Liftoff joined over 100 organizations across New York State urging greater support for preschool students with disabilities. The State has a legal obligation to ensure there is an appropriate school setting for every preschooler and school-age student with a disability. New York relies on preschool special education programs and state-approved non-public schools to meet the educational needs of students with the most significant disabilities. At a time when school districts are receiving an infusion of new funding, the State must not shortchange students with the most intensive needs and the schools that serve them. We must prevent additional programs from shutting their doors and ensure children with disabilities across New York State receive the support they need to learn.
Author: Rachel
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Preschool Special Education
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Liftoff Lunch & Learn
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Liftoff WNY Network News
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Liftoff Welcomes Amy Miranti!
We are pleased to announce that Amy Miranti has joined Liftoff as our Communications and Administrative Associate! Amy is responsible for a combination of day-to-day operations, technology, and communication tasks for our initiative. We are thrilled to have Amy home in on our communications plans and strategies and serve as our administrative liaison to our Steering Committees and community partners.
Amy is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. Prior Liftoff WNY, Amy served as a marketing and social media consultant for Arkatecht and Dancing with ED. In addition to Amy’s professional experience, she brings a deep commitment to community through her volunteer work with Help For Parents Network, Inc., as a Crisis Text Line Counselor, and as a volunteer with Blythedale Children’s Hospital.
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Liftoff Lunch & Learn
Stephanie Townsend, PhD features her latest research on WNY’s digital divide and showcases ROC the Future’s “Digital Divide in Rochester: Initial Data & Actions Taken” Report, which Stephanie is the lead author. Following Stephanie’s presentation, participants heard from Jennifer Cathy, Liftoff member and Chief Impact Officer of the United Way of Greater Rochester. Jennifer is a lead member of ROC the Future’s working group charged to ensure a coordinated community response for pre-K students that makes sure children and their families, whether in the Rochester City School District or community-based pre-K programs, have internet access and age-appropriate devices.
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Liftoff’s Signature Fall Event
‘No Small Matter’ Screening & Discussion
No Small Matter is grounded in the idea that early care and education is deeply personal — after all, we’ve all either had a child, known a child, or been a child! But on a broader scale, the return on investment for high quality early learning has ripple effects across our society. Now is the time to get this right — both because it’s urgent for families today, and because it’s an issue at a tipping point in cities and states around the country.
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Liftoff Lunch & Learn
Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body
We know that the foundations of lifelong health are built early. But we don’t often discuss the considerable effects on both short- and long-term outcomes in physical and mental health and learning. Featured speaker, Dr. Tariq Khan shares why these early moments matter and highlights Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child’s recent groundbreaking working paper, “Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body: Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health Are Deeply Intertwined”. As the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, housed at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University states, “the policy and practice implications of this knowledge are striking: Strategic investments in young children and the adults who care for them affect long-term physical and mental health as much as they affect early learning”.