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Photos of the Month: The Child Center of NY’s Annual Golf Outing

September 30, 2024 | Leave a reply

A collage of photos taken at The Child Center of NY's Annual Golf Outing

Upper right photo: Emcee Rob Fishman (far left) and Honoree Christina Goerler (third from right) with fellow golfers (from left to right) Richie Cooperberg, Harris Russo, Elene Bara, and Sanije Sadiku. Bottom left photo: Child Center of NY staff; from left to right: Ricardo López, SVP, Facilities and Procurement Services; Brently Winstead, Director of Development; Stephen Donowitz, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer; Jason Bonilla, SVP, Technology; Alina Mason, General Counsel; Marie Mason, VP, Early Childhood Education; Sherri Romano, Chief Clinical Officer (front, center); Rita Shah, Director of Information Technology; Paulina Baltazar, Internal Communications Manager; Helaine Fox, SVP, Human Resources; Tricia Bayley, Employee Experience Manager; Nona Ohikaure, Assistant Program Director, Health Homes; Jessica Yannaco, Director of Human Resources; Melissa Bulshteyn, Associate General Counsel. Far right photo: Justin Moose, professional golf player.

The Child Center of NY’s 2024 Annual Golf Outing was held on Monday, September 9, at the beautiful Glen Head Country Club. Thanks to all who attended, it was a resounding success!

It was wonderful to see familiar friends reconnect and new friendships blossom on the greens and throughout the day. From the lively competition on the course to the joyful conversation during cocktails and meals together, it was a day that brimmed with golf, camaraderie, and the power to make a meaningful impact.

This year’s honoree was Christina Goerler, a dedicated supporter of The Child Center of NY, which serves more than 58,000 New York City and Long Island individuals and families each year. For the past nine years, Christina has been an active member of the planning committee for The Child Center’s Annual Golf Outing, a key fundraising event that celebrates the legacy of Raymond J. Cook, who was an exceptional advocate for the organization’s mission to end generational poverty. Through her involvement, Christina has helped raise crucial funds to support The Child Center’s programs and services, ensuring that more children have access to the resources they need to thrive. Christina’s commitment to giving back and her passion for helping others comes through in everything she does, and we were thrilled to celebrate her with this fitting tribute!

The Annual Golf Outing is a cherished tradition here at The Child Center, not only because it’s always a fun time, but also and most importantly, because it’s an opportunity to make a difference. The funds raised through the event support The Child Center’s vital programming, from early childhood education to therapy for teens to direct cash investment initiatives that provide resources for adults to build the strong, fulfilling lives they always knew they could.

Thank you to all who attended, and to the dedicated members of our 2024 Golf Committee: John Cook, the committee chair, and members Kris Amato, Paul Avvento, Sam Freed, Jennifer Milacci, Maura Nicolosi, Joanne Persad, Brian Tabackman, Gary Tabackman, and, of course, our honoree, Christina Goerler. We also want to give a special shout-out to Rob Fishman, who served as emcee, and this year’s golf entertainer, professional golfer Justin Moose, who showed us how it’s done!

If you were unable to attend this year, there’s still time to show your support. We hope to see you next year!

Special Team Spotlight! Kwan Wong, Associate Vice President of Youth Development, Celebrates 30 Years at The Child Center

September 25, 2024 | Leave a reply

We are excited to share an impressive team milestone at The Child Center: Kwan Wong, Associate Vice President of Youth Development, celebrated his 30-year anniversary with us this month. Kwan currently oversees our School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) program, which provides vital mental health counseling to students right where they are every day.

To honor this incredible achievement, we sat down with Kwan for a brief interview to reflect on his decades with us and the impact he’s made.

The Child Center of NY: Can you share a bit about how you started your career here and what attracted you to The Child Center of NY?

Kwan Wong, LCSW-R: I started with The Child Center of NY, formerly known as the Queens Child Guidance Center, on September 6, 1994, with the Asian Outreach Program in Elmhurst, Queens. Previously, I was completing my master of social work internship at the immunology clinic at Elmhurst Hospital [now NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst], where I provided mental health counseling to HIV-infected children while they underwent medical treatment. It was a rewarding experience supporting these children and their families. Around that time, The Child Center received the Ryan White grant to establish a mental health program aimed at supporting the emotional and mental health needs of Asian clients and families infected or affected by HIV. When the opportunity was presented to me, I was excited to join the agency and knew I wanted to continue this important work.

What are some of the most memorable moments, valuable lessons, or milestones from your time with us?

Over my years at The Child Center, I have worked in five different programs. I feel all the experiences and lessons learned at each of my positions helped to better prepare me for the next program. I have worked in the mental health clinics; Parsons Beacon, which was the first Beacon center of TCCNY; and for the past nine years with School-Based Mental Health. All of these roles helped to expand my skills and knowledge. The time spent with the clients, families, as well as colleagues at each program helped my growth as a clinician and later as a supervisor.

Teammates from the original Asian Outreach Program in Elmhurst, Queens, c. 1997.

How has the organization changed over the years, and what are the most significant transformations you’ve witnessed? What do you think is in the future for TCCNY?

The agency has changed greatly over the years that I have been working here. I believe there are only a handful of staff who have been here over 30 years. Significant changes that occurred were all related to the growth and expansion of services we provide to families. One change was the rebranding of the agency. The agency was known as the Queens Child Guidance Center when I was hired, then later rebranded to The Child Center of NY. The name change was needed to more accurately reflect our breadth of services and our expansion beyond the borough of Queens. Another significant change was the relocation of the central administration office. When I started, I believe the administrative offices were located within the Flushing clinic. It then moved to the same building as the Jamaica clinic, the Firehouse. Afterwards, we relocated to the basement at the Big Six Plaza in Woodside, Queens, and finally to the current location at Forest Hills.

Through the years, The Child Center has provided important and impactful services that communities need. I know this agency will continue to serve our clients and families through our current programs and services, and grow with new initiatives in the future.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of working here for so long?

The most rewarding experience working here so long is knowing that you were able to help some of the clients and families that you provided treatment to. Changes the clients made to improve their mental health and family relationships, knowing they reported feeling better after their time with you versus when they started with you is the true reward.

Currently, I supervise some of the staff at School-Based Mental Health. Knowing the difference that this incredible team is making with the students they see every day, as well as supporting the school communities they serve, brings the same feeling and reward I felt when I first started with the agency.

The School-Based Mental Health Team at Gantry Park in 2021. The team had just completed professional development presentations that were developed to be used at school sites.

Suicide Prevention Month: Q&A with Social Worker Diana Michelena, LMHC

September 23, 2024 | Leave a reply

One of the most heartbreaking—and hopeful—things we do here at The Child Center of NY is work with young people who have thought of or attempted suicide. We know that each one of them has so much to give, and we take seriously our job to help them see it, too.

Diana Michelena is one of the Child Center team members who takes on this vitally important job every day. Diana is the program coordinator for our Youth Intensive Outpatient Program (Youth IOP) and Bridge to Hope program, both of which work with young people who have had previous suicide attempts to get the support and guidance they need while remaining at home with their families. At The Child Center of NY, we never consider it too early or late to start young people on the path toward healthy and fulfilling lives they are proud to live.

In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, we asked Diana to share her thoughts on the importance of suicide prevention, and how we all can play a role.

The Child Center of NY: The statistics surrounding suicide have been really scary. For example, the CDC’s recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that three in five teen girls felt persistently sad and hopeless; more than one in five LGBTQ+ youth attempted suicide. Are you seeing these troubling trends on the ground?

Diana Michelena, LMHC: In the Youth IOP and Bridge to Hope programs, we work with youth who have a history of suicide attempts, a history of self-harm, or severe depression. I think the current climate we live in is impacting their mental health: for example, going through a pandemic, with the isolation we all felt during that time, and other isolating factors, such as social media or spending hours on end playing video games. I have seen an increase in people looking out for, searching for help. But I’m not sure this increase means people were not struggling before. Maybe they didn’t know where to look for help, maybe they didn’t feel safe talking. So this increase might actually be a hopeful sign: More people are reaching out for help, and more people are getting it. And in doing so, they’re realizing they’re not alone, which helps tremendously.

How did you get into this line of work?

I got into psych[ology] and counseling many years ago, back in my home country of Romania during my undergrad studies. I had started seeing a therapist at that time, and I remember what a great impact our work together had on my growth, how much it mattered to have someone who listened and helped me make sense of my own struggles as a child and adolescent. I felt heard and less lonely, and I wanted to be that someone for others too. After earning my undergrad degree in psychology, I completed an M.A. in counseling in Romania and worked for a few years as a kids summer camp leader. Then I moved to the United States and earned a master’s degree in mental health counseling, as the curriculum in Europe is structured differently, and I also needed to meet a few requirements for licensure in New York.

As a Queens girl, I was naturally interested in The Child Center’s clinics. I believed in the mission and had a strong desire to serve the community I lived in. So I interviewed at the Woodside Clinic, now the Cohen Family Wellness Center, with the clinic’s senior program director, Jessica Barrera-Morales, and my supervisor, Jennifer Blitzer, and loved it—loved the place and how it had such a welcoming feel to it, loved talking to everyone, and I got so excited at the thought that I could be one of the clinicians there. I had always worked with kids in some capacity, even in Romania, and I was interested in continuing that work. The Child Center was definitely the route for me—at that time, and it still is.

If there were a golden thread running through your programs, what would it be?

The golden thread is hope. We don’t have an explicit motto, but the entire team leads with hope. We have seen kids going from barely talking in sessions, deeply hopeless, to flourishing. We have seen them ending these programs with being more open, more confident, talking about friends when they didn’t have friends before and being more active in their social life. Something special happens in the therapy groups they attend: They click with each other, they hear and understand each other, and know they are not the only ones feeling the way they do; just like that, they feel less alone. We have several groups, such as a teen depression group, where they talk about the triggers of their sadness; they learn about how negative thoughts form and formulate their safety plan. We also have a DBT group, where clients learn a lot of skills to cope with their depression symptoms and self-harm. They learn how to stop and breathe, mindfulness skills, how to connect with others, how to make new meanings of the thoughts they have, of the negative thoughts that feed into depression. In art groups, they find a way they can express themselves through the arts.

Those sound like great things that help people cope in the “now.” How do you convince people with no sense of hope that tomorrow can be better than today?

I tell my clients I see their struggle and even though life may suck right now, any feeling is temporary, and if we can figure out together what works to keep them afloat during the storm, it will eventually pass. And after that, maybe the next one is a little less painful, the next one even less, and so on. But no matter what, they are not alone! We work with concrete things and look toward the future, but I would say that thinking far ahead comes later. Goal setting far into the future is sometimes really difficult, especially at the beginning of treatment. When someone is feeling hopeless, it’s hard for them to picture what a future looks like. I tell them, that’s OK, I’m here with you in this, and let’s see what are some of the things you can do now. I work a lot with helping clients recognize those signs that feed into the hopelessness. I help them get to the bottom of what triggers those negative thoughts; what’s going on right now, what’s keeping them in that hopeless stage? And, if it’s clear what’s going on—for example, arguments with parents, fights with friends or that they don’t have friends, or maybe they’re feeling lonely or experiencing bullying. If they recognize those signs, what can we do in those moments? We explore tools, resources, and skills, and sometimes practice them together in session. Parents can be a great support in this stage, as they can practice these skills with clients at home, too.

At the same time, I think the greatest impact is showing them they are not alone. I don’t think the goal is to fix things in that moment, but rather for them to know that there is another person that can be with them and hold them and hold that sadness with them—whether that’s their therapist, their friends in group, a guidance counselor, a parent. … Something changes significantly for the better when they don’t feel alone anymore. Toward the end of the program, they gain more clarity of what they want to do and can start picturing a future. This is a really huge thing: seeing kids look to the future again, go to college, pursue what they want to do.

There is a great free, self-paced, interactive online mental health course for young people and their families called the Be There Certificate, which teaches the public to recognize when someone might be struggling with their mental health and how to safely support them while maintaining their own mental health. It’s part of a partnership between The Child Center and Born This Way Foundation. The course provides very useful and valuable information on how to support someone going through a tough time, or even yourself. I encourage everyone to take the course so they can best support people in their lives who might be going through a tough time.

What thought do you want to leave readers with?

I would like folks to know that no matter what they are going through, I truly believe there is always someone to listen, that even though there are many, many hopeless days, there is hope and there is help and there is value in the darkness. I would like to encourage them to stay and discover it, and I would especially like them to know this world is really more beautiful with them in it.

Editor’s Note: If you are actively suicidal, go to your nearest emergency room or call 911. For anyone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts, help is available.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
The Child Center of NY wellness centers: 718-358-8288
Additional resources: Speaking of Suicide

A Special Team Spotlight: Jean Coppola Celebrates 35 Years at The Child Center of NY

September 5, 2024 | Leave a reply

We’re thrilled to celebrate an incredible milestone—Jean M. Coppola, Billing System Administrator, has reached her 35th work anniversary at The Child Center! Her dedication, expertise, and passion have been instrumental to our organization’s success over the decades.

To honor this remarkable achievement, we sat down with Jean for a brief interview to reflect on her journey and the impact she’s made. Here’s to many more years of excellence and inspiration!

Can you share a bit about how you started your career here and what attracted you to TCCNY?

I had been working in the city and was planning on going back to school in the evenings, so I started looking for a job locally. I was interested in studying child psychology and I felt like this agency would be a good fit. I loved the idea of working for an agency that was doing such admirable work and providing mental health services to children. I began my career here as a secretary at the administrative office, which was in Flushing at the time. I was known as the “baby” of the agency. A year later, I became the administrative assistant and a couple years after that, the events manager. When patient billing was becoming electronic, I worked on the implementation of our first electronic billing software (in the ’90s), and my job took a different path. I became the billing supervisor. It was in that capacity that I navigated the Y2K panic and the eventual implementation of three subsequent billing systems, the current one being a total client electronic health record.

What are some of the most memorable moments, valuable lessons, or milestones from your time with us?

The most memorable moments for me were the fundraisers that I worked—the Golf Outing, the Dinner Dance, the Kids Run for Kids in Fresh Meadows Park.

Also, we would use staff members’ children for photoshoots to represent clients, and both my boys, from around ages 2 to 6, were “models” for our Dinner Dance journals and Golf Outing brochures.

A page from an event journal from the 1990s.

How has the company changed over the years? What do you think is in the future for TCCNY?

When I started at The Child Center of NY in 1989, it was known as Queens Child Guidance Center. I think we only had five clinics, one preventive program, and providers in a couple schools. I don’t remember how many social workers we had, but it was only five or six per clinic, and I knew them all personally. Our clients were only children, and we only provided mental health services at the time (I remember working on the application paperwork for the Substance Abuse Program). All billing for client services was done on paper, including Medicaid billing. The agency had only one computer. There was less than a dozen staff in the administrative office.

During my years at the agency, the administrative office moved from Flushing, to Jamaica, to Woodside and then to its current location in Forest Hills. I’ve been with the organization through so many ups and downs over the years, but I’ve also experienced vast expansion, new programs, new locations, in line with our mission to touch, help, and improve as many lives as possible. With so many dedicated staff and the ever-increasing need for services that we provide, I see TCCNY continuing to grow and positively impact the communities we serve.

The agency and I have grown and expanded together. When I started, I was in my early 20s, married only a few years, with no children. I am now older, still married to my wonderful husband and have four grown, wonderful children—my greatest accomplishment and most treasured blessings.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of working here for so long?

It has been the most rewarding to work at a place where I believe in the work that we do. I have dedicated myself to this agency and have never wavered from that dedication. I’ve met and worked with so many people over the years, some who have become lifelong friends. The people that I work with directly on a daily basis have become my work family. I feel recognized and appreciated and valued for what I do. When you love where you work and what you do, it just becomes a part of you, a part of your life. I thank TCCNY and the people here who have made it possible for me to commit myself so fully to this agency for the last 35 years and hopefully for many more years to come.

Photo of the Month: Brooklyn Nets Visit Parsons Community School

August 30, 2024 | Leave a reply

The Brooklyn Nets visited Parsons Community School for a slam dunk event! In a high-energy basketball clinic, 40 young players from four Child Center of NY sites that offer afterschool programs and summer learning camps for middle schoolers—Parsons Beacon, SONYC-QSI, SONYC-Queens United, and SONYC-CASA—got a taste of NBA-level training.

With Brooklyn Nets trainers leading the charge, participants ran drills, honed their skills, and learned the magic of teamwork. It was a day of hoops, high-fives, and future NBA stars in the making!

“The event was awesome!” said rising eighth grader Nicholas, a participant of SONYC-QSI. “It showed that I can work harder on basketball and that there is always someone else working so it’s up to me to work harder. It’s a huge thank you to Coaches Maya, Luis, and Justin,” who teach the basketball elective at Parsons and assisted with the event. Nick also thanked SONYC-QSI Program Director Rafael Florero for setting up the event and “having us all in the gym to get better and have fun.”

This wasn’t the first time the Parsons community came together and built lifetime memories through sports. Last summer, Parsons Beacon’s first-ever Parsons Football (soccer) Club emerged undefeated in the regular season and ultimately finished second among 56 teams that came from places as far flung as Argentina and France.

The Nets basketball clinic and the unforgettable Parsons Football Club season are just two examples of how our dedicated youth development professionals seek opportunities for young people to develop skills and values while having fun.

Speaking about the Nets basketball clinic, Rafael Florero said, “This event meant a lot for the youth in our community, as it showed that Parsons cares and seeks out the best possible opportunities for them. It gave those aspiring athletes a chance to train like a professional, and all participants a chance to see the values we teach every day in action.”

Special thanks to the 107th Precinct and the Department of Youth and Community Development for helping facilitate this memorable event. We know it means so much to our participants that they have a whole community who supports and roots for them!

Brendaliz’s Story

August 9, 2024 | Leave a reply

As dictated by the client and lightly edited.

I’ll be honest, I did not like therapy at first. I hated it. I didn’t want anybody in my business.

I also didn’t think my therapist would be on my side. That’s because the way I ended up at the [Jamaica Family Wellness] Center was because I had an ACS case open, and they recommended it to me. My husband was into drugs, we were losing our house, and I was smoking weed to deal with my problems. I thought ACS sent me to the Center so they could get evidence to take my kids away. I didn’t want to speak to [my therapist] Maricela because I thought she would use what I said against me. It took a while to open up to her. But little by little, I realized she wasn’t looking for a reason to take my kids away. She was there to help me and my family. She actually listened, and instead of looking at me negatively and judging me, she heard me, helped me, and made me realize that I could make changes in my life.

For example, I didn’t know that I had anxiety and depression. I had an idea but wasn’t really sure. Now that we know what it is, we can treat it. In addition to therapy, I take medications and have medication management appointments with the on-site nurse practitioner.

Maricela also helped me with a lot of practical problems I was having. My life was a mess. I didn’t have ID. I didn’t have my kids’ birth certificates. I didn’t know where to start. Maricela helped me with a lot of it. She helped me get my paperwork, my ID, and food stamps through Benefits Access. Maricela helped me with the paperwork because my reading isn’t that good. Sometimes I don’t understand what I’m reading, and Maricela would help me. She also introduced me to a group at the Center for people with addictions, and it helped me get off weed.

My motivation was my kids. I didn’t want to lose them. I always knew I had to do better, but I didn’t know how. I would smoke weed to deal with my past trauma and emotional issues. During treatment, I gained coping skills and techniques that have helped me manage my feelings and emotions in a healthy, positive way and make good choices. I started taking up drawing and coloring, which helps take me out of that “zone.” And Maricela is always there for me.

I have been in therapy for a few years, and I’m happy to say that my relationship with my kids is great now. Before, my depression was taking over. It was hard to attend to the kids while dealing with the issues I had, and I would just shut down. But with Maricela’s help, I learned to handle it. I try to be open with my kids so they will talk to me when they have a problem. When they do need me, I can be there for them. Instead of looking for reasons to take my kids away, Maricela was there to make sure I could be the best parent I could be.

Now that I’ve been in therapy for a while, I am ready to start working on my own goals so I can be the best I can be for myself, too. My goals include getting a house that I can pay for and going back to school for home decorating. I also want to improve my reading skills. I couldn’t focus on that when I had so much going on with my addiction and my kids, but now I’m ready.

I have a new way of thinking. I used to be really negative. I would look at myself like I couldn’t do anything right. I thought I wasn’t smart enough. I put myself down. Now I don’t see myself like that. I know I am capable of improving, and even though I’m older, I still can have goals and reach them. I may not be as smart as I want to be, but I am a smart woman and can try. Before, I didn’t even want to try. Now it’s different: I go out, I spend time with family, and I push myself. Before, I didn’t want to go to school. Now I can’t wait to go back. I am good at art, at decorating. My cousins and aunt who came to visit saw my artwork and said it looked so pretty and asked to have it. Now it’s hanging in their homes.

I have a totally different view of therapy than I did when I started. With a person who is not a part of your everyday life, you can put yourself out there a little bit more, and they won’t judge you. If you get a good counselor, it will help you change your family and your way of thinking. And changing that is what makes other changes possible.

La Historia de Aleides

July 31, 2024 | Leave a reply

Aleides con su hija, Jismerlyn. El Build-a-Bear en la caja que sostiene Jismerlyn fue un regalo de fin de año del programa extracurricular del Centro Infantil de Jismerlyn.

English Version

Cuando emigré a los Estados Unidos, pensé en un futuro mejor para mi hija, con mejor educación y oportunidades, algo de lo que carece mi país.

Mi hija Jismerlyn acaba de terminar el primer grado y participa en el programa extracurricular COMPASS del Child Center of NY en P.S. 56Q. Me gusta el programa COMPASS porque ha ayudado a las habilidades sociales de Jismerlyn, y la ayuda con las tareas que forma parte del programa la ha llevado a tener un buen desempeño en su educación. Además, puedo trabajar en paz sabiendo que mi hija está en un entorno seguro.

A Jismerlyn le encanta el programa porque puede estar con sus amigos y también aprender nuevas habilidades. Su desarrollo con la lectura es mejor que el año pasado, debido al programa de palabras a la vista. A Jismerlyn le encantan los libros, y la pillo leyendo en casa a menudo. La he visto crecer con su interacción diaria con sus compañeros y en casa. A Jismerlyn le encanta todo lo relacionado con el programa. Y me encanta que mis sueños para ella ya se estén haciendo realidad.

Aleides’s Story

Aleides with his daughter, Jismerlyn. The Build-a-Bear in the box Jismerlyn is holding was an end-of-year gift from Jismerlyn’s Child Center afterschool program.

When I immigrated to the United States, I thought of a better future for my child, with better education and opportunity, something that my country lacks.

My daughter Jismerlyn just finished first grade and is a participant in The Child Center of NY’s COMPASS afterschool program at P.S. 56Q. I like the COMPASS program because it has helped Jismerlyn’s social skills, and the homework help that is a part of the program has led to her doing well in her education. Also, I can work in peace knowing that my daughter is in a safe environment.

Jismerlyn loves the program because she can be with her friends and also learn new skills. Her development with reading is better than last year because of the sight word program. Jismerlyn loves books, and I catch her reading at home often. I have seen her growth with her daily interaction with her peers and at home. Jismerlyn loves everything about the program. And I love that my dreams for her are already becoming true.

Photo of the Month: Beating the Summer Slide with Literacy Fun

July 30, 2024 | Leave a reply

By Nicole Freudenberg
Literacy Instructor, COMPASS at P.S. 24Q

Students can lose up to two months in reading achievement and 2.6 months of math skills over a single summer. Over time, this translates to two years of learning loss by middle school. This decline in academic skills, which is especially pronounced for children from low-income families, is known as the summer slide. The Child Center of NY’s summer programs for elementary and middle schoolers, made possible with funding from the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and the generosity of private funders, are here to help.

At P.S. 24, where I serve as a literacy instructor, we are combatting the summer slide with fun literacy games for students in grades K-5. Participants in grades K-1 are focusing on sight words through games and Disney read-aloud books. That’s because if children recognize sight words—the 220 words that account for 60 percent of all the words in print—by the end of first grade, they are well on their way to fluency and being on grade level for literacy. The ability to read at or above grade level by third grade is a significant predictor of school success and high school graduation.

This month’s photo of the month shows one of the fun literacy games our children love: the sight word tower. This game provides children an opportunity to build their teamwork skills by working together to build a cup tower and supporting each other if someone is struggling to read a word. The game is played in teams, and the aim is to build your team’s tower first. To build your tower, each team member must read the word on the cup first. The first team to build their tower wins. (Teams must watch out, though; if your tower falls, your team needs to start all over again!) As you can see by the smiling faces, “making learning fun” isn’t just a slogan at P.S. 24!

Grades 2-5 are taking small word board games, such as Boggle and Tapple, and turning them into full classroom games. Children work in teams to win each round, which helps build teamwork and vocabulary. Students will also be playing games such as Taxi: Each team has a driver, and the driver’s team has to explain a place using details in order to get the driver to guess where they are going. This game helps students learn to use describing words and smaller details to build vocabulary as well as critical thinking. These are skills that can be used when having to retell a story or using evidence when writing paper.

By making continuous learning fun and part of summer routines, we help children retain knowledge, and even achieve learning gains, so they are poised to succeed in the upcoming school year—all while building summer memories to last a lifetime.

Team Spotlight: Dr. Justin R. Smith

July 19, 2024 | Leave a reply

The Child Center of NY is thrilled to announce our new Director of Behavioral Health Medical Services, Dr. Justin R. Smith.

Justin Reynard Smith, M.D., MBA, is originally from Nashville, Tennessee, and completed his undergraduate and medical school education at Vanderbilt University. After experiencing the limitations in delivering person-centered care within the United States health care system, he decided to take an academic leave of absence from medical school to obtain a master’s degree in business administration at Harvard Business School, with the goal of obtaining more skills and knowledge to help improve health care delivery systems.

After returning to medical school and finishing his last year, Dr. Smith continued his training through the psychiatry residency program at Columbia University (New York-Presbyterian and New York State Psychiatric Institute). Following his residency, he completed the Public Psychiatry Fellowship of New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University while working part-time at The Child Center of NY. In addition to his ongoing supervisory support with the Youth ACT team and provision of direct care, Dr. Smith will use his new role to help our team enhance its delivery of medical and psychiatric services so that we can be sure we serve clients in the best way possible.

Upon beginning his new position, Dr. Smith said, “My professional passion is to help people live their most fulfilled lives in a comprehensive and holistic way. I am very excited for the opportunity to work with everyone at TCCNY, and I look forward to us continuing to enrich the amazing care and services that we provide to our communities.”