A Bittersweet Pre-K Graduation for Both Students and Staff

Tuesday's graduation ceremony for the 4 and 5 year-olds of the Tarrytowns public pre-K program was bittersweet: it's an important milestone for these children, entering big-kid-school in the fall, and for the teachers/adminstrators who will no longer be a part of this beloved program.

This is the last term of unionized pre-k. Dr. Howard Smith has announced that the Elizabeth Mascia Child Care Center won the contract to staff the program. The Tarrytown center will be hiring more staff to fill the roles now filled in-house, he said. Departing teachers will be working in development days with new contracted part-time staff at the end of this school year and before the beginning of the next. 

Besides new faces all around in the fall, Smith said "the model is the same" and all else will remain the same with the pre-k: one teacher/one teaching assistant per 18 kids for a half day, maintaining the same quality standards. There's also the new principal Maureen Barnett taking over so once-retired, then-interim principal Rosemary Prati can actually retire. Clerical support will stay, as will Alcott special education social workers, and bus drivers. The current teachers and teaching assistants are guaranteed placement elsewhere in the elementary grades, but admitted they still don't know where, a reality that makes some nervous, some excited. 

Long-time pre-K teacher Susan Montero, for her part, was unwilling to move to another grade and decided to take an early retirement instead. She had nothing but praise at the Kingsland Point Park festivities for her lovely children, and their parents, though the parents had nothing but praise, gifts, cards and hugs for her.

"Thank you for letting us share in your most valuable treasure on this planet, your children," Prati said among the ring of children -- who would sing animated songs -- to the surrounding ring of their parents. "We had a wonderful year with them."

"Mrs. Rosario and I wish we could go on to kindergarten with everybody," said Montero to the group. "We wish we could go on together because they are really awesome. Awesome children have awesome parents." And teachers.