Six Pathways to Healthy Child Development and Academic Success: The Field Guide to Comer Schools in Action

Healthy child development is the key to academic achievement and life success! 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. Combining research; evidence-based best practices; essential tools for planning, data analysis, and assessment; and a generous collection of charts, tables, and graphics, Six Pathways to Healthy Child Development and Academic Success offers educators a comprehensive and effective framework for whole school reform. In 17 lively and informative chapters, Dr. Comer and his coauthors offer a complete guide to: Fostering healthy student growth and development along physical, cognitive, psychological, language, social, and ethical pathways Comprehensive school planning to optimize opportunities for child development and learning Creating a positive school climate in which all adults-teachers, parents, administrators, school staff, and community members-can help children grow and succeed Ensuring continuous professional development and program improvement for the entire school community Six Pathways to Healthy Child Development and Academic Success is the first-ever published field guide to the tried, tested, and true methods used by the Comer Process to promote child development and learning. Now every concerned educator and sch