by Dr. Susan Assouline, Belin-Blank Center Director
Like a long-awaited visitor we thought would never arrive, 2021 is almost here! My colleagues and I are ready to greet the new year with humility, gratitude, and optimism. Humility counters the pride with which we entered 2020 and the assumptions that we held about the format of our programs and services. That self-assuredness blinded us to the crises lurking in the shadows that came out in full force to affect our health, economy, climate, and sense of social justice.
These crises-imposed restrictions resulted in new ways of collaborating to find creative ways to provide programs, deliver services, and conduct research. I am grateful for the continued assessment and counseling services our licensed psychologists offered through a hybrid format. The student program team re-imagined several new opportunities for students. I am also appreciative of the continuation of our many professional development opportunities for educators.
There are many reasons for which I am optimistic about 2021. The teachers and students participating in our grant-funded services displayed astounding resilience, despite the learning format’s unpredictability. We started a new collaboration with colleagues at the National Center for Research on Gifted Education, housed at the University of Connecticut; our focus will be on academic acceleration. Our research collaboration with the Iowa Neuroscience Institute continues, and we are looking forward to a re-imagined Summit on the Neuroscience of Twice-Exceptionality in a virtual format.
The Integrated Acceleration System’s development team completed the online interactive product designed to produce a report that offers information about the appropriateness of academic acceleration for individual students.
These are just a few of the reasons why we will enter 2021 with humility, gratitude, and optimism. I am humbled by the Belin-Blank Center staff’s efforts and those of our colleagues in the College of Education. I am awed by the continued support of our Advisory Board. Their commitment to the Belin-Blank Center’s mission, and the students, families, and educators we serve, has never wavered despite the many obstacles experienced.
May 2021 be a year in which we continue to seek social justice and address racism. May we find new ways to tackle our many climate challenges, observe improvement in our economy, and realize an abatement of the pandemic. We look forward to seeing you in 2021, in person and virtually. Happy New Year!
Belin-Blank Center 