Raquel Grimilla testifies on dual-language daycare and music programs
Raquel Grimilla, a Williamsburg grandmother and retired educator, urges continued funding for dual-language daycare. She praises Nuestros Niños and asks for music programs in public daycare settings.
Thank you, Elmanio.
Do I start?
Okay.
Hi, good afternoon.
Hello, Ms.
Gutierrez.
I've seen you in the neighborhood.
I'm from Williamsburg.
Oh, I saw your address.
Yes.
And I'm the public, so this is like very new.
I never did this before, so.
Welcome.
Everyone clap for her, please.
Oh, thank you.
That doesn't go into her time.
Okay.
I would like to address two topics, dual language daycare and music programs in daycare classes.
And I say music because music also is like a second language.
Dual language daycare.
All daycares are a very necessary part of our community.
In order for parents to work and provide for their families, they need a safe place for their children.
Daycares provide enriched programs for children to play, socialize, and learn.
Our daycares should not have to struggle for funding.
Staff members, like the staff members at Nuestros Niños, which is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which is a dual language daycare, they had teachers there that were not getting paid due to lack of funding, but still those teachers showed up.
As a grandmother, I'm grateful to Nuestro Niños Daycare for providing my granddaughter with a dual language program.
As a former educator myself, and I also was with bilingual, I was early childhood with a bilingual extension, but I'm retired.
I've been exposed to the research indicating that knowing two languages is not only helpful for learning about other cultures, but it's also beneficial to cognitive learning.
In this day and age, anything that can improve overall learning is an asset.
Dual language programs in our daycares give our children an advantage.
Please maintain dual language programs in our daycares.
Also, I want to personally thank Nuestro Niños from Williamsburg Brook on the South 5th Street for their dedication to our children, because these were teachers that came in when they were not getting paid.
Hopefully that was settled.
As far as music programs in the daycare classes, I understand many private daycare centers have a music program where it has a musician, usually from a nonprofit company, will come into the classes and do an activity with the children.
It would be nice to see this for our children as well in the public settings.
It's not...
And it's not that costly.
And our children would enjoy and benefit from having a music program such as Describe.
The program could be done routinely on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.
Why should our children get less than those children attending expensive private daycares?
Please maintain an increase.
Funding for our daycares and fund our future and give our children as much advantage as possible.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for testifying.
You did great.
And I didn't pay her to come here and represent Westeros Niños.
It's so good that they hear it firsthand.
Yeah, you've always been very present in the neighborhood.
Thank you.
And the gentleman right behind you helped Westeros Niños a lot in this last cycle.
So thank you.