ECC director shares success story

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Nicole Katzman credits staff
Nicole Katzman credits staff

 

Parent Victoria Heimer reading a story to the children in the ECC’s newly added classroom. /Brian SullivanPROVIDENCE – If you walk through the hallways of the Early Childhood Center, housed in the Alliance JCC, you will be impressed. The shiny new floors, donated by the Alliance, together with the brightly painted student artwork hanging on the walls, suggest that the center is well managed. Nicole Katzman oversees it with deceptive ease. Katzman, the director whose infectious laughter often permeates the premises, runs a tight ship yet doesn’t take herself too seriously.

Two years ago, she joined the ECC after working as director of PJ Library and Shalom Family. Katzman recalls, “When I came here, one of the very first things I wanted to guarantee was that children with special needs have a fair shot in life, that they can come to a program and be included.” She is passionate about the issue because her son Nathan has been diagnosed with autism. Katzman laments the fact that he, unlike her three other children, couldn’t come to the ECC because he had so many special needs. She believes that Nathan could attend the center now because of the therapeutic childcare that the ECC offers through the Department of Human Services. Katzman says, “I’m trying to make it better for other families.” She co-authored a book called “Nathan Blows out the Hanukah Candles.” Now Nathan is already in seventh grade and about to have his bar mitzvah this month in Temple Emanu-El.

Katzman emphasizes that the ECC is a therapeutic childcare center, which recently received licensing from the Rhode Island Department of Human Services to help children with special care issues, such as autism. Their teachers, in addition to the therapist from the state who comes in weekly, work with these kids, so that they can be fully integrated into the classroom.

To illustrate the success of the program, Katzman tells about a child who is deaf. When he joined the ECC, he didn’t interact at all. Now he walks around and signs with other children, who learned how to sign so that they could communicate with him. Katzman marvels, “One of the greatest things that I have seen is that beauty of integration.”

Before she became director, the ECC had 64 children. Now – the number nearly doubled – the center is at capacity with 110 kids and many on the waiting list. Katzman generously gives credit for the success of the program to the “amazing” staff of whom she is very proud. The teachers have been working hard to become more educated in the field, taking on additional classes and finishing degrees.

The center currently employs 28 people, not including the two substitute teachers. Katzman raves about Esta Yavner, who is in charge of preschool and secular and Judaic curricula, ensuring that the ECC is run as a school, not as a daycare. This means that students follow lesson plans designed by National Association for the Education of Young Children and Bright Stars. Their days are very structured. The teachers report back to NAEYC, which oversees the center and everything they implement in class. “The expectation is that every child will become an avid learner. From the minute children are sitting up, they are actively engaged.”

She also praises Sara Foster, who joined ECC this year from Barrington, where she normally teaches at a satellite  center located at Temple Habonim. (See sidebar story on page 28) Katzman says that they are actively enrolling for the Barrington preschool program, which is intended to reopen in September of 2014. She describes the school as “an intimate, warm environment” that will enrich twelve children.

Every classroom in the ECC has a lead teacher, who has a Child Development Associate certification or above, and a bachelor’s or master’s degree; assistant teachers help out in large classrooms. Katzman shares, “Parents are drawn to us because we have a lot of staff in the room, so there’s never a time when the child is alone or sitting in the corner.” The center’s activities include puppet theaters, dramatic play and an aquatics program. Once children turn two, they learn how to swim, taking weekly lessons from Tiasa Loignon, the interim pool director, who uses American Red Cross standards to teach them.

Another popular activity is photography. Judy Nagle, one of the teachers at the center, received the Terri Lynn Lokoff Award (see article in the Feb. 15 issue of The Jewish Voice & Herald “ECC teacher earns national childcare teacher award”) for incorporating photography into the classroom. The center purchased Fisher Price cameras for the children so that they could take pictures, which will then be developed. Afterward, the children will explain why they took the photos and critique one another’s work. The efforts will culminate in an art show, displaying their photography, as well as trips to the RISD museum, where they’ll meet with a photography professor to talk about the art.

The children also love to play at the spectacular new playground, built thanks to the generosity of parents David Isenberg and the Helene and Bertram Bernhardt Foundation. The ECC has been fortunate in terms of receiving help. Last year, Katzman and Jennifer Zwirn Yolles, the Jewish Alliance grant writer, successfully collaborated on a federal grant. Through “Race to the Top,” the center received $15,000 worth of new curricular materials, including chairs, sensory tables and play areas. They continued giving a fresh new look to the school by adding two classrooms to accommodate the center’s impressive expansion and by adding windows to three rooms.

Striving to present the best experience for the kids, the center focuses on providing nutritious, healthy foods. Georgina Sarpong, the lead chef, and Lashanda Cooley, the sous chef, cook fresh meals every day. The center’s USDA child nutrition program is run by the federal government and the R.I. Department of Education. The youngest children receive formula, organic baby foods, rice, fruits, and veggies; the older ones enjoy such classics as grilled cheese with tomato soup and adventurous foods, such as “vegetable melody.” Dairy-free, peanut-free and Kosher, the kitchen still manages to serve up some favorites including pizza and macaroni and cheese made with non-dairy products.

Parents are thrilled with the way the center has been operating. Last year, Katzman received many emails that she included on a testimonial page given to prospective families. One note by Angela and Bob of  Providence reads, “Your teachers have been wonderful, kind, loving, engaged.” Katzman agrees. For her, too, this job “has been a labor of love. We are changing so many people’s lives and helping a lot of families along the way.” Katzman is adamant that it wouldn’t be the same without their outstanding parent committee led by Randi Simon. She is also extremely thankful to the Alliance for recognizing that the ECC program is the gateway to Jewish life and learning and for making it a priority in the community.

Irina Missiuro (IMissiuro@gmail.com) is an editorial consultant for The Jewish Voice.