[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 144 (Friday, October 2, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE GESELL INSTITUTE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT ON THE OCCASION OF 
                          ITS 65TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 2, 2015

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to 
join the New Haven community in extending my heartfelt congratulations 
to the Gesell Institute of Child Development as they celebrate their 
65th Anniversary--a remarkable milestone for this wonderful 
organization!
  Dr. Arnold Gesell, a professor at Yale University at the turn of the 
20th Century, was a pioneer in the study of early childhood 
development. Founder of what today is the nationally renowned Yale 
Child Study Center, he dedicated his life to studying the verbal, 
motor, social, emotional and cognitive growth of children. Perhaps best 
known for his use of the cinematographic technologies that were 
revolutionary for his time to document the developmental stages of 
10,000 children, Dr. Gesell's legacy is the extensive archive he 
created throughout his life-long research that would later enable 
parents and teachers to better understand children's ages and stages of 
development.
  Dr. Gesell was both a researcher and an educator, training 
physicians, nurses, and research scholars alike. In 1950 two of his 
former students and colleagues, Drs. Frances Ilg and Louise Bates Ames, 
along with Janet Learned, purchased two properties on Prospect Street 
in New Haven and opened a research institute and nursery school aimed 
at exploring child development through adolescence. Named in honor of 
their mentor and respected colleague, the Gesell Institute for Child 
Development was officially incorporated in March of 1950. In fact, Dr. 
Gesell served as a research consultant at the Institute until his death 
in 1961.
  Over the course of its sixty-five year history, the Gesell Institute 
has made several invaluable contributions to the field of child 
development. The Nursery School served as both a training ground for 
early childhood educators and pediatricians, as well as a basis for 
some of the earliest research and investigation into school readiness. 
Perhaps the most enduring of its contributions to the field is the 
development of Gesell Developmental Observation (GDO)--a comprehensive 
multidimensional assessment system that assists educators, and other 
professionals in understanding characteristics of child behavior in 
relation to typical growth patterns. One of Dr. Ilg's most important 
legacies was the formation of the National Lecture Staff, a nation-wide 
network of educators that, today, work together to provide a 
comprehensive program for staff professional development, in-service 
trainings, and workshops across the country on how to administer the 
newly updated Gesell Developmental Observation-Revised.
  Sixty-five years later, the Gesell Institute continues to be one of 
the most respected institutions for child development in the nation. 
Serving as a resource for educators, parents and others as well as an 
advocate for our young people, it is an extraordinary organization 
whose work has touched countless lives and helped to shape how we look 
at childhood development. I am honored to have this opportunity to 
extend my sincere congratulations to everyone at the Gesell Institute 
as they mark this very special occasion.

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