
When remote learning isn’t enough
Special-needs parents on the front lines seek daycare alternatives
BY BEN VERDE
In the early days of the
coronavirus pandemic, paramedic
Nicole Memoli was lucky
enough to fi nd care for her
14-year-old daughter Sarah,
who is autistic, at a public
school on Staten Island.
Sarah now spends fi ve hours
a day during the week at a New
York City Department of Education
Regional Enrichment Center
(REC), where she is looked
after, but misses out on the specialized
education she’d been
receiving at an Eden II school.
“They’re doing the best
they can, but they’re really
not equipped to handle most
kids who are like my daughter,”
Memoli said of the centers,
where children of front line
workers can be safely cared for
while their parents or guardians
serve the city. “That leaves
out quite a segment of the special
needs population.”
At Eden II, Sarah had received
Applied Behavior Analysis
(ABA) education, which
emphasizes learning through
repetition and tracks her behavior
COURIER L 14 IFE, MAY 22-28, 2020
and progress through
a computer system. And while
Sarah is able to learn remotely
while at the REC Center, the
curriculum is nowhere near as
effective as the schooling she
received in person.
“They’re all about the distance
learning model — that
just doesn’t work well for my
daughter,” Memoli said. “One
of the things that a child learns
in ABA is they become very accustomed
to repetitive lessons
like that, so they’re thrown off
when it’s not.”
Staff at the REC center,
where students with special
needs are assigned a paraprofessional,
have still struggled
in part to look after Sarah, according
to Memoli, who said
one teacher at the center asked
to be reassigned after Sarah
had an outburst.
To help keep special needs
children of essential workers
on track, Memoli, a 26-year
paramedic, proposed allowing
schools such as Eden II to open
daycare centers, where children
with autism could receive
the structural support while
their parents are working.
Eden II has been receptive
to the idea, and has even approached
the state about it —
but school staffers have yet to
receive a response, a rep said.
“We were, and are, willing
to provide site-based support
for students from Eden II who’s
families are essential workers
and are unable to be successfully
cared for at DOE centers,”
said Eden II Executive Director
Dr. Joanne Gerenser. “The
staffi ng ratio at DOE centers,
paired with the lack of trained
staff make it impossible for
most of our kids to attend.”
Other program directors
agree that time away from con-
ABA education can lead to signifi
cant losses in progress.
“ABA is the type of instruction
that requires continuity,”
said Joe Riley, executive director
of the Guild for Exceptional
Children, which operates programs
for those with autism in
Bay Ridge.
In the meantime, reps from
the city’s DOE say the agency is
working to improve its options
for students with disabilities
within REC centers.
“The staff at our Regional
Enrichment Centers go above
and beyond for our city to ensure
essential workers have
access to emergency childcare,
and we’re working to ensure
the centers offer a welcoming
environment for the students”
department spokesperson Katie
O’Hanlon said.
On May 19, the city announced
all educational programs
will remain remote over
the summer, meaning months
more of remote learning —
something Memoli says just
doesn’t work for her daughter.
Eden II is under the jurisdiction
of the state, and Gov.
Cuomo could choose to overrule
Mayor de Blasio’s decision,
but for now Memoli says she is
thankful for having somewhere
to send Sarah while she works.
“Thank goodness we have
the REC center at least,” she
said.
Paramedic Nicole Memoli and her daughter Sarah. Nicole Memoli