Crossing the Bridge with Pink Cluster

In the rainbow of clusters at Stephen Gaynor School, the Pink Cluster holds a unique position. As the first cluster in the Lower School, Pink works as a bridge between Gaynor’s Early Childhood Program/Purple Cluster and the rest of the school.

This bridge can be seen both organizationally and geographically. To ensure a seamless transition and progression from the Early Childhood Program/Purple Cluster to the Lower Division, Director of Early Childhood Rebecca Jurow is the Division Director for both Purple and Pink Clusters. Director of Lower Division Donna Logue oversees the rest of the Lower School, as the students have now adapted to the change in program.

To understand the program in Pink Cluster is to first understand the program in Purple Cluster. The Purple Cluster features a therapeutic approach—students in Purple have Speech Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists that are dedicated to their classroom for 50% of the week. Every time of the day is an opportunity for the SLPs and OTs to support the students, and to work with them on their motor skills, language skills, and behavioral regulation. Early Childhood also has highly scaffolded support appropriate for that age group, but as students progress, the teachers in the EC work to see what they can allow students to do themselves while still keeping the core of the scaffold. “We are always thinking about promoting independence and how we can have students thinking on their own. It’s about independence but also managing responsibility,” said Ms. Jurow. 

This goal of growing independence continues in the Pink Cluster. Now that the students have developed the foundation for reading and language in the Purple Cluster, their program moves from a therapeutic approach to an academic approach, much like the rest of the Lower School. SLPs and OTs are no longer in classes 50% of the week, but are still dedicated to each classroom. Reading coaches and math coaches are added, and offer support for the entire cluster. 

Ms. Logue stresses the importance of this shift to academics, saying, “It can feel like an abrupt change. But there is continuity, and this is a crucial time to lay the strong academic foundation that they will need in the Lower Division.” This is also seen in the handwriting classes in Pink Cluster. Handwriting is purposefully part of their Writing and Social Studies classes each week, and they use what they learn during reading instruction, rather than solely focusing on graphomotor skills. 

In addition to the unique curricular and organizational structures of the Pink Cluster, the cluster also occupies a special physical space on Gaynor’s campus. On the second floor of the South Building, classrooms for the Early Childhood Division occupy one side of the floor, while the classrooms for the Pink Cluster are on the other. If you were to walk out of the South Building door to cross the playdeck (a literal bridge between the buildings!), and go through the North Building Cafeteria, you would end up where the Red Cluster classrooms are. Pink’s location away from the rest of the Lower School may seem to set it apart, but it actually reinforces its position as a bridge from Early Childhood to the rest of the Lower School. It demonstrates how the Pink Cluster and Purple Cluster are in conversation with each other, but Pink still connects to the next cluster.

Projects and themes begun in the Pink Cluster will become a throughline for students as they move through the Lower School. One of the projects that the Pink Cluster works on throughout the year is their exploration of community helpers. They explore the different roles that a community helper may have, such as a firefighter, police officer, or emergency responder, with various field trips and visitors who come to the classrooms. The teachers are building the idea that community is about relying on each other in different ways, for different things, and understanding how we all connect. 

This demonstration of community is expanded in the Red Cluster. Every year, Red Cluster students take field trips to each of the five boroughs of New York City. They explore the unique areas inside each borough and visit famous landmarks and restaurants in that borough’s history, all toward the goal of understanding the entirety of the metropolis that Gaynor students live in. Reflecting on how projects can be connected across clusters, Ms. Jurow said, “It is intentional. We are very thoughtful when we are putting together the sequence—nothing is random. It is all supposed to be connected so it can all build on the very solid foundation that we are starting in the Purple Cluster.” 

Students in the Purple, Pink, and Red Clusters are in a critical age group. If reached early, learning challenges are mitigated and they can make great strides in their educational, social, physical, and emotional development, putting them on the path to sustained academic success.. This is also why it is so important that these clusters’ curricula speak to each other and mirror each other the way that they do at Gaynor. The Pink Cluster’s position as a bridge aids students in their transition into the Lower Division, so the shift in program is a steady, continuous one, in which students are ready to tackle the next cluster with confidence.