Dear Parents/Guardians, 

Congratulations to all our Pre-K graduates.  Together we overcame unforeseen obstacles in learning for the remainder of last year and during our summer 2020 session.  We will miss seeing you on the video sessions and wish you all the success in Kindergarten.  Click on the tab above labeled 'graduates' to see your child and classmates.  

Sunshine Developmental School and Sunshine School Daycare are excited to welcome back our returning students and to welcome our new classmates for the 2020/2021 school year 

Sunshine Developmental School will be providing a comfortable setting for all students, whether current or new, to begin to return to a “new normal.” Located in Jamaica, Queens and in collaboration with Headstart programs in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, our school and collaborated sites provide an ideal setting for a multitude of special education services.  Sunshine will be offering in-person instruction, remote-only instruction and a blended model of both in-person/remote learning.

An increased element of risk is present all around us now, everywhere we travel and with every interpersonal interaction, including attending school. In response, Sunshine Developmental School has revised our safety procedures and protocols to minimize risk while continuing to provide students with an individualized, transdisciplinary experience. Please click on the  link to view Sunshine Developmental School's Reopening Guidelines.

There will be a community based video-conference meeting for all parents to attend on Thursday August 20th, 2020 at 6pm EST.  You will be notified via email and it will be posted on this website as we get closer to the date.

We hope you and your families are safe and remain healthy over the summer.  Have a wonderful summer break.

Sincerely, 

Pauline Sfakianos, MSEd, SAS, Program Director

Amalia Athanasopoulos, PsyD Clinical Director

If you have specific questions for administration please refer to the emails below based on building location your child is enrolled in:  

 Jamaica/Su​tphin Blvd: info@sunshineschool.org

Bronx 165th Street / Bathgate: InformationBronx@sunshineschool.org

Neptune Avenue Brooklyn: InformationBrooklyn@sunshineschool.org

Remote Learning

In order to ensure success for all three models the below will be implemented and communicated in the family’s preferred language: 

• SDS will promote equity by making sure that all students have opportunities to access routinely scheduled instruction, interaction, feedback and support from teachers and clinical staff. 
• All students will have opportunities for regular and substantive contact with qualified instructional personnel regardless of the delivery method (remote, blended, in-person). 
• Families will be engaged in the teaching and learning process through weekly contacts with teacher and therapist, as well as participants in the remote video lessons. 
• Social workers will be available to families to address the specialized needs of students whose educational experiences in 2019-2020 were disrupted due to school closures and who now require additional social, emotional, or academic support to be successful.  
•  Team meetings will be held weekly for staff members to share information about individual needs and each student’s responses to blended, in-person and/or remote learning. 
• Quarterlies and annual progress reports will continue to be sent to districts and families utilizing diagnostic assessment to determine each student’s academic, social, and emotional needs.
•  There will be a balance of screen time and authentic learning experiences during remote learning periods. 
• Professional development for teachers and parent training, via video conferencing, will be conducted in order to inform/facilitate high-quality remote instruction. 
•  Parents/Caregivers will have the choice of in-school instruction, blended model learning or remote only instruction. Parents can move to any model at any point in the school year. 
• SDS will continue to make all models as inclusive and culturally-responsive as possible. 
• All necessary accommodations, modifications, supplementary aids and services and technology (including assistive technology) will meet the unique disability of the student. 
• CPSE will be notified in the event of intermittent or extended school closures

Testing

• The decision of whether a test needs to be conducted will be determined by a healthcare provider or the local department of health.   We will defer all testing decisions to our local health department.

Contact Tracing

• Contact Tracing allows public health officials to put in place isolation or other measures to limit the spread of the virus. Sunshine Developmental School will cooperate with state and local health department. In order to assist local health departments in contact tracing process, SDS will:
  • maintain accurate attendance records of students and staff members.
  • maintain a log of any visitors which includes date, time they visited.
  • Assist local health departments in tracing all contacts of the individual at school in accordance with the protocol, training, and tools provided through the New York State Contact Tracing Program.
• Confidentiality will be maintained as required by federal and state laws and regulations. We will defer to guidance and direction from the local department of health as to who is to be excluded from school based on contact.

If your child is in need of a remote learning device please click on below link:

https://coronavirus.schools.nyc/RemoteLearningDevices