The 2017-2018 Blackboard Awards For Schools & Principals

On Monday, December 4, the 2017-2018 Blackboard Awards for Schools and Principals, presented by New York Family, honored 15 of the city’s finest schools and principals in a special ceremony at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). Jackie Made, a multimedia editor and staff writer for The Hechinger Report, was the co-host, along with Jonathan Moore, president of Family Media, and Mia Weber, the executive editor of New York Family. The event was sponsored in part by Bright Kids, DK, NYIT, and the Yorkville Youth Athletic Association. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer were both on-hand to each present an Award.

The Blackboard Awards honor excellence in local education in all sectors (public, private, charter, and parochial), and all grade levels (nursery through high school). The annual schools and principals’ ceremony is in the winter, and the annual teachers’ ceremony in the spring. Parents are welcome and encouraged to nominate their beloved schools and educators, and we typically hear from several thousand local families in the course of the year. We also have a board of advisors, experts in local education, who make recommendations as well (in fact, with the 2018 Blackboard Awards for Teachers coming up next, we would especially welcome nominations for wonderful teachers right now).

And the 2017-2018 Blackboard Awards for Schools & Principals Honorees are:

Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS)
Executive Director & Co-Founder: Susan Tenner
Founding Principal: Linda Rosenbury

Columbus Pre-School
Principal: Julie Kandall

Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health & Science Charter School
Principal: Richard Burke

East Side Elementary School – PS 267
Principal: Medea McEvoy

The Eubie Blake School – PS 25
Principal Anita M. Coley

High School for Environmental Studies
Principal: Amber Najmi-Shadid

Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights
Principal: Gareth Robinson

The Lower Lab School – PS 77
Principal: Sandra G. Miller

The Neighborhood School – PS 363
Principal: Dyanthe Spielberg

Nord Anglia International School New York
Principal: Craig Halsall

Our Lady of Pompeii School
Principal: Sr. Diane Mastroianni, ASCJ

Reece School
Executive Director: Dr. Duncan Lester

Saint Saviour High School
Principal: Dr. Paula McKeown

The Studio School
Principal: Janet C. Rotter

Yorkville Community School – PS 151
Principal: Samantha Kaplan

The Gillen Brewer School

<p>Together, we see the possibilities &ndash; and together, we will help your child make meaningful strides forward.</p> <p>That&rsquo;s the Gillen Brewer difference: an integrated, academic-therapeutic approach combined with a school-home partnership that supports and celebrates your child&rsquo;s complex learning needs.</p> <p>Since 1992, Gillen Brewer has used a collaborative approach between teachers and therapists to provide differentiated instruction and seamlessly integrated therapies to help children with a broad range of language-based learning disabilities grow into students who are:</p> <p>Proud of their progress as they become determined, lifelong learners who advocate for themselves and take on new and greater academic challenges.</p> <p>Excited to explore their interests and the broader opportunities created for them within the school and surrounding community.</p> <p>Prepared to engage with the world with the self-confidence and independence gained from learning and thriving among trusted teachers, therapists, classmates, and families.</p> <p>In our safe and vibrant learning environment on the Upper East Side of New York City, students in Preschool-Grade 8 enjoy an authentic school experience &ndash; filled with social connections, field trips, and school traditions &ndash; while benefiting from year-round programming that offers academics, arts, physical education, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, and social groups.</p> <p>Gillen Brewer School is not only for students. It is a supportive and uplifting community for the entire family. Together, we can navigate your child&rsquo;s future &ndash; with care, respect, and unwavering optimism. Come see the possibilities with us.</p>

Lefferts Gardens Montessori

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">Serving our community since 1986 and a member of the American Montessori Society. We offer a hands-on learning environment for Toddlers through Grade 6, with a mission to help each individual child reach his or her potential and to prepare students to be independent thinkers, lifelong learners and responsible citizens in an ever-changing world.</span></p>

Williamsburg Northside School

<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif;"> <div id="fsEl_7057" class="fsElement fsContent" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 40px; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: 'Suisse Int\'l', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #ffffff;" data-use-new="true"> <div class="fsElementContent" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> <h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.4; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-align: center;">Northside's Approach to Early Childhood Education</h2> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;">Rooted in the Reggio Emilia Philosophy, we believe that children possess infinite potential and creativity, and when granted the trust and freedom to exercise autonomy over their own education, are able to construct their own knowledge within the context of an emergent curriculum. It is therefore our responsibility as a faculty of co-learners, to create an environment that is aesthetically pleasing, provocative in its material offerings, and supportive of the development of our students' unique identities.&nbsp;</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">We do this through a multi-sensory approach, giving value to the 100 languages of children, which includes more creative forms of expression, such as music, movement, and art. Through these modes of self-expression, we are able to differentiate our approach to the learning styles and developmental needs of each child, and communicate the value and responsibility of each voice within our community, intentionally setting the groundwork for a lifetime love of learning.</p> </div> </div> </div>