I can’t count the number of conversations I have had with people about race and racial justice issues over the course of my career - white people, Black people, Latino people, multi-racial people, friends, students, teachers, co-workers, my family, my students’ families, neighbors, strangers on the bus, etc., but I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have had conversations with white parents who really wanted to know how to talk to their children about race.

By Sierra Fisher

Children’s Institute works with over 200 early childhood classrooms in the Rochester City School District through our RECAP program. One aspect of RECAP is training and classroom program observations for three- and four-year-old students in EPK and UPK classrooms using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (ECERS-3) to measure program quality. ECERS-3 is a comprehensive tool outlining requirements for best practices in early childhood classrooms.

Todd A. Savage, Ph.D., NCSP Heinous acts of racism caught on camera as well as the recent deaths of unarmed black persons – including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd – by current or former law enforcement officers have shaken the country. While to some it may appear as though racist acts have proliferated as of late, persons of color know differently: the racism that has always been there is being captured in ways not possible prior to the past decade. As the actor, Will Smith, has said, “Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed.”

Dear Parents and Primary Caregivers: Ask yourself these three questions right now...

Local to global communities are now contending with an infectious agent that momentarily lays beyond our collective control as it can readily take a life. Yet, in all times and in all communities, intent to positively care for one another and our relationships is how we each routinely give life.

Jonathan Trost, J.D., first learned about the Primary Mental Health Project (PMHP) as an 18-year-old teenager. As the son of Mary Ann Trost, one of the founders, Jonathan knows more about the beginning and history of PMHP than any other living person. Jonathan has been a stalwart ambassador of Children’s Institute to the community for 62 years.   

In her home state of Maine, Mary Anne Peabody became aware of Primary Project (Healthy Learners Initiative) as a school social worker and provided leadership and supervision for the program at Woodside Elementary School. She met Debbie Johnson at an informational meeting and after several years began to support the program throughout Maine and became a co-trainer for schools in her home state. Mary Anne is described as a “playful” trainer weaving in activities and themes to teach, support, and strengthen both supervisors and child associates child-centered play skills.  

It is my pleasure to nominate Patricia Leo for the Children’s Institute Coterie. Now the Executive Director of the Florence Muller Foundation, Patricia has a long history of serving our community with a special interest in the health and well-being of children and families. Patricia was part of the United Way for over 21 years. As Community Impact Director, she was instrumental in supporting the Giving Babies a Good start initiative, providing strategic direction, and launching Upstate Revitalization Initiative efforts including summerLeap, home visitation programs, and quality child care.