20th Annual Empowering Teachers Summer Institute at Sarah Lawrence College Focuses on the Environment and Social Justice

Newswise — Early childhood and elementary school educators from as close as neighboring Westchester towns and as far away as Saudi Arabia will participate in Sarah Lawrence College's Child Development Institute's Empowering Teachers Summer Institute July 7 to 11 on the theme "Teaching the World: Children, the Environment, and Social Justice."

Hosted annually, the week long professional development workshop is a rigorous program consisting of panels and workshops conducted by leading professionals in the fields of education and child development. Supportive collegial dialogues and ongoing relationships are facilitated throughout the week by small group interaction and reflective exploration.

"Participants report that the small group, varied experiences, and ample opportunities for collaboration and reflection are unique aspects of the Empowering Teachers Program, differentiating it from other professional development programs. In this, its 20th Summer Institute, we hope to continue those traditions while further developing the themes of environmental and place-based education and their relationship to social justice," says Jan Drucker, professor of Psychology at Sarah Lawrence and Director of the Empowering Teachers Program of the Child Development Institute.

The program's agenda includes a keynote address by Angela Calabrese Barton, a noted educator in the fields of science education and social justice, that is open to the public; small working group meetings throughout the week to share reflections and practices; a field trip to the Beczak Environmental Education Center, located on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers; and discussions led by Sarah Lawrence faculty and guest presenters.

Participants, who attend the program with a two year commitment, will meet for after-school follow-up sessions throughout the 2008-2009 school year. .The Child Development Institute (CDI) was established in 1987 to develop programs for early childhood and elementary school teachers, administrators, child development professionals, parents and the community at large. Through its work, CDI presents a progressive perspective on child development and education. For more information about CDI and its programs, please call (914) 395-2630.