Parents of preschoolers have had to make some major adjustments since New York first shut down in March 2020. Liana Sargsyan-Quinn was among those parents, with an added responsibility: she is an essential worker who provides care for working parents”™ toddlers.
When Sargsyan-Quinn sought a preschool for her own first-born daughter and could not find a comfortable fit, she decided to start her own early learning center. Red Owl Academy opened its doors in 2017, and she began sharing her love of learning in the kind of environment she wanted for her own child: a safe, clean and nurturing one, where creativity, learning responsibility and building self-esteem encourage children to thrive and succeed.
“As a parent, that”™s what I want for my children ”¦ and I think every parent feels the same way,” she said. “Parents of Red Owl Academy”™s preschoolers are in constant contact with teachers throughout the day via Brightwheel, keeping them posted on how their child is doing and what they are learning.”
When the opportunity to lease a small building from the South Orangetown School District arose, Sargsyan-Quinn met with SOSD officials to negotiate for the space. She eagerly began planning for the Academy”™s relocation from Sparkill, but Covid-19 delayed the move by several months.
Sargsyan-Quinn was sure that by the time all was said and done, the pandemic would be over and schools and schedules would return to the pre-Covid status quo. As it did with everything else, the pandemic kept the actual process of moving the school from one location to another much longer than she anticipated.
“We finally were able to move into the building over one weekend in December 2020,” said the educator, “and as we all know, things did not go back to ”˜normal.”™”
Instead, mandates have continued and change almost weekly, the masking debate continues, PPE costs have quadrupled and finding qualified early-childhood teachers who are certified in both New York and New Jersey has been especially challenging. (The hamlet of Palisades straddles the border of Bergen County.)
“We had 22 students graduate this year,” said Sargsyan-Quinn proudly. “As part of the ceremony, each child drew a picture of the flag that represented their heritage. One child had three flags. We had 17 flags, and I was amazed at the cultural mix of our students.”
Her graduates also leave with a new language ”” French ”” added to their growing vocabulary, lending a certain air of savoir-faire to their early childhood experience.
European-born Sargsyan-Quinn taught French in Armenia and Belgium; when she came to the U.S. to obtain her master”™s degree at Tufts University, she met her future husband. She speaks three languages, and all three of the couple”™s children are bilingual.
Red Owl Academy”™s focus is STEM-based, said its founder.
“All our projects foster creativity ”” there are no ”˜workshops”™ here,” she said. “Children learn hands-on. They need to see, touch, feel and build to gain understanding. Books play a key part in the learning process.
“This month, we spent time learning all about trees ”” how many different kinds there are, which ones have flowers or berries, what kind of animals make their homes in them and how the trees help the environment,” she continued. “In the classroom, they learn to take care of their belongings. We all have shoes we wear outdoors and another pair to wear inside the school. It takes time and patience to teach them which shoe goes on which foot and how to store their shoes in their cubby when they come in from playing.”
She described children as “sponges ”” they soak everything up. When they learn to do things for themselves, it”™s a great accomplishment that keeps them wanting to learn.”
By learning how to care for themselves and for each other, Sargsyan-Quinn said, children are better prepared for kindergarten ”” and what lies beyond.
Serendipity brought Fran Taibi and Sargsyan-Quinn together. After retiring from Good Shepherd Preschool in Pearl River, Taibi missed working with young children. On the other side of town, the preschool owner was looking for an assistant to help her in the academy”™s new location.
“We had a mutual acquaintance who knew both our situations and we were introduced to each other,” Taibi said. “We hit it off right away.”
Both share the same values when it comes to education and the benefit of early learning, and the camaraderie between the two educators is apparent.
Red Owl Academy currently has 38 children ranging in age from infant to age four enrolled, and is using three of the five classrooms in the school. Plans to expand services are certain, but the timetable is not.
“The need is great,” said Sargsyan-Quinn, “and we have several families on our waiting list. We plan to expand, but that”™s going to take time.”
She”™s also received several requests for before- and after-school care. “It”™s a growing need, especially now that parents have been called back to work,” she noted. “Some parents need a 12-hour day. That”™s something we cannot currently provide and I feel for them wholeheartedly, because no parent wants that long of a day for their young child.
“Right now, we are planning to have a before-and-after program in place by the start of the next school year ”” September 2022,” she said.
