Hartsville Celebrates Great Start to Comer SDP Pilot

Dr. Rainey Knight and Dr. James P. Comer Steve Roos Photo

Over two hundred teachers, administrators, support staff, business and civic leaders came together on the Coker College campus on May 23, 2012 to celebrate the first year of Comer School Development Program (SDP) implementation in four schools in Hartsville, South Carolina. The celebration included a luncheon, a keynote speech by Dr. James P. Comer, and presentations of their accomplishments by Southside Early Childhood Center, Thornwell School for the Arts, and Washington Street and West Hartsville Elementary Schools.

Dr. Susan Henderson, director of the Wiggins School of Education, welcomed the audience to Coker College, one of the four organizations in the P.U.L.S.E initiative, a unique public-private partnership funded by the TEACH Foundation, with a five-year $5 million grant from Sonoco Products Company. TEACH board president Charlie Hupfer thanked the participants for "making the Hartsville community a better place to live and work" and for "giving Hartsville children the opportunity to have the kind of education they will need to compete effectively in the 21st century."

Before introducing Dr. Comer, Dr. Rainey Knight, superintendent of the Darlington County School District, presented Tara King with flowers and commended her outstanding work as the District's Comer facilitator. Last May Dr. Knight selected Tara to lead the implementation of the Comer Process in the four pilot schools.

L to R: Dr. Comer, Dr. Murray Brockmann, Roger Schrum, Dr. Rainey Knight, Harris E. DeLoach, Jr., and Dr. Robert Wyatt

"When I listened to Mr. DeLoach talk, it was clear that having a well-trained workforce was an important motivation. He also said something that I will never forget, 'It's just right that all of the children get an education that would prepare them to function well.'" Dr. Comer recalled another memorable moment in that first meeting. After listening to a description of the School Development Program, Dr. Knight said, "I see what you're trying to do. You've pulled all the pieces together. You're giving the kids middle class skills necessary to function well in society."

"That was the first time I had ever heard anybody on the first description of the program grasp what it was about, the essence of it so completely." He said that he wasn't surprised when he learned that Dr. Knight was named the 2013 South Carolina Superintendent of the Year.

"After that first conversation I had a sense that this was a community that could put a program together that supported the culture that would allow all the children to develop and learn well."

A Small Town With a Big Heart 

In November 2010 he and Camille Cooper, the SDP's director of Teaching, Learning and Development, went to Hartsville to meet with teachers, administrators, and members of the Darlington County school board. During a tour of Thornwell School for the Arts, Dr. Comer experienced firsthand the depth of the community's commitment to children. There he saw the community clothing closet run by Carolina Kids, LLC, a nonprofit started by Dr. Abraham and Daphne Areephanthu. "It looked like a department store," said Dr. Comer. "I thought to myself that there has to be the kind of empathy and commitment to all the children that you don't see in a lot of places. I was sure that this is a community that could make a big difference."

Dr. Comer said that throughout the 2011-12 school year he heard many exciting stories from Camille Cooper who is leading the SDP's implementation work in Hartsville. He had watched video interviews that I had conducted with teachers, administrators, other school staff, parents, and community leaders. The most touching and powerful story for Dr. Comer involved a young child who had been brought to Hartsville to live with a relative by two social workers from the Connecticut Department of Social Services. She was enrolled in a Hartsville Comer school at the end of January 2012.  

"The description of the child's turnaround in several months in a caring, supportive environment really blew me away. You have demonstrated that children in a caring environment can do well. Your plans to sustain that child's development are very well thought out."

What made the child's story even more compelling was that Dr. Comer has been talking with Roderick Bremby, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services, about providing marginalized children in the state with developmental experiences in caring learning environments that can make it possible for them to bounce back from challenging situations.

"Thank you very much for providing the evidence on the ground that we can make a difference for all children. It's always wonderful to see the abstract theory jump off the pages and be expressed in practice, and that's what I feel has happened here. I can hear it and feel it and see it in the spirit and discussion of everybody. There's a wonderful excitement and enthusiasm."

Rondelle Wheeler, a teacher in the first cohort of Hartsville educators trained in the Comer Process, spoke with Dr. Comer about the necessity of his program. She is one of the many educators who think that the SDP "just makes sense." 

L to R: Charleen Gardner, Dr. Comer and Rondelle Wheeler

"I told Dr. Comer that I see each child from the perspective of the Comer Tree of Development, and when I am teaching and interacting with them I am consciously aware of which branches are being shaken, broken, rattled, stirred, missing, or developing and blossoming nicely. Many of my children's trees are so underdeveloped that it takes a caring, committed, Comer community to truly reach, teach, and develop the whole child."

Rondelle also told Dr. Comer that she is exciting about applying his ideas in her classroom. "I described little things I use like the 'Caution: Learning Zone' across the classroom's threshold, the 'e-mail' or emotional drop-box' to create an atmosphere that's safe and conducive for whole development learning."

Tara King and Camille Cooper

For Tara King and Camille Cooper, the year-end event was an opportunity to celebrate a great beginning and to get a glimpse of possibilities in the second year of the Comer SDP in Hartsville. "Seeing all of the constituents of the Comer schools come together to share their experiences and support each other was quite impressive," said Camille Cooper. "School board members, food service workers, community members, teachers, administrators, custodians, Coker College faculty, and others recognizing their role in supporting the development of the children in the Comer schools signals the beginning of positive change."

"Our kids fuel us each day to strive for the best," said Tara. "What I observed this year were people striving for excellence not only for our children, but for themselves, our families, and our community. There was a mindset shift and a refocus on putting children's best interest first. We were able to do exactly what we believe in: developing children."

Bonnie Saleeby, chairperson of the West Hartsville School Planning and Management Team said, "I really hope that we can continue to do a program like this at the end of the each year. I was able to pick up ideas that could be used at our school for next year. It was really amazing to see the different ways the Comer Pathways were incorporated at each school."

Reflections on the First Year of Comer Process Implementation 

Dr. Rainey Knight

Superintendent, Darlington County School District

The Comer SDP has created high levels of excitement and expectations in our schools that you can't help but feel when you walk into one of our Comer schools. Parents are more involved, students are more engaged, and our teachers are re-energized and refocused. I have been very pleased with the progress we've made the first year, and I can't wait to see what we can accomplish next year.

Harris E. DeLoach, Jr.

CEO and Chairman, Sonoco Products Company

The first year of the Hartsville PULSE program far exceeded our expectations. The Comer principles were embraced by the nearly 1,400 targeted nnnn     

Dr. Willie Boyd, Sr.

Asst. Superintendent for Administration, Darlington County School District

We are pleased that this program has gotten off to an exciting and productive start. The 'village' is truly at work.

Dr. Susan D. Henderson

Director, Wiggins School of Education, Coker College

What a delight it was for Coker College to host the end-of-year celebration for  

the implementation of Comer's School Development Program. It was an exciting afternoon not only to celebrate the first-year successes of the four Hartsville  

Comer schools, but also to look forward to the next years as well. It is truly a pleasure to collaborate with Tara King and the Darlington County School District  

on this exciting initiative.

Charlie Hupfer

President, TEACH Foundation Board of Directors

It seems clear to us (the TEACH Foundation) that PULSE is meeting with some early success. Furthermore, it seems to us that success can only breed more success as each year these programs develop and mature. So we are very pleased at this stage in the process.

Sharman Poplava

Executive Director, TEACH Foundation

The teachers have been eager to share their stories and experiences. Dr. Comer's visit capped off a tremendous year. We look forward to building on our successes and continuing the momentum.

Child Study Center Honors Dr. Comer for 45 Years of Service

L to R: Dr. John Schowalter, Dr. James P. Comer and Dr. Fred Volkmar

By Cynthia R. Savo 

Dr. James P. Comer, M.D. was honored for his 45 years of service at Yale Child Study Center. Dr. John Schowalter, Professor Emeritus in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training Program, presented Dr. Comer with the award during the graduation ceremony in the Donald Cohen Auditorium on June 8th.

"It is impossible in the time allotted  

to mention all of Jim's major accomplishments, but I will give you

a sense of this great man, the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Child Study Center, said Dr. Schowalter. "Jim's vision in the late 1960s was to revolutionize public education for young disadvantaged children. It started here in New Haven but has been copied successfully throughout the United States, as well as internationally. Jim recognized that asking alone for more educational funding was a non-starter, so he championed schools' innovation and restructuring. He emphasized the engagement of parents, teachers, and school administrators to work together to implement curriculum change based on the best education and child development principles."

"I've been fortunate and received many awards; and they are all special, but it is very special to be honored for my work by colleagues who know me up close and personal," said Dr. Comer.  

In 1967 shortly after his graduation from the child psychiatry program at the Yale Child Study Center, Dr. Comer received a call from Dr. Albert J. Solnit, who at the times was the director of the Center. He asked Dr. Comer to return to the Center to run an innovative community-based program called the New Haven Intervention Project. Dr. Comer returned to New Haven to director the project that was later renamed the School Development Program. His book describing this work, School Power: Implications of an Intervention Project, has become required reading for educators, particularly those working with socially and economically marginalized children.

Dr. Fay E. Brown Director of Child & Adolescent Development

The Vermont Superintendents Association and the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators collaborate on an annual conference. For this year's Spring Conference, Success for Every Student, they were looking for a speaker whose message would resonate with conference participants and speak about the importance of considering and responding to children's holistic development as a focus of their education. "The Special Education directors were instrumental in promoting this concept, because they fully recognize that education policy and practice in this country too often focuses on singular measurements or determinations of 'success,'" said Jeff Francis, the executive director of the Vermont Superintendents Association.

Francis said that their research brought them to the Comer School Development Program website. After reading about Dr. Fay E. Brown's expertise and watching a couple of her video presentations on the SDP's YouTube page, they decided that she would be a good presenter for their 2012 conference that was held on May 17 and 18 at the Lake Morey Resort and Conference Center in Fairlee, Vermont.

Dr. Brown, the SDP's director of Child and Adolescent Development and an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Child Study Center, delivered her keynote speech, "The Whole Child Approach - Effective Teaching, Learning and Development on May 18 to the conference participants who are superintendents and special education administrators. "She exceeded our expectations," said Francis. "I have never encountered a speaker who was more enthusiastically received. This was confirmed by the exemplary ratings and remarks received in the formal evaluation process."

He shared the following examples of the feedback on Dr. Brown's presentations:

Dr. Fay Brown was terrific; dynamic, engaging, used research, examples, references to suggest changes in how we might operate in schools and in classrooms.

I wish that there was a way to get Dr. Fay Brown's message to every teacher and principal. I would love to see her travel to Vermont to work with schools. Her message was very powerful and she was really engaging.

I was so pleased that you brought Fay Brown of the School Development Program to Vermont. It was exactly the right message and one that is based on a true understanding of how to improve education opportunities and address the achievement gap.

Fay Brown was the most dynamic speaker that I have heard in a long time.

Fay Brown was fantastic and should be brought back to Vermont. Her presentation on the six developmental pathways left me wanting to hear more.

Dr. Brown has been invited to return to Vermont to speak at the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators' Fall conference on December 7, 2012.

Dr. Comer and Dr. Pat Green

Dr. Patricia Green, the superintendent of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, met recently with Dr. Comer at the Yale Child Study Center. The following is an edited transcript of an interview with Dr. Green. To watch the interview, click here.   

I still remember the day I heard Dr. Comer speak for the first time. It was at a principals' retreat after my first year as a principal in Prince George's County, Maryland. I had recently gotten a Master's degree in Human Development Education, and I had in the back of my mind, not a framework, but a philosophy, and then I heard Dr. Comer speak. What he did, I believe, was revolutionize a framework for how you put it all together: the School Planning and Management Team, the Student and Staff Support Team; the different teams interfacing with each other with an emphasis on consensus.

I remember one day having to come face to face as a principal with the Comer Process principle of no-fault problem solving. In those days principals had the local authority to make decisions. We had our School Improvement Teams, but the principal always retained 1% more of the power, so the principal had 51%, and everybody else had 49%. I remember thinking that if we're a Comer school and dealing with the concept of consensus, and deciding that decision making would be 50-50. I figured everyone knows I'm still the principal, and they're not going to step on my trigger points, and I won't step on theirs.  

 www.schooldevelopmentprogram.org