Rallying the Whole Village

Book excerpt: For three decades now, the Yale School Development Program’s “whole village” approach has been transforming schools into places where students learn, develop, and thrive. Even students at risk become eminently successful in the same schools when SDP practices are established. With nearly 600 school communities across the nation trained in child psychiatrist James Comer’s holistic model of child development and comprehensive plan for school reform, the SDP now presents the specifics of that model and plan in action. Rallying the Whole Village is prepared for easy inclusion in graduate and undergraduate courses in education, special education, and social work, and for school administrators, district superintendents, researchers, and policy makers at all levels. Topics discussed by the authors include children’s psychosocial development, group dynamics of effective school communities, teacher preparation and school/university partnerships, appropriate alignment of classroom content to standardized tests, increased student engagement and learning time, research and evaluation, community health, government initiatives, and school/business partnerships. This volume will be an invaluable resource in the creation of school communities populated by healthy, well–functioning adults and children whose bright dreams of the future are truly attainable goals. “Over the last quarter century, often working against fearsome odds, James Comer’s School Development Program has achieved notable success in improving the quality of education in many American schools. In this wide-ranging book, Comer and his senior colleagues explain how they have accomplished this remarkable feat.” —Howard Gardner, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University “This compelling volume shows educators and parents how much can be accomplished when we make the success of the child in every aspect of development our constant focus and our ultimate goal.” —Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of Psychology, Yale University “ SDP is both insistent and humane, a rare combination. And it works. This new book brings SDP’s many friends up to date on the extraordinary work that started in New Haven in 1968.” —Theodore R. Sizer, Brown University