Teacher is leading pre-K expansion at Brooklyn school

Christie M. Farriella for New York Daily News Karen Gerdts has been pushing for more pre-K classrooms at New Bridges Elementary.

She’s a proud foot soldier in Mayor de Blasio’s pre-K army.

Teacher Karen Gerdts is leading the charge at New Bridges Elementary for an expansion from two pre-K classrooms to five by September.

“We have the opportunity to close the achievement gap in a very basic way, by offering each child in New York City a pre-K program,” Gerdts, 55, said.

She should know.

Gerdts began her career as a pre-K teacher 14 years ago at a private preschool in Brooklyn. She loved her experience there, but she kept thinking that more high-quality preschools needed to be available to students in other parts of the city.

Several years later, she had the chance to make that happen. For four years, Gerdts worked in the pre-K program at a turnaround school in Rockaway and found it to be the most rewarding work she had ever done.

“It’s really exciting to come into a school that’s been a ‘D’ or an ‘F’ for a long time and then turn it around to an ‘A’ school in just two years,” Gerdts said.

Now, she’s being called upon to do it again.

New York Daily News

New Bridges, also known as Public School 532, is a turnaround school that will replace the failing Public School 167.

For her advocacy for high-quality early childhood education, Gerdts is nominated for a Hometown Heroes in Education award.

For the past year, Gerdts has worked to overhaul the pre-K program at New Bridges and prepare the school for the new young students. In addition to hiring pre-K teachers and outfitting the classrooms, Gerdts and her principal meet often with parents to learn how they can better help students learn.

“My children were fortunate to receive a wonderful pre-K education and I want all of my students to have the same opportunity,” she said. “I want my students to love books and to develop a curiosity about the world around them. Pre-K does that.”

Gerdts said she’s been blessed by colleagues who’ve long shared her faith in pre-K, which has now become a national education issue.

“I have been very lucky in all of my schools to work for principals who, like the mayor, believe in the power of an early childhood education,” she said.

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