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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MAY 24, 2020
When remote learning
is not enough
Front line workers with special needs
children seek daycare alternatives
BY BEN VERDE
In the early days of the coronavirus
pandemic, paramedic Nicole Memoli
was lucky enough to find care for her
14-year-old daughter Sarah, who is autistic,
at a public school on Staten Island.
Sarah now spends five 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
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
Paramedic Nicole Memoli and her daughter Sarah.
Nicole Memoli
cared for at DOE centers,” said
Eden II Executive Director Dr. Joanne
Gerenser. “The staffing 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 conABA education can
lead to significant 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.
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