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National Hispanic Heritage Month

Image Credit: Detail of Hispanic Heritage Select Photos, by David Valdez at Hispanic Heritage Month

What Is National Hispanic Heritage Month?

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

The observance started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.
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Seven Tips for Adjusting Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children to In-Person School and Child Care

Two girls at in-person school at Head Start in Corona

By Michele Neuhaus, LCAT, LMHC, CCLS
Program Director, 0-5 Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative

Two girls at in-person school at Head Start in CoronaAs New York City families prepare for the return to in-person school on September 13, there’s one group of children who may need special care: the 0-5 set, babies and preschoolers who may never have been to in-person school or child care, and who haven’t experienced or don’t remember pre-COVID life. How do we help these children adjust? What mental health pitfalls and opportunities should parents look out for? Continue reading

Statement on Current COVID-19 Crises Around the World

The Child Center of NY, like the communities we come from and serve, is rich in diversity. We are proud that our team members and clients represent more than 30 cultures and speak over two dozen languages.  

The range of lived experiences we bring includes being recent immigrants, living across the world from loved ones during an unprecedented pandemic. We are also caregivers with a deep love for humanity. When devastating events are unfolding around us, they do not feel like tragedies in a faraway place. They impact us deeply as humans, and on a personal level, as many of us have family abroad in places suffering the most. The communities we see in the media that are currently being impacted are made up of our family and friends and people like us.    Continue reading

On International Women’s Day, #ChooseToChallenge Ourselves with Bold Change

By Traci Donnelly, Chief Executive Officer

Trina (with son Terrell) was one of many women who faced impossible choices when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how few supports women have.

Incremental change is no longer an option for those who seek to improve the lives of marginalized populations — and if we’re to be honest with ourselves, it never was. After a year of profound loss and social upheaval, the inequalities and deep, historic injustices we’ve been content to just live with have never stood out so dramatically.

This can be painful, but it is also hopeful: It is in this new climate of painful change that opportunities for progress have emerged. Against this backdrop, we mark International Women’s Day 2021 with the theme #ChooseToChallenge. Continue reading

School Tips: How to Help Children Struggling with Remote Learning

Girl at a laptop Chromebook engaged in remote learning during COVID pandemic

screenshot of distance learning, remote learning, virtual learning

As NYC schools shift between in-person and hybrid learning models during the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is for sure: Remote learning will be around in some fashion for at least a few more months.

Parents across the city remain understandably anxious about how to help their children adjust to full-time remote learning or blended-education options. The Child Center of NY, a community-based organization that works to close the gap for New York City’s under-served communities through afterschool programs, counseling, and many other services, has been helping parents in need with related issues since before the pandemic hit New York City.

Nicholas Ferreira, one of The Child Center’s Senior Vice Presidents of Youth Development, offers up the following tips that he and his staff provide to parents in under-served communities. Continue reading

Salary Parity Explained

Five Things to Know about the Salary Parity Deal for Early Childhood Educators

By Tanya Krien and Marie Mason, Vice Presidents of Early Childhood Education

Learn about the Salary Parity deal for NYC early childhood teachers
The early childhood years are among the most important, as they set the stage for a child’s future success in education.

Earlier this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced a plan to raise pay for early childhood teachers. The tentative deal ensures that certified teachers who work in community-based organizations (CBOs) will earn the same starting salary as their Department of Education colleagues who teach in public schools. The increases will happen incrementally, with full parity being achieved by 2021. Hundreds of NYC early childhood teachers could see their pay increase by as much as $20,000 under this deal. While we, like most professionals who work in the field of early childhood education, have been rejoicing the news and consider it long overdue, the deal is mired in details (as are most) and involves considerations that have not been widely covered. Below are five details about the agreement, explained from an early childhood educator point of view. 

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Mother’s Day Reflection: Child Center Programs Benefit from Program Moms

By Tanya Krien, Vice President, Early Childhood Education, Administration and Operations

Our Corona Head Start students are working hard on their Mother’s Day projects.

Mother’s Day is a special time at our Head Start centers. Even children as young as 3 understand how much Mom means to them and enjoy the opportunity to express it.

At The Child Center of NY, we strive to honor moms every day, in ways that will impact not just their children, but the moms, themselves, and even The Child Center as a whole. Continue reading

Thank You, Sesame Street, for Tackling Homelessness

Lily, the homeless character in Sesame Street

Now, How to Go from Here

By Traci Donnelly, Chief Executive Officer

Lily, the homeless character in Sesame StreetSesame Street enjoys a well-earned reputation as a trailblazer not only in children’s television, but also in our society at large. From its portrayal and integration of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color) characters in the 1970s to its more recent additions of characters with autism or incarcerated parents, it has a history of changing hearts and minds — as well as public policy. The iconic show is well on its way to doing just that for people experiencing homelessness, through the character of Lily, a 7-year-old girl whose family has lost their apartment and is living with friends, moving from home to home. Here are some things we hope Lily’s portrayal goes on to include. Continue reading


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