Out & About

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Early childhood is finally getting its due as an important phase in education, said the executive director of Child Care Inc., Nancy Kolben. Her organization – the city’s premier nonprofit focused on childcare policy and advocacy – held its annual Champions for Children luncheon yesterday.


Ms. Kolben says the moment is right “to build important connections between commercial providers of early childcare and the public education system.”


Across the city, 40,000 4-year-olds are in a pre-kindergarten public school program. Mayor Bloomberg has said the city will provide Universal Prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds by the 2009 fiscal year, provided it receives state funding.


Ms. Kolben called the city’s Universal Prekindergarten program “a model of private/public cooperation,” noting that the department of education is purchasing early education from more than 600 commercial providers.


Child Care Inc. presented three awards at the luncheon. “Those who are not exposed to letters, numbers, and words at that early age are at a disadvantage,” said the president of the Citigroup Foundation, Chip Raymond, who accepted the Corporate Leadership Award on behalf of Citigroup – the sole sponsor of Child Care Inc.’s early literacy curriculum for home-based childcare providers, Talk Reach Read.


The recipient of the Golden Heart Award, Ruth Cherry, spoke of her early days as a teacher.


“When I started, 38 years ago, one thing was certain: I wanted to do more than babysit,” she said. As the director of the Bedford Stuyvesant Head Start, Ms. Cherry has secured more than $100 million in grants for early literacy and family literacy programs.


Several of the Brooklyn Public Library’s children’s librarians were present to accept Childcare Inc.’s Institutional Leadership Award to the library. The Brooklyn Public Library has started giving library cards to infants and toddlers.


“Part of my strategy with babies is to read them books with pictures,” said the Park Slope branch’s children’s librarian, Christine Dille.


The children’s librarian at the Williamsburg branch, Felix Plaza, enjoys watching children mimic his gestures and intonations when he reads aloud. Since his branch is closed for renovation, he has been making weekly visits to early education programs in the neighborhood, such as Nuestros Ninos. His current favorite book to read aloud is “Kitten’s First Full Moon” by Kevin Hanks, about a kitten who tries to reach the moon because he thinks it’s a bowl of milk. He also reads the classic Ezra Keats book, “Whistle for Willie.”


Those who attended the luncheon included the president of Child Care Inc.’s board, Julie Fenster; board members Deborah Widiss and Todd Boressoff; the executive director of the Bronx Community College Child Development Center, Jorge Saenz De Viteri; the president of the Committee for Economic Development, Charles Kolb (who is working on a paper on the economic investment in early education); graphic designer Clarence Foules; and Andrew Unger of Five Borough Films.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use