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309 White Plains Dads Attend Take Your Kid To School Day

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – More than 300 White Plains dads visited their children’s classrooms at Mamaroneck Avenue School for the districtwide Dads Take Your Child to School Day on Tuesday morning, Sept. 16, well exceeding the number from last year, according to Assistant Principal Robert Janowitz.

White Plains dads take their kids to school Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Bill Brady brings his son, Joseph, 10, to Mamaroneck Avenue School in White Plains on Tuesday.

Bill Brady brings his son, Joseph, 10, to Mamaroneck Avenue School in White Plains on Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Mamaroneck Avenue School Assistant Principal Robert Janowitz silences the crowd of students with a single finger.

Mamaroneck Avenue School Assistant Principal Robert Janowitz silences the crowd of students with a single finger.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by their school pledge.

Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by their school pledge.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
The fourth annual Dads Take Your Kids to School Day drew 309 fathers at Mamaroneck Avenue School.

The fourth annual Dads Take Your Kids to School Day drew 309 fathers at Mamaroneck Avenue School.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Mamaroneck Avenue School Assistant Principal Robert Janowitz encourages fathers to get involved in the PTA.

Mamaroneck Avenue School Assistant Principal Robert Janowitz encourages fathers to get involved in the PTA.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Parents sign in at Mamaroneck Avenue School Tuesday morning.

Parents sign in at Mamaroneck Avenue School Tuesday morning.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Bill Brady, left, with his son, Joseph, 10.

Bill Brady, left, with his son, Joseph, 10.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Philippe Cadet, left, with his son, Lawrence, 10.

Philippe Cadet, left, with his son, Lawrence, 10.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Mamaroneck Avenue School Principal Eileen McGuire, left, greets Ridgeway Elementary teacher Lamont McCormick, center, and his son, Logan, 8.

Mamaroneck Avenue School Principal Eileen McGuire, left, greets Ridgeway Elementary teacher Lamont McCormick, center, and his son, Logan, 8.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Scott Doley, right, with his son, Patrick, 5.

Scott Doley, right, with his son, Patrick, 5.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Brett Langley, left, with his children, Jonathan, right, 9; Kate, center, 7; and Emily, not pictured, 5.

Brett Langley, left, with his children, Jonathan, right, 9; Kate, center, 7; and Emily, not pictured, 5.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
Eileen McGuire is in her third year as principal of Mamaroneck Avenue School.

Eileen McGuire is in her third year as principal of Mamaroneck Avenue School.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly

Many dads with kids in different schools made multiple stops Tuesday. The 309 dads in attendance outpaced the approximately 200 in 2013, 30 in 2012 and 15 in 2011, the inaugural year. 

After signing in at MAS, parents like Dan and Laura Kearon assembled in the auditorium (older kids and their parents went to the gym). There, students recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then the school pledge.

“Very positive attitude all the time, and it kind of permeates throughout the school,” Dan Kearon said. “You see it in every classroom. So, we’re definitely very happy with the school here.”

To get started, Janowitz raised his pointer finger, which at MAS is a call for silence that students follow almost immediately. The jovial Janowitz assured parents the gesture doesn’t work so well with his own kids at home.

“It only works here,” he said.

He encouraged dads to get more involved in the PTA but didn’t go as far as Principal Eileen McGuire, who mused that every new male to join would be treated by Janowitz to a beer at Dunne’s. McGuire’s “right-hand man” may not carry that out, but he does leave the occasional note of encouragement in his third-grade child’s backpack or lunchbox to let him know he is thinking about him.  

“He knows dad’s gotta work,” he said. “I can’t be in the school with him, like his mom is able to. But I want him to know it’s as important for me to think about being there and being with him. Makes the biggest difference in the world.”

Dan and Laura Kearon said they like that idea for their first-grade son and kindergartner daughter.

“She’s very social,” Dan said of his daughter, Paige. “Every day when my son went to kindergarten (last year), she would say she was jealous. So she was looking forward to coming here.”

Brett Langley’s son, Jonathan, 9, is also enjoying his first few weeks of school, along with his younger sisters, Kate, 7, and Emily, 5.

Like Langley, Bill Brady likes being part of his children’s education equation.

“It’s not only a great way to just meet the staff but also for our son to see us come to school and be a part of their day,” said Bill Brady, whose son, Joseph, 10, is in fifth grade at MAS. 

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