Rockville Centre business offers phone-free programs for kids

Four Rockville Centre educators have moved beyond the classroom to help socialize children in the community, providing a space outside school for students to unplug from technology and connect with friends.

Melissa Rice, a fifth-grade teacher at Watson Elementary School; Steve Mariano, a gym teacher at Watson; Joe Gallina, a fourth-grade teacher at Covert Elementary School; and Ryan McDermott, a former one-on-one aide at Watson, are owners and instructors at Reconnect RVC, which offers interactive classes to build children’s social skills.

The idea came about a year ago, when Rice realized the pervasiveness of students’ use of electronic devices, including her own daughter’s.

“I was feeling like the art of conversation was really suffering,” recalled Rice, who has been teaching at Watson for 18 years. “I’d talk to kids about what they do on the weekend, and a lot of them were playing Fortnite or having virtual play dates on technology, and I said, ‘What’s happening? We need to reconnect.’”

She asked a few colleagues to collaborate, including McDermott, who recently left Watson to pursue a career as a real estate investor and entrepreneur. He jumped right in, offering his business background to push the start-up forward.

Reconnect RVC formed last May, and offers tech-free sports nights, team-building programs, debate nights and birthday parties for children at St. Mark’s Cooperative Nursery School’s gymnasium.

“Our goal right now is to adapt with what the community needs and what they want out of our programs,” McDermott said. “A goal of any business is to own their own space, but we have a great relationship with St. Mark’s, who have been really helpful.”

Reconnect RVC’s programming seeks to create a healthy balance of using technology, which has become an essential part of the modern world, and fostering face-to-face communication skills, Rice said.

Rice and her co-workers are pleased that their “no-phones” policy at Reconnect has not been an issue with the kids. “The first time, it was really hard, because I’m on my phone for a decent amount of time,” said Sebastian Olivares, 12, who attends debate nights at Reconnect. “But it’s nice to get off the phone for a little while.”

“A lot of kids are on their phones out of boredom, [but] these kids are engaged and having a good time,” said McDermott, who worked at Watson for 11 years. “If you’re enjoying yourself, you’re not thinking about your phone.”

The team of four finds balance in their approach, with structured activities that empower kids. “We give them ownership,” Rice said.

When a group of South Side Middle School students gathered before a Reconnect debate night on March 15, they expressed excitement that the program allows them to choose topics to research, discuss and debate. The topics “are pretty controversial, such as gun violence, democracy as the best form of government, animal testing, ‘Is gaming a sport?’” said Katherine Graci, 12, who attends debate nights with her friends. “They’re good argument starters.”

“It keeps us open-minded to other people’s opinions and how they think about certain things,” Owen Lenin, 12, added.

Katherine’s mother, Lisa Kwon, noted that the debate classes have boosted her daughter’s confidence. “A couple weeks ago she came to me and said, ‘I got an extra point [in class] because I was able to verbalize what I was thinking! Debate has helped me!’” Kwon said. “It brought her out of her shell a little bit. I think it’s important for [kids] to be able to express themselves comfortably.”

The students agreed that they all felt more at ease speaking candidly about serious subjects at Reconnect than they would in a traditional school setting. Rice noted the increase in conversations from when the students first started.

“The teachers have really good personalities for this specific thing,” said Kiernan Souto, 12. “They make the environment very nice, warm and inviting. And it forces us to engage with each other more and have better conversations than we would if we were just on the phone.”

Reconnect doesn’t have a school vibe or sports team feel, explained Gallina, who has taught at Covert for 13 years. He runs sports nights at Reconnect, where kids typically play five different games in a session, ranging from traditional basketball to dodgeball to games they create on their own.

“Some of the kids that come to us don’t want to fully invest in a league where they have to play on this basketball team for eight weeks,” Gallina said. “So for them to come one night to just play basketball with their friends, they enjoy that. They’re learning life skills while having a good time.”

Mariano’s team-building classes for elementary school students do more of the same, engaging them in activities that require communication and teamwork. Mariano, a teacher for 17 years at Watson, explained a hands-on game called Hoop Huts, during which teams try to knock down or rebuild a hut made of hula hoops.

“It’s really just working together, working to communicate and complete a goal,” he said.

As Reconnect RVC approaches its first anniversary, the instructors see their efforts as just the beginning. Going forward, they plan to add more classes, such as girls’ sports night and kids’ yoga.

“We’re just trying to help kids find a healthy balance,” Rice said. “It’s a technical world, you have to be technical, and technology certainly has its benefits. It’s all about finding that balance.”