Jim Sperber, Art Specialist
JIM SPERBER began his art career after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 1994. His abstract paintings are simple and complex at the same time. Using line, detailed brushwork, color and balance, his paintings mimic the human journey, filled with finely laid plans, repetition, preparation, quick decisions, imperfections and hopefully some fulfillment and success. Jim continues to paint in his Tribeca studio. Please feel free to reach out to him directly if you’d like to come down for a studio visit sometime. Jim teaches the 3/4’s and 4/5’s classes and after-school classes.
Art is a powerful mode of communication through which children explore and construct a sense of self and develop an understanding of the world around them. Learning about and through art is fundamental to the development of the child, promoting creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving skills and social interactions. Children in our 3s/4s and 4s/5s classes have a specific art class and all teachers incorporate interaction with art materials in everyday classroom settings.
In Art, children engage in the process of creating as well as the process of responding. Creating art provides children opportunities to develop their fine motor skills, take creative risks, and to solve problems. Children are encouraged to draw on their imagination, experiences and knowledge of materials. Responding to art provides children opportunities to develop skills of analysis, interpretation, reflection and communication. In considering their own and other artists’ work, children are developing understanding of different perspectives.
Kyleigh Sackandy, Movement Specialist
Kyleigh Sackandy has been teaching movement and dance to children in New York for over 10 years and has been the Movement Specialist at Barrow Street since 2020. She holds an MS in Dance/Movement Therapy from Sarah Lawrence College and has brought movement to children in various school settings including those with special needs. She dances professionally and is the Education Director of Ariel Rivka DanceCompany, traveling and teaching nationally and internationally. It is her lifelong passion to bring movement to children; curating experiences that bring joy, creative self-expression, and social-emotional growth through dance, physical play, and imagination. Kyleigh teaches all age levels at Barrow.
Movement is our first language and connects us to ourselves and our community. Our physical, mental and emotional health are closely linked to the development of, and our relationship to, our bodies and movement. By exploring movement, rhythm, and play in our class, we enable children to engage in a meaningful exploration of the self, the environment and others.
Our class structure is a balance of child and teacher led activities and creations. After warming-up the body and connecting to our physical selves, we use our bodies in creative exploration, following our imaginations and physical intuitions. We learn to trust our bodies’ messages, communicate what we feel, and transform these feelings into creative ideas. We celebrate our individuality while also strengthening our community through our universal movement language. After our exploration, we calm our bodies by practicing self-regulation exercises.
Megan Moncrief, Music Specialist
Megan Moncrief is joining the community as Barrow’s new Music Specialist. She is thrilled to teach music with such a vibrant, creative community of families and educators! Megan received her certification in music pedagogy from George Mason University and came to Barrow from Blue School. In her spare time, she is an interactive theatermaker and storyteller. Megan enjoys swimming, thrift shopping, reading science fiction, and cuddling her cat, Martine. Megan teaches all age levels at Barrow.
Music classes emphasize play, creation, and the direct experience of rhythm, melody, and expression. From the very earliest days of instruction, children are invited to sing, play instruments, and move to music through games and dances. Instructional methods build upon children’s natural tendencies as creative musicians, offering opportunities for improvisation and building toward group songwriting activities! The songs we sing and listen to in class represent a wide variety of traditions as shared with us by culture-bearers.
Dave Gibson, Pottery Specialist
David Gibson received his MFA from Louisiana State University and his BFA from University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He did a residency at the University of the Arts. His work has been shown in juried and in invitational exhibitions throughout the United States. David has taught at the Clay Studio, Wayne Arts Center and Southeastern Louisiana University. David was a resident artist at Greenwich House Pottery from 2005-2007. Dave has been teaching at GHP since 2007 and at Barrow Street Nursery School since 2008. Currently, he teaches various wheel and hand-building classes throughout New York City to all age groups. Dave teaches Yellow, Purple, Silver, Green, Blue, Orange, and Red Room students.
Clay invites touching and squeezing, and as a wonderfully malleable material, it provides endless possibilities. Working with clay provides yet another language for exploring and communicating ideas, enabling children to make their ideas visible – but in three dimensions. Children in our 2s/3s, 3s/4s, and 4s/5s have scheduled time with our pottery teacher, Dave.
With clay, children can make large, firm, complex structures as well as tiny, intricate pieces. The patting, squashing, pinching, squeezing, poking holes and breaking bits off builds fine motor strength, and over time, techniques such as rolling balls and coils are practiced and perfected.
Bari Schwartz, Science (STEM) Specialist
Bari is a member of the Little Learners Nyc teaching team. She currently also serves as the head of curriculum development for their school programs. Bari is native New Yorker and a graduate of New York University, where she gained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Bari holds a Masters in education and has 20 years of experience in schools across New York City.
She is excited to support our STEM programs this year by building a sense of wonder through inquiry and multi-sensory learning. The children will practice collaboration, problem solving, testing, and innovation. They will work on building their inner scientists and documenting their discoveries. Bari teaches Green, Blue, Orange, and Red Room students during the first semester of school this year.
Kim McLeod, Science Specialist
Kim spent many years teaching at Barrow as the science consultant and garden specialist and will also continue to teach 4/5s science and offer support to teachers in science learning and curriculum. Kimberly McLeod is also an Assoc. Ed. Director focused on parent education. Formerly a wetland ecologist, Kim is a life-long learner who is currently working on her Ph.D. in Education Leadership at Lesley University. Kim’s primary focus as a science educator and consultant is to instill a love of inquiry and exploration in all of Barrow’s students (and faculty). As they investigate a diverse set of materials, children are encouraged to think critically, ask questions, and make connections between their daily activities and the world around them. Kim will teach Green, Blue, Orange, and Red students second semester this year.
Children actively construct and test their understanding of the world, using their critical thinking and reasoning skills to design, carry out and reflect on investigations. Children are challenged to be curious, ask questions, explore and interact with the environment physically, socially and intellectually in order to construct meaning and refine their understanding. They use tools and techniques to investigate and understand their world and find out the answers to their questions. No matter where the children’s interests lead, science and mathematical investigations provide occasions for observing and recording, making predictions, examining change, and discussing ideas and theories.
Jahidah Diaab, Curriculum Specialist (Atelierista)
Jahidah has worked with young children for 20 years, ranging from autistic to gifted. She began her first introduction to children at the Herbert G. Birch School. She then went on to teach the arts at Hunter Elementary School for the Gifted, The Dalton School, and Ethical Culture Fieldston School. She joined the team of teachers at Beginnings Nursery School where she began her role as a classroom teacher. Jahidah joined The Blue School during its developing stages supporting the admissions process, then becoming a lead 2’s teacher in the Pre- Primary Program which was a parent- child half day program. She has spent 10 years as a Head 2’s teacher at Chelsea Day School. She has also spent time at Brooklyn College as the Creative Arts Curriculum Director. Her role at the center was to make the children’s learning visible through videography and documentation. Simultaneously, she enjoyed working as an Adjunct Instructor, teaching aspiring students the value of play in early childhood development. Jahidah Diaab has a B.A. in fine arts and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education—Birth through Second Grade. She enjoys writing, producing plays and short films in her spare time. She is raising two wonderful loving boys and enjoys all things that revolve around nature. This summer she had the opportunity to present at The Little Sprouts Conference focusing on Using Nature to Teach D.E.I.J Work. Jahidah teaches in the White, Yellow, Purple, Green, Blue, Orange, and Red Rooms and works with all students at Barrow, documenting throughout the school.
Brenna Fisher, Curriculum Specialist (Artelierista)
Brenna Fisher is an artist and educator interested in how imaginative play and artistic expression foster compassionate communities and impact cognitive and social-emotional learning in early childhood. She joined the Barrow community in 2014 with her undergraduate degree in Studio Art. Since then, Barrow Street supported her in completing her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education while she worked as a co-Lead teacher in a 3/4s classroom. As an artist, Brenna works in mixed media and writing to examine the relationship between self and community. Brenna works in drawing, painting, and writing. Brenna also teaches art and leads the Curious Creatures Camp at the Greenwich House Music School. Brenna has a cat named Krasner, a rock named Colin, and a daughter named Bee.
Brenna teaches in the Silver Room and works with all students at Barrow as an atelierista, an art-focused teacher who works with children in art spaces, or ateliers, to help them express themselves through various creative mediums. Atelieristas work closely with children to:
Recognize that children have many ways to express themselves and use these languages to build their knowledge
Learn alongside the children
Reflect with children on their learning
Reflect on learning and teaching with fellow teachers
Deepen understanding and convey theories through expressive materials
Support the community by fostering a learning environment that empowers children
The atelier is a space for connection, collaboration, and building deep relationships. A goal of the atelier is to provide as many ways for children to express themselves as possible.
