Over the 2018-2019 year, the Schubert Center was just coming off of a 20th anniversary all-day conference, generously supported by The Cleveland Foundation, The City Club of Cleveland, Ideastream, The George Gund Foundation, United Way of Greater Cleveland, Jane Kessler, Donald and Gerda Freedheim. The conference, “Cleveland: A Community Committed to Our Children,” which can be viewed on our website, ushered in a year of growth and strategic planning for the center.
Anastasia Dimitropoulos, Associate Professor of Psychology, joined the center as the Research Director, coordinating the center’s research efforts, including a Seed Grant Opportunity for bridging research and policy in a community organization, co-funded by the Office of Research and Technology Management. Cara Byrne, Lecturer in English and Sages Instructor, took on the role of Research Advisor on Diverse Children’s Literature to coordinate the Schubert Center’s involvement in the Cleveland Foundation’s Common Ground with Oh, The Places You’ll Go and and Anisfield-Wolf’s Book Week event featuring the author and illustrator of Crown.
The third annual Kessler-Freedheim lecture was held in February 2019 featuring Dr. David Mandel and supported by International Center for Austim Research and Education and Milestones Autism Resources. His lecture titled “Disparities in Diagnosing and Care for Children with Autism” highlighted the disparities that exist, what are potential causes for them, and steps to move forward. The center also partnered with UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Pediatric Grand Rounds to bring Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris to Cleveland for a lecture on ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and Toxic Stress and Tri-C to bring Mr. Richard Rothstein to talk about housing disparities.
Policy efforts this year were focused around supportive school environments, lead-poisoning prevention and juvenile justice reforms. The center played a key role in advising The Ohio Board of Education on Social Emotional Learning Standards which were adopted as part of the ODE Strategic Plan. Efforts to keep children safe from lead involved the development of the Ohio Lead Free Kids Coalition, an issue brief and budget recommendations for the State of Ohio, and testimony on New Rule for Early Intervention Programs in Ohio to support children with elevated blood lead levels. The Center also continued its work to improve police-youth interactions.
The students at Case Western Reserve University continue to grow as leaders in the child research and policy fields. Mann externs had placements at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Invest in Children and four students were supported to see federal policy work in action in Washington D.C as part of CHST 302. Undergraduates were recognized for their child-focused research at the annual Intersections Poster Session, while others were recognized for their student organization, Art Forward, taking art into the juvenile detention center.
As the 2018-2019 year closes, the Schubert Center embarks on the future with implementing the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan. With long-term priorities to:
- Put child well-being at the forefront of research, policy and practice
- Be the go-to resource and connector for child-related research and policy
- Foster the next generation of child-centered leaders locally and nationally
We continue to thank you for your support and we look forward to continue to engage with you with a regular newsletter beginning September 2019. To read more about any of our efforts this year, we encourage you to visit our website using the various links above.