The Harlem Family Institute provides clinical experience in affiliated inner-city schools and clinics. HFI’s founding purpose included the provision of care in Harlem communities in which quality long-term psychotherapy services were often unavailable. Hence, in-neighborhood schools and other placement sites were chosen. Our collaborating placement sites are listed below.

CENTRAL PARK EAST 1

Families choose to enroll their children at CPE 1 because they value its small, diverse school community, rich arts program and excellent progressive education, which recognizes and fosters a variety of learning styles. CPE's educational philosophy is rooted in the belief that children must be valued for the experiences, language, and culture they bring to the school. The mission of the school is to facilitate learning by providing every child with materials, experiences and support services that will enable her or him to experience academic, social, and emotional success. Families, teachers, service providers and community-based collaborators work together to ensure that all children feel competent and confident about their work. This school's commitment is to an inclusive approach, cross-age groupings, learning-by-doing and the use of an integrated curriculum driven by children's interests and abilities.

M.S. 45 / S.T.A.R.S. PREP ACADEMY

This middle school aims to challenge all students to meet their intellectual, social and emotional potential. It is committed to creating and maintaining a collaborative, caring environment where acceptance, tolerance, openness and respect are demonstrated to parents, students and staff. It aims to stand for responsibility and accountability, encouraging all members of the school community to be lifelong learners and productive members of society.

FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN

Friends of the Children NY is a unique early-intervention program dedicated to helping New York City’s most at-risk children become productive, contributing members of their community. It aims to accomplish this by employing full-time mentors, called Friends, to work one-on-one with the children, beginning in kindergarten or first grade and maintaining that relationship through high school graduation. Established in 2001, the program aims to serve the city’s most vulnerable youth.

OTHER PLACEMENT SITES WITH WHOM WE HAVE COLLABORATED

THE CHILDREN'S STOREFRONT

The Children’s Storefront is an independent, tuition-free school in Harlem committed to providing a comprehensive education to children with varied academic strengths from preschool through 8th grade. Its work is grounded in the conviction that every child deserves the opportunity to have an excellent education.

MUSCOTA NEW SCHOOL

Muscota New School is a public primary school in Inwood, northern Manhattan. The word Muscota means "place in the reeds" in the language of the Lenape, the Native Americans who lived in the area long ago. The school seeks to celebrate life and work: inquiry, noticing, joining with and following after children in their quest for learning about the world. Muscota is committed to mirroring the diversity of the community within its classes, both in student population and teaching staff. It believes that by combining an emphasis on the individual and responsibility to the families of Inwood, Washington Heights, and northern Manhattan, it can bring together the most positive aspects of a community-based school of choice.

RIVER EAST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

River East staff believe that children are the center of the school. The school offers each family a high-quality, child-centered, progressive educational program. River East views parents as the most important teachers children will ever have. Believing that success in school must include a cooperative relationship between home and school, River East encourages parent collaboration. The school provides multiple entry points for family involvement.

River East also features a full inclusion program with support services within the child’s classroom. Multi-age, multi-grade heterogeneously grouped classrooms support curriculum development appropriate to each child. Instructional approaches vary, and much attention is paid to students' individual learning styles.

River East staff believe that children learn best in a safe environment where they are free to take risks and to practice individual decision-making. The school aspires to be a democratic community that assesses its interventions, and the staff are expected to provide a model of collaborative planning and decision-making.

ST. ALOYSIUS

  - Gonzaga Middle School for Boys
  - Sister Thea Bowman Middle School for Girls

St. Aloysius School, which is transitioning to become an independent Catholic school, sponsored by the Jesuit order, seeks to address the educational and spiritual needs of children in Harlem. Its primary purpose is to develop in its students the character, strength and skills necessary to succeed academically and to prepare to enter New York City’s finest high schools. To achieve this purpose, St. Aloysius is committed to providing an exceptional curriculum that responds directly to the needs of inner-city students and their families. St. Aloysius promotes personal responsibility and a strong sense of community in an environment that is both supportive and demanding of its student body. Its athletic, co-curricular, summer school and camp programs and family support systems reinforce the academic experience at St. Aloysius.