Family Handbook:
Practices and Traditions
A CPE Education
The name “Central Park East” is special in the history of small and progressive schools. Since 1974, CPE has been a much-copied pioneer in progressive learning. Educators from around the nation and across the world still come to see for themselves.
CPE1 emphasizes learning by doing. Our integrated curriculum emerges from children’s particular interest and passions. The arts and outdoor exercise help children grow and discover beyond the walls of their general classroom.
The school is made up of mixed-age classrooms and intensive exploration. This approach addresses the social, physical, intellectual, and aesthetic aspects of learning. Home-school collaborations help everyone understand better how children make sense of the world and how to nourish their development.
All children are given an opportunity to participate in the discussion, share their experiences, and hear other children’s comments. Each child’s opinion is elicited and respected, fostering positive self-expression. This develops logical thinking skills and the ability to process information.
Class Assignments
Starting in May, CPE1 staff meet together several meetings to determine which class children will be in for the coming year. We create balanced classes that reflect observations of how children work productively, and with which of their peers.
Children often – but not always – have the same teacher two years in a row. The first consideration is creating the most fruitful combinations for working together.
Late in June, on the day that final progress reports go home, classes come together to talk about what to expect in September: which children are moving up to older classrooms, which children will be back or hanging classrooms, and who is leaving the school. We tell children in June what to expect in September.
Special Education
Special education means supportive services, not a separate room. All classrooms at CPE1 have students with individualized education plans (IEPs). Classrooms, curricula, and learning experiences are similar, whether or not students have IEPs.
At CPE1, Selena (K-1), Andrea (2-3), and Eunice (4-5) are special education teachers who support students in their general classrooms. This in-class teacher support is called integrated collaborative teaching (ICT). ICT has two teachers – one with a special education license – who work with all students in the class. All children benefit from the close support of two teachers planning together, working with smaller groups, and providing more one-on-one support.
We have specialists who provide social work (Tina), speech (Laurie), occupational therapy, and physical therapy (Dan). Our school psychologist organizes evaluations to determine if children qualify for special services.
Work Time
Worktime (and project time in the upper grades) is a vital part of CPE1 learning. During worktime, children gather to select their work for the day. Materials are open-ended to allow children to investigate, experiment, revise, question, cooperate and think deeply.
Worktime is full of choices, negotiation, and responsibility. Children choose to work together or alone. They communicate with peers and teachers, developing language skills that are critical for academic and social development.
Classroom Cooking
Cooking is part of each child’s education at CPE, combining a variety of skills in a fun and productive way. Each class prepares its own snack every day. Cooking techniques and the mathematics of cooking become more sophisticated as children move up through the grades.
Each class uses recipes suitable for any allergies children in the classroom have.
The parent association helps purchasing ingredients. Your donations to the PA help cover the cost of cooking.
All-School Sing
Each Monday at 8:30, all students and staff come to the auditorium to sing as a group. We sing songs of freedom and joy, including old favorites that CPE1 has been singing for decades.
You are invited, too. Please sit behind classes, and sing loudly and proudly. Because this is a time to be together as a community, we ask all adults to put their phones away so that they can be fully present.
Open House
Our curriculum night open house brings families to CPE for an assembly and visit to their child’s classroom. In the classroom, families hear their teachers’ plans for the upcoming year. Families also interact with each other and get to know each other better.
Fall Festival
The CPE1 Fall Festival takes place on the third Saturday in October. Our schoolyard opens for the whole community, including alumni from long ago.
Each class prepares a game to play and crafts to sell. There is also a large rummage sale on the sidewalk, and a food table on which parents often place a signature dish from their home cultures. A huge maze, face painting, craft tables, nail art, pumpkin decoration, and spending time with new families are among the highlights of the day. Families pitch in organizing, donating items to rummage, preparing food, manning booths, and helping with clean-up.
Ice Skating
For more than thirty years, from November until March, every child would ice skates weekly at Lasker Rink in Central Park. This year, Lasker Rink is being rebuilt, so we are taking yellow buses to skate Riverbank State Park. (Pre-K has not been participating because – sadly – the city does not provide yellow buses for pre-K children.)
Skating is part of CPE students’ physical and emotional development. As their skill on the ice grows, so does children’s stamina and persistence.
The school lends a free pair of skates to all children. Through the contributions of families, the parent association pays for admission to the rink.
Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights is held in early December to celebrate cultural traditions of the winter season. A potluck dinner is held. All are encouraged to bring their family’s traditional foods.
After dinner, families gather for singing and storytelling. Candles are lit to represent the light of the season.
Concerts
CPE1 children perform at the spring and winter concerts. Children sing chorally and play instruments .
Every child rehearses for the concert, and families support everyone’s hard work by making sure their child is present and prepared.
Book Swap
Each winter, families donate their gently-used books to book exchange. Children browse and take home several books for free.
Rather than charging students for new books in a for-profit book fair, we make sure all children go home with new books, at no cost to families.
Staff Appreciation
In mid-June, the parent association asks families to contribute a salad, main course or dessert to the staff appreciation luncheon. This luncheon is scheduled on the citywide clerical holiday in June. Volunteers help set-up, serve, and clean up. The staff always appreciates families’ heartfelt recognition.
Graduation
Our entire school attends graduation. This ceremony marks the formal end of fifth graders’ time at CPE1. Fourth grade families host the graduation reception in the courtyard. It’s a celebration of fifth graders who are leaving school, and fourth graders who will be preparing to come back for their own graduation the following year.
Rec Days
CPE1 Rec Days happen on the three final days of school, following the family outing. Out-of-class teachers and paraprofessionals organize outdoor days for children. While they are outside, classroom teachers break down their classrooms for deep summer cleaning.
At CPE1, children do not stay inside as their teachers break down classrooms. We want children to remember their classrooms as they looked throughout the year: full, attractive learning spaces. Our Rec Days keep children active while teachers organize and clean all of the materials that make CPE1 classrooms so powerful.