webinar

Connecting Pediatricians, Families and Schools for Thriving Youth

PAST EVENT
October 23, 2024

On Oct 23, GTY and Grantmakers in Health featured a conversation about EdNavigator, a cross-systems approach to improve education outcomes for children with learning differences, supported by Oak Foundation, a GTY member organization.

Watch recording

Top Takeaway

Connecting Pediatricians, Schools and Families Improves Education Access

In EdNavigator’s model, pediatricians refer families whose children are experiencing education challenges to skilled navigators. Those navigators problem-solve with families and schools to ensure children’s access to education.

Outcomes include:

  • improved access to education for children and youth—particularly those with learning differences and/or language barriers,
  • families empowered to advocate for needed services, and
  • identification of systemic barriers for districts and schools to address.

Recording

More Takeaways

  1. Focus on Underserved Communities: EdNavigator’s North Star is to ensure that families in marginalized communities—often those with language and other barriers—are empowered to access the full range of education supports and services so that their children can reach their full potential.
  2. Empowering Parents and Caregivers: EdNavigators equips parents and caregivers with the knowledge and skills to advocate effectively for their children’s education.
  3. Why this Strategy Works:
    • Early Support: Families with young children are receiving proactive support rather than reactive intervention.
    • Efficiency: family engagement is high because families trust their child’s pediatrician.
    • Navigator Experience & Expertise: All navigators are former teachers, have special education expertise, and are fluent in Spanish.
    • Personalization: Navigators provide families with assistance tailored to their children’s needs.

Resources

The Parent Journey: Cracking the Code for Families of Children with Learning Differences Findings from a Study among K-12 Parents

PPT Deck: Connecting Pediatricians, Families and Schools for Thriving Youth PPT

What Can Philanthropy Do?

Philanthropic investment from Oak Foundation enabled EdNavigators to demonstrate proof of concept and build out in Boston, the Bay Area, and Washington, DC. EdNavigators’ virtual team can connect with health networks across the country—rural, urban, and suburban. Philanthropy can continue to play a catalytic role in supporting:

  • Scaling the approach to additional communities
  • Progress toward a diversified revenue model that includes contributions from healthcare, philanthropy, and public sources
  • Additional solutions that bridge siloes and systems on behalf of thriving youth.

Memorable Quotes

EdNavigator provides the on-the-ground support to utilize referrals from pediatricians to support parents in navigating an issue or challenge they’re having at school, and also thinks at the systems level how education and health systems can better collaborate to support families, and how to sustainably support the work going forward.

—Bethiel Girma Holton, Oak Foundation

In my mind the most important thing we do is to make sure that children are developing appropriately and if they’re not, figure out why and get them whatever help they need to maximize their potential.

—Dr. Aline Hunter, NeighborHealth

We want a successful connection with the school every time, and we know before EdNavigators that did not happen. And now I feel very confident when I have an EdNavigator involved that something is going to happen and we’re going to reach resolution.

—Dr. Leslie Scherl, NeighborHealth

We see the long term potential of building a coalition of partners across healthcare and education and philanthropy to realize the full potential of this approach.

—Tim Daly, EdNavigator

Contact the Speakers

Speakers

Tim Daly

Chief Executive Officer, EdNavigator

In more than two decades in public education, Tim has served as an urban school teacher, organizational leader, and policy expert. Prior to co-founding EdNavigator, he served as President of TNTP, a national education nonprofit focused on recruiting, training, and retaining outstanding teachers for schools serving families in low-income communities. During his eight years in that role, TNTP became a leading source of innovative and widely cited research.

Tim began his career teaching social studies at Northeast Middle School in Baltimore. He holds a MA in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in American Studies from Northwestern University. He is the recipient of the Peter Jennings Award for Civic Leadership and the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Bethiel Girma Holton

Program Officer, Learning Differences Program, Oak Foundation

Bethiel Girma Holton is a Program Officer for the Learning Differences Program at Oak Foundation. In this role, she manages an international portfolio of grants supporting social emotional learning, youth leadership development, parent engagement and research and innovation with the goal of promoting the academic, social and emotional success of students with learning differences.

Prior to joining Oak, Bethiel was the National Director of Student Engagement at City Year, an US education non-profit that partners with teachers and schools to help prepare students with the skills and mindsets to thrive. In this role she led the design, implementation and evaluation of research-based school culture, social emotional learning and after-school programs in over 250 schools in 26 cities.

Bethiel started her career in direct service; supporting instruction in an elementary school, coordinating a student leadership development program and providing counseling for young adults with substance abuse challenges. Bethiel has a Master of Social Work from Boston College.ocial and emotional success of students with learning differences.

Victoria Paulino

Director of Navigation, EdNavigator

Victoria Paulino brings to EdNavigator a wide range of experience with students and families across Massachusetts. She has served as a camp counselor and youth group leader in Worcester, MA; a 6th grade summer school teacher in Lawrence, MA; and a 7th grade English and social studies teacher at Veritas Prep Charter School in Springfield, MA. She is fluent in Spanish and holds a BA in Political Science from College of the Holy Cross and an MA in Education from Boston University.

Nelida Garcia

Director of Partnerships and Outreach, EdNavigator

Nelida’s career has focused on increasing educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Prior to joining EdNavigator, Nelida spent six years at the University of Chicago, where she managed employer partnerships and career programs serving first-generation and low-income students. She also led the office’s first diversity, equity, and inclusion team, launching initiatives for students, staff, and employers seeking to diversify their talent pipelines. Nelida began her career at Uncommon Schools, where she focused on school operations and college access at a charter high school in Brooklyn, NY. Nelida received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Harvard University and is a proud first-generation college graduate. She currently resides in her hometown of Chicago.

Dr. Leslie Scherl

Pediatrician and Interim Medical Director of Pediatrics, NeighborHealth

Dr. Leslie Scherl is a Pediatrician and Interim Medical Director of Pediatrics at NeighborHealth (formerly the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center). She graduated from the NYU School of Medicine in 1990 and completed her internship and residency at Boston City Hospital. Dr. Scherl’s career at NeighborHealth began in 1993 and has spanned more than 30 years, including serving as the Medical Director of Pediatrics from 1999 to 2014 and Interim Medical Director of Pediatrics from 2023 to present day. Dr. Scherl’s passion is community health and working with the amazing patients and families at NeighborHealth. In her free time, she enjoys travel, baking, exercising, and reading.

Dr. Aline Hutner

Pediatrician, NeighborHealth

Dr. Aline Hutner is a Pediatrician at NeighborHealth, the largest community-focused health center in Massachusetts. Dr. Hutner is one of the health center’s veteran pediatricians, serving patients for over 31 years. She graduated from State University of New York, Downstate’s College of Medicine in 1987 and completed a residency in 1990 at Cohen Children’s Medical Center (formerly Schneider Children’s Hospital) at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. She is affiliated with Boston Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Hutner is passionate about providing high-quality and compassionate health care to children and their families.

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