8 September 2021
Celebrating a Leader, Mentor and Collaborator: Dr. Roger P. Weissberg
I learned this afternoon of the passing of Dr. Roger Weissberg, a towering figure in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) and someone I considered a mentor and friend. I am so very sad – sadder than I fear I have any right to be given how many others knew him so much more personally than I did. But then again, that is a quality Roger had – the ability to make you feel so special and important in his life, even though he had hundreds of people like you in his orbit.
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2 September 2021
Youth Voice Matters
While going back to school in person might be nerve-racking and/or exciting it's important to know you're not alone. Going back to school in person after so much time and change is the perfect opportunity to begin what I like to call our “new normal.”
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2 September 2021
Build connection and relationship in small moments
A colleague recently shared this article about unconditional positive regard written by Alex Shevrin Venet. In it, she talks about the stance she takes with her students being “I care about you. You have value. You don’t have to do anything to prove it to me, and nothing’s going to change my mind.” That is a game changing-attitude.
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30 June 2021
Get Ready to GROW ‘popped up’ at Highland Park on June 23!
Guess who is popping up in parks around the county this summer? Our ‘Get Ready to GROW’ bus, in partnership with the Monroe County Library!
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23 June 2021
Let’s celebrate the parents!
As if parenting young children isn’t hard enough. Add the pandemic, remote learning for preschoolers, all kinds of added stress and we know that parents could use a celebration of all they’ve been through.
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17 June 2021
What were your Juneteenth experiences growing up? What were you taught?
As we plan for our respective acknowledgments of Juneteeth, and our government confirms it as a national holiday, I have been thinking about how we each have been introduced to this part of our country's history, and the different ways that key events in Black history are communicated in our families and educational environments.
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25 May 2021
A reflection from our Executive Director on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death
I have been reflecting this week on how social experiences shape so powerfully the way we each think, perceive, expect, and respond.
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10 May 2021
A Tribute to Johnathan Trost
We'd like to pay tribute to Johnathan Trost, a former board member who passed away on December 22, 2020.
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10 May 2021
A Message From Our Executive Director - May 2021
Sitting with parents in a Zoom meeting recently, we each shared our greatest hopes for children – the blue sky we aspire towards. As we took turns, a shared hope was that every child in our care would have unwavering experiences of full acceptance and love – every place they are.
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