WEBVTT

00:00.120 --> 00:06.359
For more than a century, a pre-K center on the Upper East
Side has been shaping the futures of New York City kids

00:06.740 --> 00:10.920
Fox News Antoine Lewis has more on the Early
Childhood Center at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House

00:11.420 --> 00:18.960
This classroom is called the Sunshine Classroom, and the warmth
that's on display has nothing to do with the elements outside

00:19.240 --> 00:27.160
Not too much, but it's going to fall. These are students of the Early Childhood
Center at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House on Manhattan's Upper East Side

00:27.160 --> 00:35.040
The center was founded in 1894 when a group of New York women wanted
to start a kindergarten for immigrant children in their neighborhood

00:35.780 --> 00:46.140
Since that time, generation after generation after generation of New York
City kids have been shown the road to success begins with teachers who care

00:46.540 --> 00:54.719
It's centric to developing a group of individuals that are going to be great
citizens, that are going to be strong people and are going to be good learners

00:54.719 --> 01:02.299
And that's what we want. We want a future of people that want to learn. I see it in
my staff. Our staff are learners because they want to learn and they want to teach

01:02.460 --> 01:06.780
So it helps the growth of all of us. The
children are between three to five years old

01:07.020 --> 01:14.159
The curriculum is tailored to meet each child where their interests are,
while also focusing on educational, social, and emotional development

01:14.360 --> 01:20.020
They're interested in learning about race cars. We
use those topics to integrate those core skills

01:20.020 --> 01:35.559
So for race cars, we had numbers on the side, and they did a matching amount of stickers that matched the numbers So we able to
do those things but in a way that feels very authentic and engaging for them For Anayeli Lozama the center dual language program

01:35.559 --> 01:40.979
has had the most impact on her son. My child's
first language is Spanish. We speak to him in

01:40.979 --> 01:45.639
Spanish only. So it's amazing to see that he's
already telling me words in English. And I'm like

01:45.639 --> 01:57.559
oh, wow, you're learning. You're already learning both languages. You're already catching
those two. So that's been like a weight lifted off my shoulders. This blueberry tree is

01:57.559 --> 02:01.859
part of a garden the center has on its grounds
that's used to provide three square meals a day

02:01.859 --> 02:06.119
for each child. It's part of the center's farm
to table program where they're learning about

02:06.119 --> 02:11.499
agriculture and healthy eating. There's also a
full-size pool in the basement where swimming

02:11.499 --> 02:17.559
is taught as part of phys ed. My first son started
in 2015 and then I have a three-year-old here now

02:17.559 --> 02:25.739
For Fritz Donnelly, the fact that the students reflect the melting pot that is
New York convinced Tim to send all five of his children through the program

02:26.059 --> 02:33.319
It's extremely diverse in terms of class background,
cultural background, faith, all that kind of stuff

02:33.399 --> 02:38.559
The school represents, like New York, this
medley of all these wonderful influences

02:39.399 --> 02:46.679
The early childhood program at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House is year-round
and free to families who meet federal Head Start age and income requirements

02:46.679 --> 02:53.939
Its mission unchanged, putting children
first for the last 132 years and counting

02:54.479 --> 02:57.979
From the Upper East Side,
Antoine Lewis, Fox 5 News