James Comer, M.D., M.P.H.

Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry,
School of Medicine
Professor, Child Study Center
Institute of Social Policy Studies

Email:
james.comer@yale.edu

 

 

URL:
Child Study Center
School Development Program

 

James Comer founded the School Development Program (SDP), a nationally acclaimed school reform strategy that has been used in more than 1000 schools in 26 states, as well as in England, Ireland, South Africa, and the Caribbean.SDP is the only major school reform program in which the application of child and adolescent development principles is its primary focus; and one of the few comprehensive school reform efforts for which there is evidence of student test score gains. Dissemination strategies include: a national professional development program at Yale to which school personnel from around the country come to learn how to implement the “Comer Process” ; partnerships with local school districts; telecommunications and print materials supporting implementation efforts in the field; a video series designed to support program implementation; and three regional professional development centers. While work with individual schools continues, the emphasis has shifted to a focus on systemic or district-wide change, and the infusion of child and adolescent development principles and their application in practice into educator preparatory programs. Dr. Comer continues to research, evaluate and describe his work in periodicals directed to academics, policy makers and general audiences; as well as work directly with various policymaker groups.

 

Select Publications

Making Schools of Education Bridges to Better Learning.” The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education XLIX:20 (January 24, 2003): B20.

“Brown 50 Years Later: Reflections on the ongoing struggles.” American School Board Journal 191:4 (April 2004): 57.

“Brown v. Board of Education 50 th Anniversary.” News Leader National Association of Secondary School Principals 51:9 (May 2004): 2.

“Educators Overlook Child Development.” Focus Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies 32:6 (November/December 2004): 12.

“The Rewards of Parent Participation.” Educational Leadership 62:6 (March 2005): 38-42.

“Child and Adolescent Development: The Critical Missing Focus in School Reform.” Phi Delta Kappan 86:10 (June 2005): 757-763.

“Philosophy and Empirical Evidence: Achieving Vision Through Research.” Journal of Jewish Education 71 (2005): 67-94. (Michael Ben-Avie and James P. Comer).

“The Human Development Gap.” Connection The Journal of the New England Board of Higher Education XX:2 (Fall 2005): 35-36.

“Our Mission: It Takes More Than Tests to Prepare the Young for Success in Life.” Education Week Quality Counts 25:17 (January 2006): 59-61.

Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today’s Youth for Tomorrow’s World. Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2004.