`In a refreshing departure from today's focus on academic testing, Comer's SDP is designed to foster the development of the whole child. In Comer's schools, children are taught not only academics but the skills and behaviors they need to be successful in school and in life' - Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Yale University Children and adolescents who enjoy healthy growth and development along six primary pathways are the students who learn well and achieve success in school and in life. But children from poorly functioning families and impoverished social networks too often find themselves without adequate preparation and support for the academic challenges that await them in kindergarten and the grades that follow. Believing that schools are uniquely situated to foster healthy development, renowned child psychiatrist Dr James P Comer and his colleagues at the Yale School Development Program (SDP) have dedicated 35 years to guiding students, schools, and educators toward academic success along the six developmental pathways of learning.

`A unique feature of James Comer's school improvement is the comprehensiveness of his ecological approach. It necessarily involves all of the key players in each individual school setting and provides guidelines for their interaction. . . .The domain of educational change is not without good ideas, but it is rare to find them translated into the substance and strategies necessary to getting them into school practices. This handbook will help enormously to keep alive what James Comer and his colleagues have so carefully crafted over the years' - John I Goodlad, President, Institute for Educational Inquiry For more than 35 years, the Yale School Development Program (SDP) has been pioneering the Comer Process for planned change in schools. From initial planning and preparation, through foundation building, transformation, institutionalization, and renewal, the Comer Process provides school leaders with a comprehensive and effective framework for transforming their schools and districts into learning communities that support the growth and development of every child and every adult.

`In a refreshing departure from today's focus on academic testing, Comer's SDP is designed to foster the development of the whole child. In Comer's schools, children are taught not only academics but the skills and behaviors they need to be successful in school and in life' - Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Yale University Children and adolescents who enjoy healthy growth and development along six primary pathways are the students who learn well and achieve success in school and in life. But children from poorly functioning families and impoverished social networks too often find themselves without adequate preparation and support for the academic challenges that await them in kindergarten and the grades that follow. Believing that schools are uniquely situated to foster healthy development, renowned child psychiatrist Dr James P Comer and his colleagues at the Yale School Development Program (SDP) have dedicated 35 years to guiding students, schools, and educators toward academic success along the six developmental pathways of learning.

`Meets "the highest standard of evidence" for comprehensive school reforms that improve student achievement' - View of Educational Research `This handbook will help enormously to keep alive what James Comer and his colleagues have so carefully crafted over the years' - John I, Goodlad, President, Institute for Educational Inquiry Schools are the only universally accessible institutions where there are enough adults to provide continuous support for children's growth, development, and success in life. Using the process pioneered by renowned child psychiatrist Dr James P Comer and his colleagues at the Yale School Development Program (SDP), this unique field guide offers school leaders, school staff, and teachers a comprehensive and effective framework for providing curriculum and instruction that help all children grow and develop along the pathways that support success both in school and in life.

`A unique feature of James Comer's school improvement is the comprehensiveness of his ecological approach. It necessarily involves all of the key players in each individual school setting and provides guidelines for their interaction. . . .The domain of educational change is not without good ideas, but it is rare to find them translated into the substance and strategies necessary to getting them into school practices. This handbook will help enormously to keep alive what James Comer and his colleagues have so carefully crafted over the years' - John I Goodlad, President, Institute for Educational Inquiry For more than 35 years, the Yale School Development Program (SDP) has been pioneering the Comer Process for planned change in schools. From initial planning and preparation, through foundation building, transformation, institutionalization, and renewal, the Comer Process provides school leaders with a comprehensive and effective framework for transforming their schools and districts into learning communities that support the growth and development of every child and every adult.