Last year parents organized to prevent the closing of The Little Room, a well regarded school for children with speech and language delays, that is part of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School.

Now, a year later, current and past parents are still struggling to keep the program going beyond August of 2010. This dedicated group has run into some problems and is now asking Dane Peters, headmaster of the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School and Helene Banks, who chairs their board of trustees, to give them more time.

A letter was written last night, which was co-signed by 33 current and past Little Room families. It explains the current situation, which is that The Little Room is basically at the end of the line in terms of having all approvals necessary to get a new adopting agency, and space ready, for September 2010 for the 2010-2011 school year.

According to this group of parents, there is a potential and very interested adopter but due to circumstances the window for them to find a new space has been short; with a bit more time they say they could find a space. That would require state approval, fast, or BHMS extending its own deadline. Without an extension of the deadline, the program won’t exist next year. There has been no response from the school as yet.

Dear Dane and Helene: We, the undersigned current and former Little Room parents, are writing to express our deep concern about the future of the Little Room. Specifically, we ask that the BHMS Board reconsider its decision to terminate the Little Room program in August of 2010 and instead allow the Little Room to continue at BHMS for another year. You will likely respond that the issues regarding the Little Room’s future were extensively debated last winter and that there is no reason to revisit the decision. For a number of reasons, we disagree. In particular, we urge you to consider the following:

“1. When the Board made its decision, no Board member believed that his or her
vote might be a vote to end the Little Room forever. Indeed, even though a
number of elected officials suggested that moving the Little Room would take two
years, the Board expressed full confidence that the program would find a new
home by the BHMS imposed deadline. Some Board members expressed hope that the
Little Room would be able to serve even more students in its theoretical new
home. In short, there was nothing but (largely unjustified) optimism from the
Board.

“Now, however, the situation has changed. The Little Room has been unable to
accept students for the 2010-11 school year. If it does not begin to do so in
the very near future, it will mean that there can be no program in the next
academic year.

“The Board members made their decision with confidence that the Little Room would
never face extinction. But now extinction is here. Given this new reality,
would all Board members now make the same decision they did before? You cannot
know unless you ask them.

“2. Despite this grim situation, the Little Room has actually made great progress
in finding a new sponsor. The YAI Network is, in fact, eager to adopt the
program. As State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Joan Millman
wrote to us, “We were encouraged by YAI’s professionalism and zeal for
continuing the Little Room…[Chief Operating Officer Steve] Freeman and his
team have demonstrated an incredible commitment to continuing this program.”

“Unfortunately, as you are aware, YAI faces a catch-22: it is unable to lay out
the money for major renovation of a new space for the Little Room without State
Education Department (SED) approval, but SED has been unwilling to approve the
facility before it is built out.

“What makes this situation even more difficult is the BHMS imposed deadline.
Given another year, YAI would have more time to find and renovate suitable
space, to work with SED to get the necessary approvals, and to plan an orderly
transition for the Little Room. It is unable to do any of this simply because
of an artificial deadline imposed by BHMS.

“YAI stands ready to achieve the goal that the Board has always claimed to
desire. Do Board members want to stop this from happening simply because it
cannot be done within the artificial timeline created by BHMS? Again, you
cannot know unless you ask them.

“3. Throughout this process, both you and other Board members have expressed your
love for the Little Room. You have claimed to respect the program and to want
to see it thrive for many years to come. We are certain, therefore, that you do
not want to see the Little Room end unnecessarily. You have the opportunity to
demonstrate your love and respect for the program by giving it the time it needs
to complete the process of finding a new home. And in fact, given the situation
in which the Little Room finds itself, you are the only ones who can now save
it. We respectfully ask you to live by what you so often said and to do the
right thing for the program.

“We understand that you are eager for the Little Room to move out. Nevertheless,
the plans you have for the Little Room’s current space can wait a year. One way
or another, BHMS will enjoy many years without the Little Room. But the Little
Room has only one chance to survive.

“If the Little Room ends, thousands of special needs children will be denied the
opportunity to receive an education that can change their lives. Such an
outcome is not only completely unnecessary, but also goes against the Montessori
philosophy and the school’s expressed commitment to diversity. We are sure this
is not what you want your legacy to be.

“We are eager to meet with you at your earliest convenience to discuss this
situation. We urge you and the Board to reconsider the Little Room’s future at
the next scheduled Board meeting. We look forward to hearing from you and
discussing how to move forward.”