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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. 

The Importance of Giving in Uncertain Times

The Importance of Giving in Uncertain Times

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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Staff Spotlight: Audrey Eisenberg

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As part of our Staff Spotlight series, we recently sat down with Audrey Eisenberg to learn about her experience at Parkside. Ms. Eisenberg is a Group Teacher in 4-1. 

This post is part of a series designed to highlight the outstanding staff that support Parkside students. If you have suggestions for future articles, please contact Anthony Kapp.

The Parkside School relies on the generous financial support of our community to ensure the individualized curriculum we offer for each child while maintaining our commitment to a diverse student body. Whether you are a grateful alumnus, thankful parent, or caring friend, your support enables Parkside to meet our day-to-day operational needs while offering a thoughtfully designed, comprehensive array of academic and support services. 

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Q&A with Mr. Tramontana

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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

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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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