Excerpts
from First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's Address
April
30, 1998
New Haven, Connecticut
I am very honored to be among those who recognize the extraordinary
accomplishments of Jim Comer because it's been Dr. Comer's lifelong
vision and passion and mission over the past three decades to make
us understand what education is really all about.
Before it became conventional wisdom, Dr. Comer knew that parental
involvement was essential to the success of a child's education.
Before it was a major field of study, Dr. Comer recognized that
learning in school, before school, and after school, is tied to
a child's level of development. Before charter schools or magnet
schools became household words, Dr. Comer was busy designing schools
in which parents were involved in everything from curricular development
to social activities.
Dr. Comer launched his School Development Program to change the
learning environment in some of our nation's toughest schools, and
he has taught us many lessons along the way. He has shown us the
critical importance of educating teachers in the field of child
development, and his more recent calls for schools of education
to increase that focus underscores his commitment to the issue.
He has demonstrated that it is possible to create a framework for
adults to collaborate with principals and teachers to create a positive,
supportive school climate. And he's taught us how hard it is to
do any of this-- how hard we have to work to get parents, especially
parents whose experience with schooling was not very successful,
involved on behalf of their children. Perhaps more than anyone I
know, he has taken the wisdom of the African proverb I borrowed
for my book, 'It Takes a Village to Raise a Child,' to heart and
has put it into practice.
That the Comer process is now being implemented in over 700 schools
in twenty-six states around the country and around the world in
nations like Trinidad and South Africa is a tribute not only to
Jim Comer, but to the Yale Child Study Center and the Center's committed
staff.
What really makes Jim Comer's program work so well in so many different
settings is its understanding of the need to create a climate in
the school and to involve all the adults. Jim Comer knows that successful
schools provide clear expectations, that you have to set those expectations
for children and then encourage them to meet them. He also knows
you need an orderly classroom environment, the close personal involvement
of teachers, a commitment to treating individual students as individuals,
and if that means tailoring curriculum or providing special help,
then that's what should be done. But probably most important of
all, and the lesson that has really reverberated around the world
because of Dr. Comer's work, is that parents have to be actively
involved.
So for all of the reasons why we celebrate the success of Jim Comer's
approach to schools, we need to redouble our commitment to carrying
out what his reform strategies have taught us. That means we have
to continue to advocate hard for raising standards, placing a strong
emphasis on early childhood development, getting more parents involved,
improving teacher quality, increasing after school opportunities
to keep children safe and excited about learning. And we have to
hold the adults in the system accountable. We can't let another
year go by. We've let too many go by so far, where adults, whether
they are teachers or principals or school board members or elected
officials or parents or anyone else in the community, are permitted
to point fingers at somebody else for the failure of any child.
Dr. Comer's vision for the School Development Program is a compelling
one, not only for our schools but for our nation. He states: Our
vision is to help create a just and fair society in which all children
have the educational and personal opportunities which will allow
them to become successful and satisfied participants in family and
civic life.
Today
we celebrate a man who has committed his personal and professional
life and the work of the Child Study Center to fulfilling that vision.
And we should, while we celebrate Dr. Comer and recognize the Yale
Child Study Center, rededicate ourselves as educators, elected officials,
community leaders, parents, citizens, to making our schools and
our communities the healthy and empowering environments our children
deserve to have to grow and flourish. Thank you very much. |
