Croton-Harmon Faculty Takes a Look at Emotional Intelligence

From Croton-Harmon Schools: Croton-Harmon School District faculty came together during the March 21 Superintendent’s Conference Day to take part in a workshop with Dr. Marc Brackett, director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University.

“We see this as an opportunity to focus on our own emotional wellness to a great extent,” said Karen Gatto, the district’s director of pupil personnel.

Dr. Brackett offered educators strategies to help them take care of their own emotional well-being, as well as ways to work with students and help them identify and manage their own emotional intelligence.

“As you know, here in Croton, we stand by our commitment to work with the ‘whole child’ as supported by our district vision and mission,” Gatto said. “We know that students cannot think creatively, think critically or be accessible for their learning if they do not feel emotionally safe and engaged.”

The district’s Social/Emotional Learning Committee has worked diligently to create ways to support all students, including collaborating with Dr. Devin Thornburg to work around cultural competencies, helping to support the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program districtwide, installing the “At-Risk” committees, supporting the design of the district’s Flexible Support Program and assisting in the roll out of Dialectical Behavior Therapy curricula.

Dr. Brackett’s work will continue in the district with Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School staff later in the spring.

Photos courtesy of Croton-Harmon Schools: Dr. Marc Brackett, director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University, hosted a workshop for Croton-Harmon School District faulty during a recent Superintendent’s Conference Day.