“From the Synapse to the Schoolhouse”

“From the Synapse to the Schoolhouse” is the title of an expert, multi-disciplinary panel that will focus on children’s social relationships. The panel will meet on October 16, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel, 120 East Delaware Place in Chicago. The hour precedes the Rush NeuroBehavioral Center’s (RNBC) annual festive, gala dinner. This event raises funds supporting RNBC’s programs for Chicagoland’s underserved children through education and community outreach as well as research and professional training.  

As part of the “From the Synapse to the Schoolhouse,” a three-member, multi-disciplinary panel of experts will discuss factors that influence children’s peer relationships. Each speaker is committed to children’s social-emotional learning and views social abilities from a different vantage point. By offering varied perspectives on a common theme—ranging from the synapse to the schoolhouse – RNBC hopes to stimulate a rich exchange about the nature, assessment, and treatment of social-emotional learning in childhood. Brief speaker presentations will be followed by an open question and answer session.

The experts who will be at the session are:

Dr. Jean Decety, a professor and neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, is an internationally recognized leader in social emotional cognition. His research explores brain mechanisms underlying social processes focusing on empathy. This work has contributed greatly to our understanding of the brain’s role in creating empathic ties between people. Decety will discuss empathy and the brain in children and adolescents.

Dr. Clark A. McKown, associate director and research director at Rush University Medical Center’s Rush NeuroBehavioral Center (RNBC), will discuss advances in our understanding of the nature and assessment of social-emotional learning (SEL). McKown oversees an exciting project measuring children’s social emotional learning abilities. He will share important lessons learned from this work and promising applications to clinical and educational practice.

Dr. Jenny Wojcik, Superintendent of Rondout School District 72 in Lake Forest, Illinois is an outstanding educator. She has worked in schools for over 30 years as a teacher and administrator. Her long-standing commitment to social-emotional development in children makes her and her innovative district a perfect research partner with RNBC. Wojcik will talk about cutting-edge instructional strategies which she has implemented to promote social emotional learning development. 

“From the Synapse to the Schoolhouse” promises to stimulate discussion and insight into human behavior through the bridging of common themes of social connections and relationships.

RNBC serves the medical, psychological and educational needs of children with brain-based learning and behavior problems, specializing in social-emotional learning disorders. The Center, established in 1997, is part of the pediatrics department at Rush University Medical Center. RNBC is comprised of a team of multidisciplinary professionals who diagnose and treat children with neurobehavioral disorders. The Center’s approach is to understand each child’s strengths and weaknesses within the context of the family and school. RNBC is committed to increasing the knowledge and awareness of neurobehavioral disorders through research, training, community outreach and education.

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RushUniversity Medical Center is an academic medical center that encompasses the more than 600 staffed-bed hospital (including Rush Children’s Hospital), the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center and Rush University.  Rush University, with more than 1,270 students, is home to one of the first medical schools in the Midwest, and one of the nation’s top-ranked nursing colleges. Rush University also offers graduate programs in allied health and the basic sciences.  Rush is noted for bringing together clinical care and research to address major health problems, including arthritis and orthopedic disorders, cancer, heart disease, mental illness, neurological disorders and diseases associated with aging.