Improving the early childhood schooling experiences of Chicago’s children is the mission of Erikson Institute’s New Schools Project.

Erikson faculty and consultants are partnering with administrators and teachers in 11 schools, working side-by-side to establish positive, effective learning environments for children in prekindergarten through third-grade classrooms.

The project provides child development knowledge and professional development to promote high-quality teaching. Workshops, individualized coaching, and modeling classroom techniques and relationships help teachers reflect on and refine their practice. Consultants emphasize the value of building strong relationships in the classroom and among the school, families, and community as a foundation for successful early schooling.

The project aims to create communities of learners. For teachers, this means establishing a collaborative professional environment built on relational trust and respect for children. It means engaging children in that community and developing their social-emotional skills so they can think, work, and learn together.

The project exemplifies Erikson’s commitment to the city of Chicago and its public schools, bringing the institute’s early childhood expertise into classrooms to directly benefit young children.

Christine Maxwell, Ph.D., currently heads the project. She is a former member of the faculty at Winthrop University in South Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and has served as the curriculum coordinator and principal of the Frances Starms Center in the Milwaukee Public Schools. 

New support
The New Schools Program has received three grant awards recently. A one-year $100,000 grant from the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation supports efforts to establish a network across participating schools to share professional development best practices while building commitment to the PK-3 approach. The Polk Bros. Foundation has awarded $80,000 over one year to support the development of a social studies curriculum aligned across grades PK-3, focused on two NSP schools, Audubon and Prescott.

In addition, the Joyce Foundation has made a one-year, $150,000 grant to establish leadership teams within NSP schools, support program evaluation, and develop a policy brief that synthesizes lessons learned from NSP to demonstrate how best to organize the first years of school. Improving the early childhood schooling experiences of Chicago’s children is the mission of Erikson Institute’s New Schools Project.