Ilene grew up in Bayside, Queens. She has a BA in Elementary Education from SUNY New Paltz and a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education from Queens College. Ilene worked as a preschool teacher at the Mid Island Y JCC for over 13 years. She was a mentor teacher, always helping to guide new teachers at her school. Ilene is an innovator in early childhood education, always researching new theories and programs to help her children get the skills necessary to succeed in today's society.
Presently, Ilene is introducing a STEM curriculum to Long Island at the Jericho STEM Academy Preschool at Jericho Jewish Center. The entire staff had to complete classes to become STEM certified which is a great accomplishment. Ilene was President of Shaloma Hadassah where she successfully raised funds to benefit Israel. Ilene resides in Plainview, NY. She has 3 wonderful children, Laura, Rebecca & Jason.
____________________________________________________________________________ A Message from the Director, "And remember, also, that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow." Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
Welcome to the 2019-20 school year! As I anticipate the beginning of the school year, I look forward to the children that we will soon meet and get to know over the upcoming year. I remember my first day of school as a child and the mix of excited anticipation and fear that I felt. I also remember the first day of school for each of my children and I remember, again, the mix of anticipation and fear that I felt for them—perhaps I was more nervous than they! I say this because I want you to know that we understand. Each one of our teachers is a parent. We all know the fears, the hopes, the problems, and the joys of parenting. Yet we are also Early Childhood Educators. We understand, perhaps better than most, how very important the task of educating the young child is. We want for your children a true education, because we know that education is not just what a child learns from reading a book (although much can be learned from reading!) or from memorizing letters, numbers, shapes, and facts. Education is what happens when one discovers meaningful information through experience. Here at Jericho STEM we hope to provide an environment rich in a variety of meaningful and exciting materials and experiences so that your child can explore, discover and absorb through our STEM activities. Remember what your child learns today will help to discover “all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.” We’d like to welcome some new staff. Alice Markell, Stephanie Goodman and Gina Chan to Jericho STEM Academy. New for this school year are our extended hours. We will be opened from 7:00 AM -6:00 PM. School hours are extended as well from 9:00-3:00. We will be using the Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum to supplement our literature education this school year. I’m sure the children will benefit with the enriched vocabulary and classic literature. Warm Regards, Ilene
October, 2019 Some facts concerning STEM: There are profound ties between STEM learning and language learning. Early STEM instruction leads to better language and literacy outcomes (Sarama et al. 2012), and exposure to more spatial language during block play in infancy and early childhood leads to improved spatial thinking abilities (Pruden, Levine, & Huttenlocher 2011). Math skills and reading skills at kindergarten entry are equally predictive of reading skills in eighth grade (Business Roundtable 2016), and background knowledge about the world and how it works (much of which falls within the realm of STEM concepts) is critical for listening comprehension throughout life and for reading comprehension once children are able to sound out words (Guernsey & Levine 2015). For young children, STEM is all around. We want children to discover all the fun possibilities that STEM has to offer. Then they can build their interest in STEM over time. To help make that happen, we need to remember that STEM starts early(NAEYC).
