April 23, 2007

Harvard and United Way celebrate Mind in the Making’s first graduates

CAMBRIDGE, MASS— Today, an esteemed team of Harvard University researchers and national experts was on hand as the first class of early childcare professionals graduated from Mind in the Making (MITM), a groundbreaking training program in early childhood development. Developed by the nationally known Families and Work Institute and launched in Massachusetts by United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB) and Harvard Achievement Support Initiative (HASI), Mind in the Making offers an innovative approach to translating what we know about how young children learn into practical application.

A United Way of Massachusetts Bay survey of Greater Boston agency directors found that the majority of directors want more then the “basics” in training, and prefer specialized trainings for direct care staff to strengthen their ability to work with children who exhibit challenging behaviors. As an effort to communicate the science of early learning to families, teachers, and the public, Mind in the Making has been successful in several other states. This is the first time, however, that it has ever been put to use in Massachusetts.

“By training the practitioners in the best position to inform others, we’ll be able to leverage a pre-existing network to improve conditions for children throughout the state,” said Milton J. Little, Jr., president and CEO of United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “ By December 2008, we hope to reach at least 300 additional professionals who teach and care for children and families throughout the Commonwealth.”

Michael G. Contompasis, superintendent of the Boston Public School System, Dr. T. B erry Brazelton , author of Infants and Mothers, and Dr. Jack Shonkoff, professor of child health and development at Harvard School of Public Health, and Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder, The Families and Work Institute also attended the celebration.

Earlier this year, the HASI/UWMB collaboration held its first training segment at the Harvard School of Education. Thirty-one p articipants were nominated to attend the Institute because of demonstrated leadership in their specific fields of expertise and a demonstrated capacity to reach and inform other professionals who care for children and families. Starting in the fall of 2007, each of the 31 multi-disciplinary participants will begin facilitating MITM education to others in their fields.