September 1, 2025
Dear Families,
The day after Labor Day is the first day teachers are required to report to work. Of course, teachers in every classroom came to work much earlier. On the first day, children will walk into a learning spaces that have been carefully organized (and re-organized) for them.
When teachers weren’t setting up classrooms, teaching and learning were still part of many summers. Kiyah spent two weeks in Ghana on a professional learning trip for visiting teachers. Grace participated in a two-week institute through Teachers College (but hosted in CPE1’s library) on the history of educational activism in New York City public schools. Yasmin earned a certificate in teaching multi-sensory, Orton Gillingham phonics. Cecilia took post-masters graduate school classes. Andrea was hired to prepare the city’s new class of Teaching Fellows become special education teachers. Marilyn taught teenagers through Upward Bound. Alex, Eunice, and Stephanie worked nearby in our neighborhood during Summer Rising.
Now, the year really begins. On Tuesday morning, a faculty that has been working mostly separately in their own classrooms will meet all together to review plans for the year. On Thursday morning, children arrive for the first day of school. And in between, on Tuesday evening, everyone is invited to enter the school early.
Before the first, official day, we have our welcome-back potluck. On Tuesday, September 2, at 5:45, bring a main dish, dessert, or appetizer to share with the community. (Sign up here.) We all will have a quick dinner in the cafeteria. Then, students will go outside to play on the school yard, while most adults remain inside, reconnecting with those they know and meeting community members.
The welcome potluck is especially helpful if your child is new to CPE1. Children will play on the same school yard they enter to start their first day of school. They’ll come back to the yard Thursday morning, already knowing (and having played with) several new classmates. After a long summer away, returning students probably feel a little more ready and excited for the first day after they meet up on the yard once again. That’s probably true for the grown-ups, too – it’s fun to start the year a little early.
I hope to see your family on Tuesday evening. Welcome back.
Hiring Update
Many of you know about two pregnant staff members from last year's K-1 team: Josie gave birth to a beautiful baby earlier this month, and Selena is due in October. Josie expects to be on leave until late November. Selena does not plan to return to school after October.
We hired two additional staff members to be consistent members of the K-1 team. Then, after I sent names of the new teachers to the families in Hansel’s K-1 class, one of those teachers backed out of the job.
This is a disappointing situation. Selena, of course, will be teaching at the start of the year, and already knows most of the children in the class. Our hiring committee has moved on to new candidates. But it’s frustrating that one teacher who will spend most of the year in Room 206 won’t be there on the first day. Consistency helps children, period.
Fortunately, we have another adult who definitely will be with Hansel and Ray in their K-1 class: Gabe (not Gabriel) Rodriguez. For the past eight years, Gabe has served as a paraprofessional in Bronx. In his last school, he had “the joy of creating spaces where students can explore their passions,” such the crochet club and the Dungeons & Dragons club he created. He notes that children “grow into confident, curious, and capable individuals” when adults help them follow their interests. Gabe adds: “That’s why I’m so excited to be joining the community at CPE1, where inclusion, safety, and progressive, hands-on learning are truly at the core.”
We also have a new teacher for English as a new language. For students who qualify for this service, Andrew Moscone will teach at CPE1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (On other days, Andrew will serve students nearby at PS 108.)
This will be Andrew’s first year teaching in New York City, but not his first time in a school like CPE1. Years ago, Andrew was a student teacher at Mission Hill, a school in Boston that, like Central Park East, was founded and originally led by Deborah Meier. Since then, Andrew has taught in Colombia and around the United States. Andrew enjoys helping children who are learning English “develop strong academic and social language” to further their academic and social growth. He is excited to be part of CPE1’s commitment to meeting children’s “individual needs in an inclusive environment.”
Emergency Contacts Before the First Day
About two-thirds of our families already have filled out emergency contact and health information for their child. Thank you to everyone who completed that form.
If you have not completed yours already, please do so before the start of school. We want health and pick-up information for all children in time for the first day. Click here to complete or update your child’s 2025-2026 emergency contact form.
I hope you can make it to the potluck, and I hope your child has a great first day of school.