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Support for Northern Lights

Note: The following letter was submitted to the Saranac Lake School Board on Tuesday March 3:

Dear School Board and UPK Evaluation Committee Members:

I am writing today to express my disappointment at the news that Northern Lights School was not selected as a district Universal PreK provider for the 2020-2021 school year, and to share with you my support for the good work done at Northern Lights School. I write to you as a district parent, community member, and pediatrician.

My son is currently a UPK student at Northern Lights School. He has attended Northern Lights since the age of two. It has been remarkable to watch his growth during this time. He has been allowed to run, jump and climb. He has learned to solve problems and resolve conflicts. He has learned to control his body and regulate his emotions. He has done this in a nurturing, developmentally supportive environment with basic toys to encourage imaginative play and ample access to the outdoors. The Waldorf-inspired curriculum at Northern Lights has allowed him to succeed at the important work of social, emotional and physical development so that he is now ready to begin to learn academically. During his time in Ms. Rebecca’s UPK classroom, his preliteracy skills have exploded. He started the school year unable to write his name or draw anything but a scribble and a circle. He can now draw detailed figures, learns to write new words every day, and has mastered nearly all of his letter sounds. I am confident he will enter kindergarten at Petrova in the fall with both academic readiness and a strong foundation of social, emotional and self-regulation skills.

As a pediatrician, I too often see the negative effects on children who are not given the chance to do this important developmental work in early childhood. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently emphasized the importance of play in early childhood development and education. “Research demonstrates that developmentally appropriate play with parents and peers is a singular opportunity to promote the social-emotional, cognitive, language and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain” (Pediatrics September 2018, 142 (3) e20182058).

Children who are thrust into academic learning without this critical foundation are set up for a lifetime of struggle. The opportunity to receive early childhood education in a developmentally supportive setting can be protective against toxic stress and ultimately help to break the cycle of poverty. My grand wish for the children of our society is that one day they all will have access to the type of early childhood education that is available at Northern Lights School. Until then, the UPK program is critical to providing this access to the children of our community regardless of their ability to pay.

My children will both be students at Petrova Elementary School for the 2020-2021 school year. I have no additional children to go through the UPK program, so have nothing personally to gain from the committee’s decision. However, for the sake of the children of our community, I hope that Northern Lights School will remain accessible to any child in the district through the Universal PreK Program.

Sincerely,

Tracey Henderson, M.D.

Saranac Lake

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