Annapurna Schreiber started a [ [link removed] ]petition addressed to Columbia
University:
Save the Red Balloon Preschool in Harlem!
[ [link removed] ]Sign now
Columbia University is trying to close Red Balloon Preschool, leaving
parents and children to uncertain futures.
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
Tell Columbia University to keep Red Balloon Preschool open!
[ [link removed] ]Take Action
Dear John,
Columbia University is closing my son's preschool, and I wanted to write
you a quick note about why keeping the Red Balloon Preschool open means so
much to so many.
Moving back to New York City, I was hopeful. The city is where you go to
make dreams come true, and my biggest dream was pretty simple: settle into
a comfortable life with access to resources for me, my husband, and our
son, who has a disability.
What I didn't expect were barriers at every turn. I didn't know this
moving back, but it's legal for schools to discriminate against children
with disabilities, leading to a stark divide over which children get
crucial early childhood education. I went to numerous schools, inquiring
about their ability to educate my son. Over and over again, I was met with
apprehension about my son's condition; other schools told me that they
would not accommodate my son because he was a "liability" to the school.
The barriers seemed insurmountable, but less than a week before my husband
and I were scheduled to start our jobs, someone in an online mother's
group recommended Red Balloon Preschool. I contacted the school's
director, and we were able to visit that same day! Our visit was better
than we could have hoped. The staff didn't discriminate against my son's
tracheostomy and welcomed him with open arms. In fact, the staff
immediately stepped up to meet my son's disability head-on and learned all
they could about him and his unique needs, even before my son was formally
admitted. Red Balloon must remain open.
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Demand that Columbia University renews Red Balloon's
lease now!
I get emotional when I think of how Red Balloon has supported our child
and family, and it scares me to know that he may not be able to return
next year. As medical parents, we navigate countless barriers while
fighting for our child's rights. Red Balloon has helped us in many ways,
and I know our story is not unique. There are families at Red Balloon,
like mine, who had nowhere else to turn and were welcomed to Red Balloon
with open arms.
John, we need Columbia University to listen to stories like
mine. [ [link removed] ]Red Balloon Preschool must remain open, but we need your help to
make it happen. Will you join us?
Thank you for your support,
Anne Edouard
Member of the Parent Board at Red Balloon Preschool
To learn more about our fight to keep Red Balloon Preschool open, see
Annapurna Schreiber's email below-
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Dear John,
I just started a petition titled "[ [link removed] ]Save the Red Balloon Preschool in
Harlem!"
Red Balloon Preschool needs your help.
Columbia University, which owns the building where Red Balloon operates,
recently revealed that they will not renew our school's lease next year,
leaving dozens of kids and parents to uncertain futures. Red Balloon is a
non-profit, community-based preschool founded to serve working families in
the Harlem/Morningside Heights neighborhoods in 1972 to address a lack of
affordable, high-quality childcare in the area. Unfortunately, this
problem persists, and Harlem was recently named a child care desert by the
NYS Division of Child Care Services. We are asking Columbia to renew our
lease so we can continue to serve families for years to come. The
accessibility provided by Red Balloon is at the heart of our ability to
care for our families, sustain careers, and be part of a school that
aligns with our values in the community where we live and work.
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition: Demand that Columbia University renews Red Balloon's
lease now!
At Red Balloon, we strive to serve every family that wants to join our
community. We do not turn children away based on factors such as
disability status or neurotypical development, which unfortunately happens
every day at other preschools across the city. We serve an economically
and ethnically diverse community: immigrant families and those new to New
York. We serve the families of graduate students, adjunct professors,
essential workers, rank-and-file Columbia staff, and members of the Harlem
and Morningside Heights communities. Our community demands that Columbia
University extends our lease and lets Red Balloon continue its mission to
educate children and support working families.
[ SIGN ]Tell Columbia University: Let Children Learn!
Thank you for your support,
Annapurna Schreiber
President of the Parent Board at Red Balloon Preschool
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Join us and [ [link removed] ]start your own petition on OrganizeFor today!
[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.
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