Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice

Department of Education Professional Development Services

System-Wide Early Childhood Professional Development

The Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice is authorized as a vendor for System Wide Early Childhood Professional Development and Prevention and Intervention Services by the New York City Department of Education.

Under the System Wide early Childhood professional Development Services, the Center can provide services for teachers, social workers, administrators and support staff who work with children pre-K through 3rd grade. Our services include:

  1. Classroom Coaching and Support: Center staff work collaboratively with teachers, assistants and early childhood administrators to model and integrate practice that invites to child
  2. Seminar Series for Teachers on Emotionally Responsive Practice: A six seminar series for teachers focusing on inviting and containing emotional and social issues in the early childhood classroom.
  3. Seminar Series for Social Workers on Emotionally Responsive Practice: This 10 session series for social workers provides school based clinicians with theory and technique for effective interventions with children and parents in the early childhood setting. Partnerships between social workers and teachers are essential for positive outcomes with stressed children and families.
  4. Whole School Retreats: Annual whole school retreats on emotionally responsive school routines, adult-child interactions, and use of literacy and responsive curriculum are available.
  5. Parent Engagement Groups: 10 session series of Parent Engagement Groups co-led by Center and school staff are available to parents of early childhood students. The groups are designed to enhance parent?s ability to help their children thrive in the school setting. Groups provide parents with the opportunity to feel connected to other parents and school staff, have an arena to address separation issues, school transitions, and family stress, and experience a process of self expression through arts and story that runs parallel to their children?s classroom experiences.
  6. Teacher Support Groups: Teacher stress is a very real problem that may negatively impact on the classroom teacher's effective practice. This 16 session group for teachers offers them a time and space to diminish the emotional isolation of the classroom and reflect on their experiences with children and parents.
  7. Observation Team Institutes: These institutes offer interdisciplinary teams of professionals including teachers, social workers, early childhood coordinators and administrators an intensive 3 session training in Emotionally Responsive Practice theory and technique. The Institutes include inter-visitations, opportunity to observe actual classroom practice and post observation seminars with Center staff.
  8. Emotionally Responsive Region Wide Professional Development: There are three options for region wide professional development, featuring; ongoing seminars , study groups and administrative consults in 3 school buildings, ongoing seminars, study groups and consults for 6 buildings or ongoing seminars and study groups, consults and on-site observation and coaching for 3-6 buildings.

Prevention and Intervention Services Professional Development

Under the Prevention and Intervention Contract, the Center can provide an Intensive School Based Intervention Program (including components 1-6 as described above) to schools serving children from pre-k through grade 5. In addition, there are seminar series available for SAPIS workers, administrators, other school based clinicians, Parent Coordinators and regional staff members.

Please call the Center's Director, Lesley Koplow at 212-961-3430, to arrange for services.