Bringing safe, nurturing, and predictable to life

In most early childhood classrooms, you’ll find two or three teachers at all times. The way teaching teams come together is often random, so when a teaching team happens to make a perfect match, it’s like striking gold. At P.S. 17, Ms. Bermeo and Ms. Alvarado are one such match. The warm relationship between the teachers is reflected in their classroom — one that is safe, nurturing and predictable for all students and families in this diverse New York City neighborhood.

Tiny Big Moments is a production of ParentCorps, an evidence-based early childhood program housed at NYU Langone. This episode was produced by Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven and Cindy Gray, and edited by Shanika Gunaratna. 

You can learn more about ParentCorps programming at www.weareparentcorps.org and you can donate to support our work at www.weareparentcorps.org/support-us.

A transcript is included below. 

CINDY 

Hello, and welcome. This is Tiny Big Moments, a podcast about the tiny moments in early childhood that teach us big lessons. I’m your host, Cindy Gray. I’m a senior program coordinator here at ParentCorps – an evidence-based early childhood program, housed at NYU Langone. 

At ParentCorps, you’ll hear a certain phrase uttered over and over again - 

STAFF 1

…to create a safe, nurturing and predictable environments for children to learn…

STAFF 2

…teachers create a more safe, nurturing and predictable classroom, one that welcomes…

STAFF 3

…in a safe, nurturing and predictable home, children feel supported to… 

CINDY:

Safe, nurturing and predictable, or SNP, is a bit of a catchphrase for ParentCorps. The framework is so central to our program and it’s embedded in everything we do. But what does it mean exactly? These environments are emotionally responsive in some ways we can easily observe: the kids are engaged in nurturing back and forth interactions with caregivers, soothing their nervous systems and protecting their developing brains and bodies from the impacts of stress. Imagine solid routines, clear instructions, and language around big feelings. There’s warm, close teacher-student relationships. They’re also emotionally responsive in ways that are less tangible. In general, you know it when you feel it.

Today, we want to take you inside a classroom we feel brings safe, nurturing, and predictable to life - all thanks to a special teaching team at PS 17 in NYC that I’ve worked with for several years. PS 17 in Astoria, Queens happens to be my neighborhood elementary school. I love walking past the murals on the building with flags from dozens of countries, representing the incredible diversity of the neighborhood and the school. If I’m early enough to make the morning announcements, I get to hear the principal remind the entire school, “And remember PS 17 - We! Love! YOU!”

CINDY

In most early childhood classrooms, you’ll find two or three teachers at all times – they’re  sitting on the rug, playing at centers, or keeping the peace on the playground. The way teaching teams come together is often random, with leaders assigning educators to classrooms based on factors like licenses, classroom experience, what the school needs, etc. So when a teaching team happens to make a perfect match, it’s like striking gold. 

ALVARADO

My name is Lorena Alvarado. I am working here in the PS 17Q, and I am a teacher assistant, and I am working with pre-K, and I'm so happy to work here in this environment. I love it.

BERMEO

My name is Maria Bermeo, and I'm the lead teacher in a General Ed pre-K classroom. 

CINDY

Ms. Bermeo and Ms. Alvarado have worked together for three years. In the beginning, Ms. Bermeo was a new teacher, while Ms. Alvarado was more seasoned. Ms. Bermeo was eager to put her new teaching skills to the test, while Ms. Alvarado sometimes pushed back, gently asking if she could try things her way. Eventually, Ms. Alvarado’s kind approach and infectious smile won Ms Bermeo over. Over the years, they've learned to value each other’s strengths and differences, and worked through difficult moments together. They also learned that they’re from the same place:

BERMEO

We found out that we were from Ecuador. However, she's from the mountain, the very cold part of Ecuador, and I'm from the very hot side of Ecuador. So it's very different, even though we are from the same country.  

Most of the people from the mountains, they love bread. And most of the people from the beach, they love our plantains, and we love everything, fish, seafood. I'm not quite sure if she's into it, but I know she's all about bread, and I'm all about plantains. 

ALVARADO 

Yeah, I love bread. But yeah, Ms. Bermeo comes from - [laughing] I'm so sorry. So yeah, Ms. Bermeo comes from a very hot city, and I'm coming from a very cold city. So I think it’s a good balance also, too.

BERMEO

Yeah, we bring the differences in our culture together. And I also think that we have the same values in that sense, because I was raised there up to a certain age.

ALVARADO

One of the first values that my parents really teach me is to have good discipline. I think we have good discipline here with the kids. They really know the rules here, and we are very consistent and persistent with everything that we do.

BERMEO

Consistent but loving. 

CINDY

Ms. Bermeo and Ms. Alvarado implement Friends School, ParentCorps' social-emotional learning program, in their classroom. In coaching teachers who implement Friends School, we encourage teachers to reflect on their own identity and experiences and how it might impact their classrooms. Both Ms. Bermeo and Ms. Alvarado immigrated to the U.S. as children - Ms. Bermeo at 9 and Ms. Alvarado at 16. It’s an experience that deeply informs their teaching practices.

BERMEO

I personally can relate. I really had a very hard time in this country when I first came here. It wasn't as welcoming as I thought. It was the first time that I felt like I wasn't really wanted. 

CINDY 

That’s Ms. Bermeo. 

BERMEO

And when I got to this country, all of a sudden, I was looked down on. I had long hair. I would come home with a lot of gum in my hair. I would get pulled on by my hair. Sometimes they would cut my hair. So it was really, really traumatizing. I really just wanted to leave. But my parents didn't want to let me go back to my country, so I had to stay. I had no choice. 

CINDY

On top of the bullying from her classmates, Ms. Bermeo’s teachers weren’t very welcoming either. 

BERMEO

Oh, yes. My fifth-grade teacher, when I got to this country, I was put in a regular school because it did not have bilingual classes or it didn't have any Spanish-speaking teacher. So I was basically thrown in the back with other Spanish-speaking students. And I really felt left out, because the academics, I wasn't really doing what everybody else was doing. I was cutting and pasting and just learning vocabulary, very simple vocabulary for English. 

CINDY 

Ms. Alvarado was older when she arrived in the U.S., but the feeling of not belonging followed her too. 

ALVARADO

I was almost 17 years old when I came here. So it was a little bit hard at the beginning when I came here because especially the language. When I was trying to, let's say, like going to the supermarket, I feel uncomfortable because I was not really talking in English. I was not really trying to speak with the people, I feel in a corner.

CINDY

Ms. Bermeo and Ms. Alvarado hold those experiences close today when working with immigrant children and families, many of whom are newly arrived to this country. As Ms. Alvarado explained:

ALVARADO

We're working together, we really make them feel like when the kids come here, make them feel like part of our lives, that they have to really feel comfortable, make them feel comfortable in the classroom and give them a nice welcome. And also the same thing with the parents.

I think the most important thing for me is to have communication with the parents. No matter what, my responsibility as a teacher, as an assistant teacher, is let them know everything about the child - how it was behavior, what they have, what they was learning, how was their favorite day. I think this is great because the parents feel super happy to see like, “Oh, yeah, they did it.” Also, they feel happy when they find out new things about the things that probably doesn't happen at home. They happen here.

CINDY

Ms. Bermeo takes a similar approach: 

BERMEO

Every little thing that you can think of that an immigrant might go through, I went through. So just because of the way I dressed, because of the way I looked, because I couldn't speak the language, so when I think about that and I bring it back to my classroom, when immigrants come to my classroom, the migrants that are coming in, I want them to feel welcomed. I want them to feel safe. 

CINDY

There is a lot of research that explains how when children feel like they belong, it not only boosts their confidence, but it also makes it easier for them to learn. Culturally responsive classrooms and school environments are key – they’re places where children and families are invited to bring their whole selves, where they see themselves reflected in the curriculum, on the classroom walls, and in assignments. 

Research shows that when children are able to relate new information to their own thoughts, experiences and feelings, it’s more likely to be encoded deeply – and retrieved more effectively later. This is called the self-referencing effect. Researcher and author Dr. Shauna Knox describes this as quote “the brain’s way of making sense of the world around you. When a child connects new information to their own identity or experience, it activates the medial prefrontal cortex - where memory, decision-making, and higher order thinking live.” 

When young children are given information that has nothing to do with their experience, it becomes much more difficult to retain. I think about this moment where I was teaching preschool in Southern California. I was a very young teacher from Virginia, and I taught my students all about four seasons. And it was like I was on auto-pilot. I taught them about the season of winter, a season they had never experienced. They readily identified swimsuits, sunglasses, a pail and shovel, but when I showed them pictures of a sled or skis or gloves, all that got me were wide-eyed stares. 

CINDY

For Ms. Bermeo, school wasn’t all bad. Everything changed her second year here, when she met her new teacher. 

BERMEO

She was my bilingual teacher in sixth grade, and actually in the same neighborhood in Astoria, in 126, IS 126. She told me I could do it. I could learn the language. I felt like she got me in the sense that, “Don't worry, you're going to get it.”  

And I did get my dual language license because of her, because I would like to help children that don't speak the language as well feel welcomed and nurtured and comfortable when they go into the classroom, just the same way.

CINDY

So, how does this all come to life in a classroom? There’s one student in particular whose story stands out. Ms. Alvarado refers to him as “our friend” or “my friend.” 

BERMEO

When he first got here, he was very mad about everything, upset about everything. 

I will never forget the shift that he had from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. It was such a big change that you would never think it was the same child. I think it had a lot to do with the love that he received, the attention that he received with a lot of praise. I think we learned from each other because it was working as a team. 

“I will never forget the shift that he had from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. It was such a big change that you would never think it was the same child. I think it had a lot to do with the love that he received, the attention that he received with a lot of praise. I think we learned from each other because it was working as a team.”

At first, I was a little scared. I think it was my first year. 

ALVARADO

Yeah, your first year. 

BERMEO

It was my first year. I've never dealt with a child that tiny, just taking a chair and throwing it across. So Ms. A had a lot of experience. My face was just puzzled. I really had no idea what to do. So here comes Ms. A, the savior, and she knew exactly what to do. She came up to him. She was very firm, very direct, but at the same time, loving.

ALVARADO

Yeah, that was a big adventure that we had with our friend. As soon as the first day that we saw him, I was like, the first thing I say, “God, give me a lot of patience and try to figure out how we can work with our friend.” 

CINDY 

After a quick huddle with Ms. Bermeo, Ms. Alvarado reminded her that as long as they work together, it will be a good day. She repeated her mantra:

ALVARADO

We have to be persistent, consistent, and give them a lot of love. 

I remember there was one day during center time, that one day I saw him teaching the calendar. Remember that?

BERMEO

Oh, yeah. 

CINDY

One of the classroom “jobs,” like being the coveted line leader or the door holder, is to be the teacher’s helper during circle time. Even though it wasn’t his job that day, Ms. Alvarado saw her friend using Ms. Bermeo’s “magic pointing finger” and singing the days of the week. 

ALVARADO

So I said, “Wow, you did it. Okay, let's go. Kiss your brain. Oh, give a high five in the air. Give me the power.” So things like that make him feel more special and more excited to learn.

BERMEO

You know, every day as a teacher, it's very stressful, with doing a lot of different assessments and everything and keeping up with everything. So at the end of the day, when you make a difference like that, I think that's the rewarding part about being a teacher.

ALVARADO

That is a big gift for us because I received this message from the parents and say, “Wow, you really changed my son, my daughter's life.” That is my gift. Say, Wow, everything that I did, even though it was very hard, but we did it. We did it together, and this is our gift. Everything we do here, we share.

CINDY

Thanks for listening. Tiny Big Moments is produced by me and Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, with editing support from Shanika Gunaratna. A big thank you to Ms. Maria Bermeo and Ms. Lorena Alvarado for sharing their stories with us. 

To learn more about ParentCorps, visit our website, we are ParentCorps – with an S – dot org. You can donate to support ParentCorps programming at the link in our description box.

Cindy Gray is a Senior Program Coordinator at ParentCorps.