Joyful Partnership Benefits Boston’s Schoolchildren

“One person can make a difference and every person should try,” said President Kennedy. Jen Medeiros-Crabbe provides us with a sparkling example. Jen, a school psychologist in the Boston Public School (BPS) system, is the first critical link in a strong, lengthening chain created between the Life is good Playmakers and the BPS’s Behavioral Health Services department. Behavioral Health Services staff provide essential mental health services for some 55,000 children throughout the city’s school system.

Jen first applied for a Playmakers Basic Training back in 2010. She also recruited six other department members to attend our fall training that year. This initial enthusiastic group of new Playmakers began implementing their learning in impressive ways while also encouraging the department to apply for a grant that would provide training and support for the entire department. And that’s just how it has played out, with BHS gaining a grant that enabled fully sixty members – essentially the entire department – to attend a two-day Playmakers Advanced Training on February 3-4 in Norwood, MA.

Our Playmakers staff is now providing follow-up coaching and support for this talented group to ensure the most effective transfer of learning to their work with children. BHS Assistant Director Andria Amador, a recognized innovator in delivering mental health services to children, is a key partner in developing the ongoing support system for this important group of school psychologists and newly certified Playmakers. We look forward to growing the partnership that Jen began and ensuring Boston’s schoolchildren have the best support possible from this skilled and dedicated group of child care professionals.