The BOOKlyn SHUTTLE, a project of St. Nicks Alliance, is a Pratt-designed library and education center on wheels. The book bus will have a library, and will also provide storytelling, reading, and arts & crafts events.

“Literacy is really important for academic as well as for economic well being,” said Lai-Wan Wong, Director of Youth and Education for St. Nicks Alliance. “Not everybody can buy books at retail prices,” she said, explaining that North Brooklyn’s libraries are often closed on evenings and weekends, the times working parents could take their kids to check out books.

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There is a lot going on at the newly opened Kings Bay Y at North Williamsburg (KBY), including community programs, a preschool open house on Thursday, August 29, a dual-language program, a library program, and September 5’s “Rosh Hashana Experience,” so open your calendar or bookmark this post.

KBY is launching its preschool, and there will be an open house on Thursday, August 29, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Caribou Baby, on 272 Driggs Avenue. Of course, bring the kids, there will be activities for them to enjoy while you meet preschool Director Linda Herman and other key staff.

The preschool is located at 14 Hope Street, between Roebling and Havemeyer, and will serve children aged 2 – 5. “KBY preschool combines the Reggio Emilia educational and progressive approach with a rich curriculum and an emphasis on Jewish culture and values presented in an open and pluralistic way.”

Make sure to RSVP to the open house by calling 718.407.6388.

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You need daycare, and you need it now. Vacation is almost over, the school year is about to begin, and there’s not an abundance of choice in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area. What to do? Okay, deep breath.

There is a brand-new option for your consideration, as corporate daycare giant Bright Horizons has announced the opening of a center at 175 Kent Avenue. The Kent Avenue facility will offer care for infants and toddlers. Included in the curriculum are Preschool and ‘Kindergarten Prep’.

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By Brooke Parker

This year, the parents of public school 3rd to 5th graders received a letter from Chancellor Dennis Walcott offering suggestions on how to ease test anxiety in their 8- to 10-year-olds. Walcott’s talking points included, “Let your child know that these tests are meant to be really hard. That’s because they are designed to measure whether students are on track for college and a good job when they finish high school.” Leaving aside the absurdity of explaining what “on track for college” looks like to children who say “Justin Bieber” when asked what they want to be when they grow up, Walcott would have gotten his message across more succinctly by simply sending a barf bag to parents.

What makes this year’s tests so different that they require a preparatory letter from the Chancellor? For starters, no one is prepared for them. The tests will be based on the new Common Core Standards that New York State implemented this year. The new curriculum was released only a little over a month before the test is to be administered. Principals and teachers are panicking, but not to worry, they got a Walcott letter, too, acknowledging that “these tests will be more difficult to pass,” but assuring educators that, somehow, these tests were in the best interest of their students.

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By Brooke Parker

The Demise of Public Education: Mr. & Mrs. Moskowitz* Push for More Charters in Williamburg

Eva Moskowitz, CEO of Success Academy, who earns close to half a million dollars a year, is one of the highest profile figures in the charter school industry, touting charter schools as the solution to “waste in education.” There’s a lot of money to be made in charter schools when you add up the start-up financing grants, charter management fees, new market tax credits, no-bid contracts, and minimal oversight.

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