Assistant Clinical Professor (Affiliate Faculty) Christine L. Emmons, PhD has been part of the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) community for over 25 years, working in the Comer School Development Program. What her Yale colleagues may not know is that she is also a published poet and she loves violin music. Learn more in the special Q&A with Emmons detailed below.
Have long have you been part of the YCSC community and what roles have you filled?
I started in February 1993 as a Post-doctoral fellow assigned to the Comer School Development Program (SDP), where I have remained throughout my association with the Child Study Center. I transitioned to Associate Research Scientist with the role of Coordinator of the Research and Evaluation Unit in October 1993. In 1998, I became the Coordinator of Program Evaluation, and in 2001, the Director of Program Evaluation. As Coordinator, and then Director of Program Evaluation, I was responsible for the design and management of the SDP’s research and evaluation program, particularly in the districts involved in systemic reform. Through my work, I visited many school districts across several states and Puerto Rico. My duties included the development and review of instruments to measure the SDP implementation and outcomes and communicating nationally and internationally with schools and researchers interested in the use of the SDP instruments. Queries regarding the “School Climate Surveys” came from researchers in countries across the globe including Australia, Bermuda, Italy, Mexico, Poland, St. Lucia, and Turkey. Several of these researchers used these surveys in their work. My primary research interests include ways in which social environments affect who and what children become, and how to shape social environments that boost potential and well-being.
What led you to the CSC and/or to your current role/position?
Dr. Comer’s work led me to the Yale Child Study Center. I wanted, through my dissertation, to extend the work of an African-American educator who was making a significant impact on education. When I read about Dr. Comer’s work, I decided to make an appointment to discuss this with him. After our conversation, he suggested that I follow up with Dr. Norris Haynes, and the rest is history. Everyone was kind, welcoming, and helpful. I did my dissertation on the School Development Program, and then became a post-doctoral fellow at the Child Study Center with the SDP.
What do you enjoy doing (hobbies or otherwise) when you’re not working?
I enjoy writing poems, and children’s stories rooted in Caribbean folktales. I also enjoy cultural activities: festivals; dance, theater, and musical performances; visiting museums; and exploring local, state, and national parks, especially during COVID.
What is an accomplishment you are proud of (work-related or otherwise)?
I enjoy writing poems, and children’s stories rooted in Caribbean folktales. I also enjoy cultural activities: festivals; dance, theater, and musical performances; visiting museums; and exploring local, state, and national parks, especially during COVID.
Christine Emmons, PhD
Helping to raise one of my nieces. I co-parented one of my nieces when she lived with me while going to high school in New Haven. I learned so much from her and about myself. Here I give tribute to Dr. Comer for the School Development Program’s guiding principles of collaboration, no-fault problem-solving, and consensus decision-making. These principles really helped me in parenting as I focused on what a teenager needs to develop well, and on how to relate to the other significant people in her life. She is now a medical student doing her rotations.
If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
Everywhere! My dream is to spend a couple of years traveling the world, preferably by train as much as feasible. I have travelled by train twice across the United States; and I have done some traveling by train across parts of Canada.
What three words would your friends or colleagues use to describe you?
Brilliant, hardworking, kind - I would add two more: analytical and passionate.
What would you like to share that might surprise your friends or colleagues?
I love to discuss wide-ranging and unusual ideas. My favorite music is violin music. It transports me to places of intense emotion in a way that no other type of music does.
Please share any other information or news that you’d like included in the spotlight.
This year, I published my first book of poems, “Outside My House: A Journey Through Nature During COVID Lockdown April 2020 to May 2021.” I have also had an interview with Doriel Larrier on the Digital Couch, where I share information on my background, and discuss what led me to write these poems. Links to the Amazon page and my interview can be found on my website: https://www.sceptar-eds.com/