In addition to reading and writing, literacy empowers us to form social connections, celebrate our origins, build resilience, and shape the narratives of our lives, all of which contributes to health and emotional wellness that is essential for success in learning and in life.
To work towards improving academic and mental health outcomes for communities nationwide, the Yale Child Study Center and Scholastic have announced the launch of the Yale Child Study Center–Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience which will focus on the intersection of literacy and health across education content areas such as early childhood, social emotional learning and teaching, equity and social justice, family and community engagement, and more.
Led by a steering committee of researchers from the Yale Child Study Center and Scholastic Education leaders, the Collaborative will provide an opportunity for researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, families, and community members to gather and share ideas, best practices, and new approaches for supporting vulnerable communities. Findings from the Collaborative will contribute to the creation of resources, programs, professional development, and curriculum to work towards this mission.
According to Dr. Linda C. Mayes, the Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, and Director of the Yale Child Study Center, “Health and literacy are deeply connected because a quality education is at the core of sustaining a healthy life. This Collaborative with Scholastic allows us to reach more families and communities with the information and resources they need to engage in literacy and enjoy healthy lives for themselves and for future generations.”
The formation of the Collaborative stemmed from work on Discover Together, an integrated system of programs from the Yale Child Study Center, Scholastic, and local partners addressing rural poverty in Grundy County, TN. With a focus on literacy and health, Discover Together offers ongoing resources to increase social connectedness, establish a sense of local pride, and build resilience among families throughout Grundy County. Discover Together has garnered recognition from the Center for the Study of Social Policy and PBS for its promising approach to addressing rural poverty in a multi-generational way. This work is also the inspiration for one the first projects launched by the Collaborative, Discover Together: Brownsville, working within the urban Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.
Taking a similar multigenerational approach, the Collaborative will work with the local community in Brownsville to cultivate pride-in-place, relationship-building, and resilience, including the creation of a family co-op for young children and their caregivers. There, participants will engage in reading, singing, games, and field trips as part of a place-based curriculum, learning to redefine narratives and explore opportunities for growth.
For continual updates and to learn more about the Yale Child Study Center–Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience, visit: www.medicine.yale.edu/childstudy/scholasticcollab
