Renowned Psychologist Dr. Ross Greene Collaborates with MKA Primary School

Dr. Ross Greene, a New York Times best-selling author, visited the Primary School to meet with students in Pre-K and kindergarten and talk with teachers and parents. Founder of Lives in the Balance, creator of Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), author of the books, The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Lost & Found, and Raising Human Beings, and executive producer and developer of the documentary film The Kids We Lose, Dr. Greene has received funding to create a video showing how his CPS model can be productively applied to very young kids at home and school. Over the past several years, many MKA faculty members have attended Dr. Greene's advanced trainings in Maine and Cape Cod. This year's proficiency training aims to expand the model's reach to the entire faculty and staff at the Primary School to increase consistency and fidelity of the model.

As part of this recent video project, Dr. Greene filmed students at the Primary School participating in the problem-solving process with MKA staff members who have been involved in CPS training. Students actively engage in this process because they like taking ownership over situations and having the opportunity to be thought partners and problem solvers with adults. MKA was chosen by Dr. Greene because the faculty participants receiving the training have been doing so well with the process. The core team involved with CPS is Melanie Bieber, Jennifer Cassidy, Jocelyn Fine, Suzanne Giarrusso, Gretchen Ievers, Tara Mallon, Brittany O’Neill, Jessica Sarfati, Kathy Sasena, and Mike Sasso.