Annapurna Schreiber started a petition addressed to Columbia University: 

Save the Red Balloon Preschool in Harlem!

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.

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. 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- 

Dear John,

I just started a petition titled "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.

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. 

Tell Columbia University: Let Children Learn! 

Thank you for your support,

Annapurna Schreiber

President of the Parent Board at Red Balloon Preschool