Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP) recently announced the spring lineup of its annual event series Downtown Brooklyn Presents, and judging by how jam packed it is with fun, free programming you definitely will not want to miss out.

Downtown Brooklyn Presents celebrates the people and the places of one of the nation’s fastest growing downtowns, and the spring launch is only the start of an exciting season.

Kicking off the season is a series complementing The Plaza’s interactive public artwork COMMON GROUND, which gives way to Earth Day events, ping pong happy hours, zumba classes, and more.

This year, Downtown Brooklyn will also host several events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop, Pride Month, and Juneteenth, from their version of hip hop karaoke to commemorative performances and activities.

See Downtown Brooklyn Presents’ schedule below:

COMMON GROUND Performances 

Pratt Institute’s fashion department closes the installation with JUNIOR THESIS – a fashion performance featuring selected works from year-end collections.

• Saturday, April 22, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Downtown Brooklyn Car-Free Earth Day

An exciting and earth-friendly activation on the plaza at Albee Square. Albee Square West will also be closed to traffic all day, so bring your yoga mats, bikes, scooters, and roller skates and enjoy a car-free street!

• Saturday, April 22, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Willoughby Walks 

For two consecutive weeks, lounge in lawn chairs and revel in a car-free streets! Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and DOT close the streets and transform them with art, music, exercise classes, and fun activities — all free and open to the public!

• Thursday, April 27, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 3, 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Albee Square Happy Hours: Check the Rhime

In honor of Hip Hop 50, channel your favorite MC and spit the verses that have kept you in love with the genre for five decades. Vibe curator, Dot Ichiro provides the beats.

• Thursdays, May 4-25, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

BAMkids SpringFest 

A day of free musical performances, interactive activities, and showcases of local talent, celebrating the spirit of spring and themes related to environmental advocacy and care. Co-curated by the BAMkids Parent Advisory Circle.

• Saturday, May 6, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Ping Pong Happy Hours  

DJ Mike Doelo and The Push are back for another series of ping pong match ups. The series is free to the public.

• Tuesdays, May 9-30 & June 6-20, 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Zumba with Dodge YMCA  

Natarsha McQueen’s beloved Zumba series returns. Devoted fans and new recruits sweat it out each Wednesday to choreographed dance moves set to lively beats.

• Wednesdays, May 10, 17, 31 & June 7, 14, 21, 28, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.

BKLYN Kids Indoor/Outdoor Block Party  

Brooklyn Bridge Parents brings block party fun to Downtown Brooklyn at both City Point and Albee Square with free, fun activities for families with kids ages 1 to 10.

• Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

BAM DanceAfrica Outdoor Bazaar  

The nation’s largest festival of African and African American dance, music, and culture is back with this beloved annual event.

• May 27-29, Times TBD

Lunchtimes @ Brooklyn Commons Park 

Thursdays in June are filled with lively lunchtime entertainment.

• Thursdays, June 1-29, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Bare Feet Downtown Brooklyn 

Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi returns for another cultural journey through music and dance. Seasoned pros and first-time dancers are all welcome to join on The Plaza’s dance floor for fun and exciting moves.

• Thursdays, June 1-22, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Juneteenth Weekend 

651 ARTS presents the 651 ARTS’ Third Annual Juneteenth Celebration, a commemoration of African American emancipation featuring performances and activities.

• Saturday, June 17, Time TBD

Brooklyn Poetry Slam 

This monthly, popular event is celebrating six years and hosts and cultivates an incredible evening of poetry and community, supported by beats from DJ Jive Poetic.

• Tuesday, Jun 27, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Check out the full calendar of events here.

“We are excited to announce a 2023 spring calendar that will give Brooklynites ways to come out and enjoy our public spaces,” said Regina Myer, President of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. “Downtown Brooklyn Presents transforms the neighborhood with a vibrant calendar of events and having residents and visitors join us for fun, fitness, and entertainment outside.”

The post Downtown Brooklyn Just Announced Their Jam-Packed Lineup For The Spring Season appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

Move over “Dick and Jane.” A different approach to teaching kids how to read is on the rise.

For decades, two schools of thought have clashed on how to best teach children to read, with passionate backers on each side of the so-called reading wars. The battle has reached into homes via commercials for Hooked on Phonics materials and through shoebox dioramas assigned by teachers seeking to instill a love of literature.

But momentum has shifted lately in favor of the “science of reading.” The term refers to decades of research in fields including brain science that point to effective strategies for teaching kids to read.

The science of reading is especially crucial for struggling readers, but school curricula and programs that train teachers have been slow to embrace it. The approach began to catch on before schools went online in spring 2020. But a push to teach all students this way has intensified as schools look for ways to regain ground lost during the pandemic — and as parents of kids who can’t read demand swift change.

OK, CLASS. TIME FOR A HISTORY LESSON.

One historical approach to teaching reading was known as “whole language.” (Close cousins of this approach are “whole word” and “look-say.”) It focused on learning entire words, placing the emphasis on meaning. A famous example is the “Dick and Jane” series, which, like many modern-day books for early readers, repeated words frequently so students could memorize them.

The other approach involved phonics, with supporters arguing students need detailed instruction on the building blocks of reading. That meant lots of time on letter sounds and how to combine them into words.

In 2000, a government-formed National Reading Panel released the findings of its exhaustive examination of the research. It declared phonics instruction was crucial to teaching young readers, along with several related concepts.

Whole language had lost.

What emerged, though, was an informal truce that came to be known as “balanced literacy” and borrowed from both approaches. The goal: Get kids into books they found enjoyable as quickly as possible.

But in practice, phonics elements often got short shrift, said Michael Kamil, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University.

“It wasn’t a true compromise,” said Kamil, who had sat on the national reading panel. The approach often led to students learning how to guess words, instead of how to sound them out.

Now, as schools look to address low reading scores, phonics and other elements of the science of reading are getting fresh attention, fueled in part by a series of stories and podcasts by APM Reports. Textbook makers are adding more phonics, and schools have dumped some popular programs that lacked that approach.

WHAT IS THE SCIENCE OF READING?

While the phrase doesn’t have a universal definition, it refers broadly to research in a variety of fields that relates to how a child’s brain learns to read. Neuroscientists, for instance, have used MRIs to study the brains of struggling readers.

In practice, this science calls for schools to focus on the building blocks of words. Kindergartners might play rhyming games and clap out the individual syllables in a word to learn to manipulate sounds. Experts call this phonemic awareness.

Students later will learn explicitly how to make letter sounds and blend letters. To make sure students aren’t just guessing at words, teachers might ask them to sound out so-called nonsense words, like “nant” or “zim.”

Gone is rote memorization of word spellings. Instead, students learn the elements that make up a word. In a lesson using the word “unhappy,” students would learn how the prefix “un-” changed the meaning of the base word.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

For some kids, reading happens almost magically. Bedtime stories and perhaps a little “Sesame Street” are enough.

But 30% to 40% of kids will need the more explicit instruction that is part of the science of reading, said Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Other kids fall somewhere in between. “They’re going to learn to read,” said Shanahan, also one of the members of the 2000 panel and the former director of reading for Chicago Public Schools. “They’re just not going to read as well as they could be or should be.”

Complicating the situation, colleges of education often have stuck with balanced literacy despite concerns about its effectiveness. That means teachers graduate with little background on research-backed instructional methods.

The upshot: Parents often pick up the slack, paying for tutors or workbooks when their children struggle, Shanahan said. Extra help can be costly, contributing to racial and income-based disparities.

As a result, a growing number of NAACP chapters are pushing for wider adoption of the science of reading, describing literacy as a civil rights issue.

WHAT IS DYSLEXIA’S ROLE IN THE READING DEBATE?

Parents of children with dyslexia have led the push to use the science of reading. For them, the issue has special urgency. Kids with dyslexia can learn to read, but they need systematic instruction. When the wrong approach is used, they often flounder.

“I can’t even tell you how many screaming fits we had,” recalled Sheila Salmond, whose youngest child has dyslexia. “My daughter would come home and say, ‘Mom, I’m not learning.’ And then it became, ‘Mom, I’m stupid.’”

Salmond found herself testifying before Missouri lawmakers, taking a graduate class so she could tutor her daughter and eventually moving her from a suburban Kansas City district to a parochial school. She now is making progress.

WHAT IS CHANGING?

Just a decade ago, it was rare for a state to have laws that mentioned dyslexia or the science of reading.

Now every state has passed some form of legislation. The laws variously define what dyslexia is, require that students are screened for reading problems and mandate that teachers are trained in the most effective strategies, said Mary Wennersten, of the International Dyslexia Association.

States often look to duplicate what has happened in Mississippi, which has credited reading gains to a curriculum revamp that started a decade ago. The multi-million dollar effort includes training teachers on the science of reading.

The changes have put some curriculum programs in the crosshairs.

Some Colorado districts, for instance, have ditched instructional materials that didn’t pass muster under a state law that requires schools to use scientifically based reading programs. New York City, whose mayor often talks about his personal struggle with dyslexia, is making changes in its schools as well.

WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE OF READING MEAN FOR PARENTS?

Should they be researching the tenets of the science of reading? Do they need to help their children form letters out of Play-Doh? What about drilling their kids on nonsense words? Flashcards?

Only if they want to, said Amelia Malone, director of research and innovation at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

What parents must do, she said, is read to their kids. Otherwise, she recommends helping teachers when they ask for it and pushing for evidence-based practices in their children’s schools.

“Parents can be part of the solution,” she said, “if we educate them on why this is kind of the movement we need.”

___

The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The post An end to the reading wars? More US schools embrace phonics appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Harlem Bespoke:  Another clean up day with Friends of St. Nicholas Park and local volunteers to help out for a monthly cleanup.  Mark those calendars and pitch in to help beautify one of uptown’s beloved parks.

* This article was originally published here

Harlem Bespoke:  So the average in Manhattan rent for a non-doorman studio is a whopping $2,944 a month but those living uptown can save over thousands each year since deals are starting to happen as of late. In the past 24 hours,  a prewar, a no-fee, one bedroom with additional office space at 2492 Adam Clayton Poweell by West 145th Street in Central Harlem has just been listed for $2,400 a month and is a rent stabilized unit!  This renovated apartment has a brand new kitchen and is a third floor walk-up situation.   Express trains are also about a 5 minute walk in either direction on 145th Street with Jackie Robinson Park also nearby.  More details and contact information on Streeteasy: LINK


HarlemBespoke.com 2023

* This article was originally published here

The New York Mets are out West for a 10-game road trip that began in Oakland versus the A’s last Friday with a 17-6 win. In the opener of the three-game series, Mets starter Kodai Senga allowed 4 runs in 4 2/3 innings with 7 strikeouts. He was backed by a lineup that produced 17 walks and 11 hits. 

On Saturday, Carlos Carrasco pitched into the 5th inning for the first time in three starts this season, giving up just two runs in a 3-2 Mets victory. The righty is 0-2 thus far with a massive 8.56 earned run average. He was placed on the injured list on Tuesday with elbow inflammation. In the finale on Sunday, the Mets called up Jose Butto from their Triple-A affiliate Syracuse. He would pitch five solid innings giving up one run and striking out two batters. The Mets overcame a 3-2 8th inning deficit with runs in the 9th (a homer by first baseman Pete Alonso) and 10th for a 4-3 win to cap off the sweep.

After the game they promoted their top prospect, third baseman Brett Baty, who made his Major League Debut last August 17, to infuse offense into the lineup as Eduardo Escobar, who had been the regular third baseman, was batting just .122 in 49 at-bats when the Mets took on the Dodgers Tuesday night.  The 23-year-old Baty was at third on Monday when the Mets faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of a three-game series.

He had one hit and an RBI in four at-bats, but most of the Mets’ offensive production came from Daniel Vogelbach.  The designated hitter homered and had three RBI as the Mets topped the Dodgers 8-6 despite a poor outing from starter David Peterson (1-2), who gave up six earned runs in six innings, increasing his ERA to 6.10. They went into Game 2 on Tuesday 11-6 and riding a five-game winning streak.

The Mets will conclude the road trip with four-games against the San Francisco Giants tonight (Thursday) through Sunday before returning to Citi Field next Tuesday to host the Washington Nationals for three games.
The Yankees began a 10-game home stand last Thursday by playing the Minnesota Twins and ended it on Sunday with a win to gain a split in the four-game series. The Twins took the first two and the Yankees snatched victories over the weekend. Staff ace Gerrit Cole’s first complete game shutout of the season highlighted the series. Cole spearheaded a 2-0 Yankees win on Sunday and is 4-0 with 0.95 ERA and 32 strikeouts in four starts.

Third baseman DJ LeMahieu provided all the offense Cole would need, delivering an RBI single and home run. With Josh Donaldson, who is the regular starting third baseman, working to return from a hamstring strain suffered on April 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Aaron Boone will ultimately have to find a way to get both players at-bats. LeMahieu  has had a solid start to the season, hitting .265 with two home runs, six RBI and a .856 OPS after going 0-3 with one walk in the Yankees 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in the Bronx on Tuesday to begin a three-game series. The loss dropped the Yankees to 10-7.

Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani, who like Yankees legend Babe Ruth is an accomplished hitter and pitcher, hit a two-run home run in the first inning on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the original Yankee Stadium. Ruth hit a three-run homer on April 18, 1923.

As Donaldson makes his way back, All-Star outfielder/DH Giancarlo Stanton is expected to be out four to six weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain sustained on Saturday. Also on the injury front, starters Luis Severino (low grain lat strain) and Carlos Rodon (forearm strain and lower back), are still rehabbing and have yet to make their 2023 season debuts.  

The Yankees have one more game tonight versus the Angels before three against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday-Sunday before going on the road to play the Twins three games Monday-Wednesday.

The post The Mets and Yankees are forced to shake up their lineups appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

 How quickly life has changed for Jonathan Majors. Last month he became the only actor in the history of the film business to have movies that were number 1 and number 2 in the same week at the box office. Now, the actor and his talent manager Entertainment 360 have parted ways, an insider told Variety. This occurred three weeks following the “Creed:III” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp:Quantumania” star’s arrest on charges of assault and harassment of a 30-year-old woman in New York City in late March. Majors has also been let go by his former public relations manager, the Lede Company. Lastly, according to JustJared.com, the actor and fashion house Valentino mutually agreed that he would not attend the prestigious Met Gala which takes place in Manhattan on May 1…..

In celebration of its two year anniversary and its commitment to support authentic Black content and creators, Comcast NBCUniversal’s Black Experience on Xfinity announced the winners of its $1 million in Emerging Black Filmmaker grants. Winners were selected for their ability to tell engaging and culturally relevant stories about the African, African American, or other Afro subculture experiences through a feature film, documentary, or web series, and were selected by an esteemed panel of diverse, entertainment-industry leaders, including Gil Robertson, Lyn Sisson- Talbert, and Yvette Miley……

Martin Lawrence is set to receive the 2,753rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 20, which is located at 6617 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. The revered actor will receive his star in the category of Television. Guest speakers will include Steve Harvey and Lynn Whitfield, who co-starred with Lawrence in the film “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate,” and also appeared on Martin. Lawrence and Will Smith were recently spotted in Atlanta, Georgia, filming the fourth installment of the “Bad Boys’ movie franchise, “Bad Boys 4.”…..

Media mogul, Porter & Craig Film and Media CEO, Sgt Major Keith L. Craig went from the military to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, where he helped bring in a record $3.7 billion as Theatrical Sales and Distribution Manager for their Central Division working on blockbuster films like the game-changing “Black Panther,” “Lion King,” and Oscar winner “Coco.” Sgt Major Craig, aka the “Hollywood Whisperer” is poised to take film development and distribution to the next level with his new company Porter & Craig Film and Media Distribution and its release of 50 films on broadcast networks, digital platforms, and in theaters….

The post A new star on the Hollywood walk of fame appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here