Bank Street’s Infancy Institute Helps the
Smallest Among Us
By Julie Ronneburger
The Graduate School of Bank Street College of Education presented
its eighteenth annual Infancy Institute in June 2005. The three
day event, titled “Infants, Toddlers, Families: Supporting
Their Growth,” involved thirty-seven nationally renowned
professors and experts in fields such as psychiatry, occupational
therapy, music therapy, and nutrition. Over 270 participants
from fourteen states around the country took part in workshops
covering multiple areas of child-rearing ages 0-3, such as
cultural diversity in child rearing, guiding principles in
infant and toddler mental health, and exploring children’s
love of movement. Some of this year’s participants, who
could not have attended otherwise, received scholarships from
a generous $5,000 grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Martha Edwards who
is the Director of the Center for Developing Child and Family
at the Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York City.
Edwards also teaches family therapy at the NYU Child Study
Center, is a board member of the Zero to Three Network, and
is the research committee chair and former board member of
the American Family Therapy Academy. She has written about
and presented nationally and internationally her model of parenting
processes and her work in family therapy.
Throughout its eighteen-year history, the Infancy Institute
has witnessed major changes in society’s awareness of
research and discussion regarding the years 0-3. “Bank
Street was at the vanguard in the area of infancy development,
and the Infancy Institute strives to inform educators and non-educators
alike about this critical time of development in very young
children. We are continuously expanding our workshops to appeal
to all child-care givers, not just to parents and educators,” says
Carla Poole, Interim Director of the Infant and Parent Development
and Early Intervention Program and Co-Director of the Infancy
Institute.
The Institute was founded and directed by the Infant and Parent
Development and Early Intervention Program at the Graduate
School of Bank Street. The program offers a master’s
degree with specialization in infant/ toddler development.
For more information on the program, or to register for next
year’s Institute, please call Carla Poole at 212-875-4523.#
