Contributed PHotos
Mayor Harp Wednesday as “Miss Kendra.”
(Natalie Judd submitted the following article.)
Mayor Harp visited a first-grade class at Strong Elementary School Wednesday, playing the role of “Miss Kendra for the students.”
The mayor recitedMiss Kendra’s list with the students, and read them letters from Miss Kendra that respond to some of the worries they have shared in their letters to Miss Kendra about family, gunshots, fire drills, and their celebrations about awards and their love of school activities.
Mayor Harp also gave each student in the class one of Miss Kendra’s red beads for their worries while reciting the mantra, “I am strong, you are strong, we are strong.”
The fictional Miss Kendra is the core feature of the elementary version of a set of programs that address the need for every child to have a caring adult who empathizes with them as they share the difficult truths in their lives. The Miss Kendra Programs, which began in New Haven almost eight years ago, focus on the well-being of each child, reminding each child that they are seen, heard and cared for. The programs seek to help all students, especially those with Adverse Childhood Experiences address trauma to help them succeed later in life.
“The best way to do this is through a public health approach, addressing classrooms as a whole to ensure that every student is seen and heard,” says Cat Davis, the Miss Kendra program director. “By sharing their worries and burdens, children improve their capacity to attend to academic work, remain calm when facing demands and develop a more secure sense of self.”
“Coming together with the students and allowing them to share their worries and concerns brings us closer as a community and helps the students to feel comfortable speaking up and sharing,” Harp said.
The Miss Kendra Programs are featured in the national documentary Resilience: The Biology of Stress and The Science of Hope and are receiving tremendous national recognition because of their unique public health approach that has shown to make a significant difference in every child’s life.
The New Haven-based program now is in school systems in seven states with many more in development. The participating school principals and faculty from New Haven and across the U.S. have documented tremendous results, including greatly reduced office referrals, suspensions, physical fights and expulsions, improved academic performance and increased job satisfaction from teachers and administrators.
