Nassau
HERALD All the News of the Five Towns
Covid-19 testing site in lawrence
Starting up a helpful business
Remembering Jonathan Davis
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Vol. 97 No. 32
AUGUST 6 - 12, 2020
$1.00
Prepping for reopening school Teachers armed with new lessons forge social and emotional learning connections with students, even when teachers and students Nearly a hundred educators are not physically in the same from Jewish day schools in Ari- classroom. Hidden Sparks offizona, Florida, Maryland, New cials noted that the last part of Jersey and New York, including the school year was “particularthree from schools ly challenging for that serve the Five children who strugTowns, took part in gle in the classroom a two-week virtual and require individsummit that offered ual attention and a wide range of l e a r n i n g p l a n s, ” workshops to help because of the corothem prepare for the navirus pandemic new school year. and the subsequent Hidden Sparks, a remote learning that Manhattan-based substituted for innonprofit that trains person instruction. teachers, hosted the “One of the most seminar in partnerimportant lessons ship with the Bank emerging from this Street School of pandemic is the critiEducation, a private cal importance of non-for-profit educa- GilA GENSlER classrooms that are tional institution, HALB teacher socially and emotionalso in Manhattan, ally attuned,” Hidthat includes a gradden Sparks Execuuate-only teacher training col- tive Director Debbie Niderberg lege and a school with grades said in a statement. “Though our from nursery to eighth. Hidden teachers did a fantastic job pivotSparks offers teachers the tools ing in the spring, students have to support struggling students in experienced loss, anxiety and mainstream Jewish day schools. disorientation, and teachers will The workshops focused on have to be equipped first and offering educators methods to Continued on page 7
By JEFFREY BESSEN jbessen@liherald.com
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Jeffrey Bessen/Herald
CollEEN RiVERA, lEFT, and Taesheyl Thomas sorted over-the-counter medications at the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence on July 29.
Teens tackle tough issues Youth advocacy group aims to help By JEFFREY BESSEN jbessen@liherald.com
Citing a desire to improve their community and help others, a group of nearly 30 teenagers, all Lawrence High School students, are part of a teen advocacy group at the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence. Group members, all volunteers with the center’s Gam-
my’s Pantry, overseen by Inwood resident Sasha Young, is focused on a wide-ranging agenda that includes addressing educational inequities; preventing bullying, child trafficking, dating violence, gang recruitment and suicide; i n c re a s i n g e m p l oy m e n t opportunities for young people; establishing a Police Athletic League or Explorer program at the Community Cen-
ter; mentoring local youth; improving relations between the local community and police; and LGBT issues. Two group members, Alexis Acosta and Edwin Rodriguez, presented its initiatives to Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder during a July 30 meeting at police headquarters. Rodriquez, 19, is the oldest Continued on page 4
efore now, I was more afraid. Now I’m excited to get back to make that connection with all new lessons.