Six Pathways to Healthy Child Development and Academic Success
The Field Guide to Comer Schools in Action
- James P. Comer - Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT
- Edward T. Joyner - Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT
- Michael Ben-Avie - Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT
Children and adolescents who enjoy healthy growth and development along six primary pathways are the students who learn well and achieve success in school and in life. But children from poorly functioning families and impoverished social networks too often find themselves without adequate preparation and support for the academic challenges that await them in kindergarten and the grades that follow. Believing that schools are uniquely situated to foster healthy development, renowned child psychiatrist Dr James P Comer and his colleagues at the Yale School Development Program (SDP) have dedicated 35 years to guiding students, schools, and educators toward academic success along the six developmental pathways of learning.
"In a refreshing departure from today’s focus on academic testing, Comer’s School Development Program is designed to foster the development of the whole child. In Comer’s schools, children are taught not only academics but the skills and behaviors they need to be successful in school and in life."
Meets "the highest standard of evidence" for comprehensive school reforms that improve student achievement.
"James Comer’s inspiration, dedication, generosity, persistence, and unflagging belief in the potential of every youngster, regardless of degree of risk or disadvantage, continue to be catalysts and models for those in the field who care deeply about children."