Our Blog
Fostering Independence
It’s a familiar situation for all of us: A child walks up to us with an unzipped jacket and asks for help getting it closed. Our response to this question is vitally important. Do we save the time and the energy and zip their jacket for them, or do we insist that the child do it themselves?
Making Data Personal
As someone who prefers words to numbers and is generally disinterested in pie charts, I haven’t always had the most positive relationship with the word “data,” especially as it pertains to education. I associate the term with standardized testing and dry statistics that fail to capture who students really are as learners and human beings. Working at EPIC, however, has changed my relationship to data entirely, because here, it serves a very different purpose, one that is vital to ensuring each unique student is set up for success.
A History of Reimbursement: Accessing an EPIC Education
At EPIC, we are committed to empowering families to advocate for the needs of their children and seek reimbursement from the Department of Education for the full cost of our tuition. The origins of this reimbursement process date back to the 1960s, when frustrated parents formed advocacy groups to fight for the right to public education for their children with special needs.
Fostering Independence
It’s a familiar situation for all of us: A child walks up to us with an unzipped jacket and asks for help getting it closed. Our response to this question is vitally important. Do we save the time and the energy and zip their jacket for them, or do we insist that the child do it themselves?
Making Data Personal
As someone who prefers words to numbers and is generally disinterested in pie charts, I haven’t always had the most positive relationship with the word “data,” especially as it pertains to education. I associate the term with standardized testing and dry statistics that fail to capture who students really are as learners and human beings. Working at EPIC, however, has changed my relationship to data entirely, because here, it serves a very different purpose, one that is vital to ensuring each unique student is set up for success.
A History of Reimbursement: Accessing an EPIC Education
At EPIC, we are committed to empowering families to advocate for the needs of their children and seek reimbursement from the Department of Education for the full cost of our tuition. The origins of this reimbursement process date back to the 1960s, when frustrated parents formed advocacy groups to fight for the right to public education for their children with special needs.
Staying Calm: A Therapeutic Approach to Crisis De-Escalation
Parent University is a monthly Zoom series during which we empower families with relevant, research-proven best practices for supporting their children at home and beyond. On February 23rd, Head of School and Lead Teacher Katerina Watson facilitated EPIC’s 6th Parent University of the Year, which focused on the topic of Crisis Management and Therapeutic De-escalation.
Staff Spotlight: Kelly Holroyd
As the newest addition to the team, Kelly Holroyd joins EPIC as a Licensed Master Social Worker, soon to be Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Read on to learn more about her years of expertise in clinical and education settings, her philosophy in working with students and families, and her plans to grow and enrich EPIC’s therapeutic program.
Learning is Leading
At EPIC, we consider our staff to be our community’s lead learners, showing our students that acquiring new knowledge, perspectives, and experiences is a lifelong process that doesn’t end with formal education.
Staff Spotlight: Henryetter Singh
The newest member of the EPIC team, Henryetter Singh, joins us to fill the crucial roles of Administrative Support Staff and Physical Education Teacher. Read on to learn about her wide-ranging experience in education, the many responsibilities she’ll be juggling at EPIC, and her hopes for this unique school year.
Let’s Learn to Write!
In February of 2020, I had the opportunity to attend a Handwriting Without Tears workshop in Manhattan. It was a reminder not only of how important handwriting instruction is but also of the appropriate techniques needed to provide effective handwriting instruction. The most memorable lesson shared at this workshop was this: We need to be teaching handwriting every day. With that in mind, I would like to share with you what I learned so that families have the opportunity to participate in consistent handwriting instruction at home.
Bringing Home Educational Roleplaying Games
Hey, EPIC! In my last post, I shared the education benefits of roleplaying games, but many parents and educators who have never experienced these sorts of games in their personal lives worry they’re inaccessible due to a massive barrier to entry: rules.