Thursday, October 1, 2026
Children played at a water sensory table, colored, got their faces painted and joined teachers for dancing and games on Aug. 20, when Uniondale School District welcomed its newest students and their families to its third annual Early Childhood Jamboree.
The event, held at Cornelius Court School, brought together incoming pre-K and kindergarten students before Sept. 1, the start of the 2026-27 school year, while parents met educators, learned about resources and connected with other families.
Milerbin Genao, the school district’s director of elementary ELA and math, said the jamboree was created to make the transition to school less intimidating for young children.
“We realized that for these little ones that have not been part of a school system yet, that first day of school can be scary,” Genao said. “What better opportunity to get them to meet their future teachers, their future principal, their assistant principal, know a familiar face before they enter school.”
During the jamboree, parents learned about developmental milestones and spoke with representatives from the Uniondale Public Library, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Child Care Council of Nassau and school PTAs. The library provided information about upcoming September and October programs and registration materials for families interested in obtaining library cards.
California Avenue School’s step team also played its part by introducing students to performing arts at an early age, which is a district emphasis. Genao said Uniondale begins exposing students to performing arts as early as pre-K and kindergarten, with the district working to expand opportunities for younger students to participate.
She said the district sees performing arts as part of a broader effort to give elementary students opportunities to develop confidence and become public speakers, while continuing to emphasize academics.
“Performing arts is really big in our district — they start as early as pre-K and kindergarten,” Genao said. “But there’s also an increase in supporting children and being public speakers.
“The performing arts are important,” she added. “We also want to make sure that there’s a lot of publicity around the work that we’re doing for the academics.”
Since that effort grew, children in Grand Avenue Elementary School and California Avenue Elementary School have prepared with TED- Ed presentations. The district hopes to expand the program to all elementary schools.
For Claudia Cruz, the jamboree was part of an effort to help prepare her 3-year-old daughter, Soleil, for her first experience in the Uniondale School District. Cruz said Soleil had stayed home with her until she was 3, when she enrolled her in a part-time preschool program three days a week to help her adjust to being away from home.
“I wanted her to adjust because she was so attached to me — I didn’t want to just throw her into school,” Cruz said. “If not, I feel like I would be nervous.”
Cruz said the preschool gave Soleil experience with a daily routine, including breakfast, lunch and playtime, while also introducing her to the alphabet. The one-day jamboree was important, she said, because the children will remember the event, two weeks before school starts, especially socializing with other children.
Other parents who came for the first time included Jasmin Awala, who initially had considered the Academy Charter School for her daughter, Journi, but found the enrollment process too difficult. After moving from Hempstead to Uniondale, she said she felt that enrolling her daughter in the Uniondale School District was the best option.
“I moved here because this district has better programs,” Awala said. “It was also hard to get into the Academy.”
She added that she was already impressed by the number of services that were offered during the jamboree, learning more about the community she moved into. Journi, who said she was excited to start school, then toured the classrooms with her mother to see what kind of learning activities will be available, come Sept 1.
Awala said she was pleased to see the range of activities and resources available to families and preferred having her child attend a public school in Uniondale. Journi also was looking forward to starting school, responding enthusiastically when asked if she was excited for the first day.
Genao said helping children feel “trust, safe, welcomed” can support their social-emotional development, which then can carry over into their academics. Genao says the enrollment of pre-K and kindergarten students is at 243 – however, enrollment is still open.
