James Comer's presentation at the National Urban Alliance's "Teaching for Intelligence" Conference, Albany, NY, March, 2008

1. A Brief Overview of the School Development Program James P. Comer, M.D., M.P.H. Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale Child Study Center

2. Development in Primary Family Network Attachment & Bonding Interactions Imitation, Identification, & Internalization Developmental Pathways Physical (including brain) Social-Interactive Psycho-Emotional Moral-Ethical Linguistic Cognitive-Intellectual

3. An Ineffective School Environment Non-goal-directed leadership No plan Ineffective communication Confusion Rancor Decisions made by power or coercion Factions and cliques not working together Staff development not based on school needs Parents alienated Staff frustrated by lack of parental support Support staff—social workers, psychologists, etc.—working in fragmented, non-collaborative way

4. Guiding Principles School Transformation Operations Academic and Social Comprehensive School Plan Staff Development Assessment & Modification School Planning and Management Team (SPMT) Student and Staff Support Team (SSST) Parent Team No Fault Consensus Collaboration

6. Character Outcomes Caring Citizenship Fairness Integrity Perseverance Respect Responsibility Self-Discipline

7. Asheville City Schools Asheville, North Carolina

8. Asheville City Schools Asheville, North Carolina