Founded in 1993, Open Heart-Open Mind (OHOM) is the only program to put social workers into schools full-time to address the social and emotional needs of at-risk students. In its more than 15 years in operation, OHOM has delivered measurable results, consistently improving scores on State standardized exams amongst the lowest performing students. (see Results page for more info).

Read more about the positive impact of social and emotional learning in CASEL's (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) report: The Positive Impact of SEL for K-8th Grade Students.

SERVICES
Counseling

• Individual counseling is provided to high-need students; small group counseling involves 8-12 students in activities to improve behavior; and in family counseling, social workers engage entire families in students’ education.
• Crisis Intervention/Response to crisis situations and counseling to diffuse the impact of crisis and ensure children’s safety

Full Classroom and School-wide Activities

• Full Classroom activities build student self-esteem, increase attendance, and prevent conflict
• School-wide activities include special events that engage teachers, administrators and families and reward student attendance and provide education on topics like health and wellness

Teacher Collaboration and School Governance

• Support of teachers’ curricula through reading, writing and math activities
• Involvement in school leadership teams, Parent-Teacher Associations and other school committees

District Consulting

• Technical assistance to teachers, principals and other district personnel to broaden the impact of OHOM

Parent Workshops

• Workshops engage parents in children’s education and cover topics such as stress reduction, reading activities, accessing community resources, writing with your child and family activities

Train the Trainers

• Workshops on crisis remediation and psychological reactions to terrorism for caregivers of children and youth in NYC social service agencies (these workshops were created in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11)

Small Groups
OHOM runs various small groups focused on specific activities, with the purpose of strengthening student academic performance by building self-esteem, and improving attendance and behavior.

• Peer Mediation Group– Students learn to resolve conflicts peacefully, build leadership skills and take responsibility for creating safe school environments

• Newspaper Group– By producing bi-monthly schools newspapers, students build organizational, writing and editing, leadership skills and acquire a sense of responsibility and cooperation.

• Environmental Group – Students brainstorm, discuss and plan the design and decoration and creation of a CommUNITY garden at their schools

• Job Readiness Group- Students learn career and job skills, financial literacy, resume writing, interview skills, and career planning.