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| Dr. James P. Comer |
Why parents?
By James P. Comer, MD, MPH
Why parents? Because development and learning begin at home.
When our Yale Child Study Center team began creating our School Development Program (SDP) transformation model in 1968, a Parents Program was one of the three non-negotiable, core elements along with the School Planning and Management Team, and the Mental Health Team (now the Student and Staff Support Team.) The core and central position of the Parents Program was based on my own childhood experience, and what I had learned about child development in my public health, and adult and child psychiatry training.
I had come to understand that my own opportunities in life became a reality largely because I had a good developmental experience in my family and primary network of friends, kin, and community organizations. Many of my friends from a similar low social-economic background did not receive the support they needed, and despite similar ability levels, had school and life outcomes far below their potential. The difference suggested that parents and community organization members, with child development knowledge and application skills, might be able to support adequate preparation for school and life success for most young people.
Such preparation was not essential in past economies in which families could be supported through employment and work that did not require much education; and did not require social skills and the personal development needed to meet the demands of more complex work and life situations. Social science findings in the 1970s, and brain and mind studies in the 1980s and 90s, provided evidence that parent and school support for development could lead to greater student success in school. But little effort has been made to help parents and educators acquire the necessary mindset, motivation, knowledge, and skills needed. Families and schools that experienced social and economic stress were limited and harmed most.
Parents are the first child developers/teachers, and educators are the second. Much brain and mind development has taken place before children enter school. Parents are best able to prepare their young for school when their own life experiences prepare them to do so. And when this is not the case--regardless of their social-economic situation--schools and other support systems must help. And even wraparound services are not enough; unless they can promote good relationships, attachment, engagement, and informed and intentional support for development and learning needed in school and in life.
The parent component of our SDP has helped to create school cultures that facilitate the linking of student development and learning in school. Our work with parents led to major successful efforts by the Youth Guidance Parent Engagement Program in Chicago, and our SDP Parents, Partners, and Peers program in New Haven, both reported in this issue of the SDP Newsline. Both programs enable parents to help other parents. The Parents, Partners, and Peers program is also a core component of the SDP's place-based initiative plan to enable parents, early childhood programs, PreK-12 educators, and public and private organizations to support the development of children from before birth, through school into young adulthood.
During our October 2018 50th anniversary celebration and symposium, we will take stock of our work since 1968; focus on our conclusion that support for educator preparation (parents, teachers and administrators) offers the greatest potential for deep cultural change in education practice and the creation of a model of comprehensive local community support for child development and learning; and effective local, state, and national education policy change.
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Comer School Development Program 50th Anniversary
SAVE THE DATES
Celebration Dinner
Monday, October 22, 2018
Reception at 5:30 pm; dinner at 6:00 pm
Symposium
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
8:30 am to 3:30 pm
Both events will be at the Omni Hotel at Yale in downtown New Haven. If you are planning to attend and want to stay at the Omni, please call them at 800-270-9423 and tell them that you will attend the Comer 50th anniversary events.
If you are interested in receiving registration information about both or either events, please email Cynthia Savo at Cynthia.Savo@yale.edu.
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New Haven families celebrate parent leaders and learners
By Cynthia R. Savo
Eighty parents, grandparents, children, and community members gathered in the Cohen Auditorium at the Yale Child Study Center the evening of February 28, 2018 to celebrate the first graduates of the Parents, Partners, and Peers (PPP) program sponsored by the Comer School Development Program (SDP).
Over five days in October 2017, Camille Cooper, Ed.D. and Martha Okafor, Ph.D. trained six Parent Leaders to facilitate the 10-session Parents, Partners, and Peers Program. Dr. Cooper is the SDP's Director of Teaching and Learning and leads the organization's PPP work with support from Sarah McIver, Senior Administrative Assistant. Dr. Okafor, the former Community Services Administrator for the City of New Haven and a lecturer at the Yale School of Nursing, developed the Smart and Secure Children program at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, worked with the Comer SDP to adapt it for the New Haven community.
Against a backdrop of a black and white photo of him with his parents, Maggie and Hugh Comer, and his siblings, Thelma, Louise, Charles, and Norman, Dr. James P. Comer, the founder and director of the Comer School Development Program, said that he was delighted to see so many families at the celebration. "I've always believed that to help ensure their children's success in school and in life, parents must prepare them for school. Parents and schools need to work together to support children's development and learning whether at home or in school."
Dr. Cooper presented each of the Parent Leaders with flowers, recognizing them for their leadership and commitment to supporting the New Haven parents that participated in the Parents, Partners and Peers program. The six Parent Leaders are Elizabeth Yarborough, Makia Richardson, Shamayla Adams from Brennan-Rogers School in the West Rock neighborhood; and Yesica Sanchez, Reyna Perez, and Aurelia Yocupicio from Columbus Family Academy in Fair Haven.
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L to R: Elizabeth Yarbrough, Shamayla Adams, Makia Richardson,
Dr. Camille Cooper, Aurelia Yocupicio, Yesica Sanchez, and Reyna Perez
Photo: Tom Ficklin
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"We are dedicated to making our peers and parents as good as they can be and better. We are committed to providing meaningful, impactful training today for shaping the leaders of tomorrow by enabling leaders to move beyond who they are right now and whom they can become in the future. Always remember: Knowledge is power," said Parent Leader Elizabeth Yarborough.
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Dr. James P. Comer to deliver commencement address at SCSU
Dr. James P. Comer will deliver the Graduate Commencement keynote address for the Southern Connecticut State University School of Arts and Sciences and School of Education on May 17, 2018 at 7:00 pm.
Comer, the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry and the founder and director of the School Development Program at the Yale Child Study, has fostered collaborative work with SCSU for nearly 30 years, most recently with the Collaborative for Developmentally Centered Education which also includes the New Haven Public Schools.
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Youth Guidance Parent Leadership Conference celebrates 25th anniversary
By Cynthia R. Savo
In 1992 Della Ezell traveled to New Haven to participate in "Comer 101" training with a group of her colleagues from Youth Guidance, eager to strengthen the Chicago Public Schools through implementation of the Comer Model. What really got Della's attention from the training was the importance the process put on parents as a core component of the Comer model. Through her work at Youth Guidance counseling families in Chicago, she'd seen first-hand how parents living in poverty struggled with the demands of providing for their families and supporting their children's education. The training focused on the power parent involvement had on improving educational outcomes for children, and Della realized that working with parents to support their meaningful engagement in their children's school was the "missing piece" of their work with children.
Youth Guidance, a leading provider of school-based programs and capacity-building initiatives serving children and families, was already working closely with parents through some of their programs in 1992. Inspired by what Dr. James P. Comer said about the importance of parents in their children's development and learning, Ezell returned to Chicago determined to find a way to build a sense of community among parents and also provide training on specific strategies to meaningfully engage in schools. Former Youth Guidance Executive Director Vivian Loseth, who brought the Comer Model to Chicago, encouraged her to make it happen.
"Della was on a mission," says Youth Guidance CEO Michelle Adler Morrison. "She built on the organizing work we were doing at each individual school level to create a powerful network for parent leaders. She pushed schools to change their perceptions of parents and their relationships with them to see them as 'co-developers' with teachers, experts on their children and leaders in the school community. Through the establishment of the Parent Leadership conference, including the Comer Leadership Awards, parent voice was uplifted and their vast accomplishments celebrated. While Della has clearly always been a leader in her own right (I remember visiting Phillips High School and seeing her photo on the wall as an inductee to the school's Hall of Fame), she has recognized and developed leadership in thousands of parents over her 31 years at Youth Guidance."
Ora Wilkerson and Lany Miller, who had participated in parent training, suggested that Ezell "Comerize" parents at an overnight conference. "Parents and caregivers need to spend quality time so they can find ways to engage parents in their homes, schools, and communities effectively. At first we started with parents presenting quality workshops to each other. Then we added the principals partnering and presenting with parents," says Ezell.
When the conference expanded to other schools, Ezell added Youth Guidance staff to present with parents and school principals.
Youth Guidance launched their first annual two-day Parent Leadership Conference (PLC) in 1992, and have kept the tradition to the present. More than 250 parents and caregivers participated in their 25th annual PLC, Parenting is a Journey, held March 16-17, 2018 at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa in Itasca, Illinois.
"We have been inspiring parents to become leaders in their schools and communities," says Ezell. "When parents come to our conference, they soak up all the knowledge, skills, and strategies that they can implement in their schools. They share what they've learned with other parents at mini-conferences. After participating in the PLC, many parents become members of their school's Parent Advisory Councils, PTAs, and Local School Councils. Many continue their education. Parent Advisory Councils use Title I funding to send parents to the Parent Leadership Conference because they return with many effective parent engagement strategies."
The Parent Connection at Youth Guidance
Youth Guidance also cultivates parent leaders by using a specialized Parent Connection curriculum,which is aligned with the Six Developmental Pathways of the Comer Model. Cohorts of parent leaders engage in an eight-session course that covers topics such as school improvement, parental support for higher academic achievement, building parent-teacher relationships, promoting positive parenting strategies, conflict-resolution, participating in school decision making, and more. This approach ensures that adults gain a deeper understanding of how schools and parents can help children develop and learn.
For more information about the Youth Guidance Parent Engagement Program, click here. |
Karen King: Inspired, empowered by YG Parent Leadership Conference
By Cynthia R. Savo
After attending her first Youth Guidance Parent Leadership Conference in 2004, Karen Clark became a leader in her children's school and in her community on the South Side of Chicago. She became a member of the Parker Community School Parent Advisory Council then was elected to the Local School Council. Della Ezell, who became a mentor and role model for Clark, recalled that the parents at Parker " loved her and elected her president of the Local School Council. "She used everything she learned in the workshops to get other parents involved and to develop them as leaders. She turned the school around." Clark attended her tenth Parent Leadership Conference in March 2018.
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L to R: Youth Guidance CEO Michelle Adler Morrison, Karen Clark,
Della Ezell, Senior Parent/Family Engagement Manager/Specialist
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When Youth Guidance received funding several years ago to hire parents to work part time, Clark began her first job working with Ezell as a Parent Engagement Coordinator. "That elevated and inspired her. She did a fantastic job. She said, 'Ms. Ezell, I want to be just like you and become a clinical social worker one day."
When asked about the impact of the Parent Leadership Conference on her personally and professionally, Clark said that the experiences helped her "to be more aware and conscious of who am and that my past brokenness does not define whom I have become now. Just thinking of how far I have come as a parent with all I have learned through the Parent Leadership Conferences over the years has help me to face oppositions and circumstances head on and not be afraid to ask for help; and to know that my child's school is an important resource with bridging the gap between home-school-community. And most importantly I have learned to be a better advocate on behalf of my children, grandchildren, and great granddaughter.
Clark is finishing an Associate's degree in Human Sciences with a major in Social Work at Kennedy-King College with a GPA of 3.7. In September she will begin working on a BA in Social Work at Northeastern University. Her dream job? To work in the Chicago Public Schools with families to help identify the social, biological, and psychological needs that must be met to have successful students and a healthy home-school-community. She also aspires to implementing school policies that engage parents in a partnership relationship. "I believe we are better when we work together."
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School Development Program Mission and Vision
Our Mission
The School Development Program is committed to the total development of all children by creating learning environments that support children's physical, cognitive, psychological, language, social, and ethical development.
Our Vision
Our vision is to help create a just and fair society in which all children have the educational and personal opportunities that will allow them to become successful and satisfied participants in family and civic life.
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Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues and visit our website, and our YouTube and Facebook pages.
Cynthia R. Savo
Editor
Cynthia.Savo@yale.edu |
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