MK PHILOSOPHY - rooted in Social Emotional Learning
No child wakes up in the morning and says, "Today is the day that I am going to fail!" I believe that all children want to be and can be successful, and it is our job as educators to provide the right environment to lead to that success. I believe in creating strong connections, teaching and not telling, setting high expectations for all, and helping all students become self-sufficient, productive, responsible members of society. I believe our educators need support because they are voluntarily taking on one of the most important jobs, for little monetary gain. They need training that gives them the pats on the back that they don't receive from kids; they need training that gives them real world strategies and support; they need training that understands the delicate balance they maintain between academic rigor, social and emotional needs, behavioral challenges, and developmental gaps; and they need training that can have maximum impact with minimum resources.
MISSION
MK Consulting & Training, LLC, will educate, support, and coach educators in order to enrich the learning environments for all children in order to support them socially, emotionally, physically, and academically. We will use a strengths-based mindset in order to meet all learners where they are, and to tailor our instruction to bring out the best in adults and students.
VISION
MK Consulting & Training, LLC, wants BEST PRACTICE to be all-encompassing. Best practice should refer to how administrators work with faculty and staff. Best practice should refer to how faculty and staff work with each other. Best practice should refer to how everyone interacts with students. And best practice should refer to how everyone, adults and children, treat themselves. Our vision is to make sure that BEST PRACTICE not only refers to academics, but to the social, emotional, physical, intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies that best support people of all ages!
ABOUT
Christine Merle, MPA, is an educator with over 25 years of experience in many different school settings. From a middle/high school Science classroom to an accelerated English classroom of adult learners in a college setting, she has modeled, taught and practiced many of the strategies that she endorses. As a professional development trainer she creates and delivers interactive and research-based trainings that allow educators tools and strategies to use for immediate implementation, and has had the pleasure of working with urban, rural and suburban districts. She has spent the last few years in the research and advancement of social emotional learning in educational settings, working for the Social Emotional Learning Center at Children’s Institute, an affiliate of the University of Rochester. She has recently created her own company in support of these efforts, MK Consulting & Training, LLC, in order to be able to train, coach, and change teacher practice on a deeper level. Her trainings have been approved for NYS Department of Education CTLE credits. Whether she is working with a small group of 30 in order to explore classroom instruction, or delivering a keynote to 300, her experience and sense of humor will engage even the most reluctant of learners