NCGF Testimonials

Effective emotional climate “Every time I come to (The Children’s Guild) I see something different and something new and something better. It’s a cheerful place – it’s bright, it’s warm, it’s inviting, it’s not threatening. And I think that translates into an effective emotional climate as well as a physical climate. It is very conducive to learning, to feeling good about yourself and where you are.”

Dr. Larry Larson, Professor, Early Childhood Special Education, Johns Hopkins University

Best in the nation “[The Upside Down Organization] are among the best in the nation in providing quality, innovative services to an underserved population. The Upside Down Organization is a quality, cutting edge training organization. They would be a powerful part of any agencies staff development and program improvement.”

James Freeman, Assistant Director of Training and Staff Development, Casa Pacifica

Organization of practice not rhetoric “The [District of Columbia Public Schools] team was awed with (The Children’s Guild’s) phenomenal program. We were thoroughly impressed by your seamlessly crafted cultural framework and you comprehensive approach. … It was clear… your organization is not one of rhetoric but practice. The DCPS team is excited about your mission to ‘transform’ the lives of children who have been underserved and misunderstood for far too long.”

The District of Columbia Public School Team

An invitation to excellence “Creating the Upside Down Organization … is a brilliant piece of work, beautifully crafted, with loads of challenging ideas.  The whole book is a generous invitation to be excellent and gives us a method to do so.”

Michael Partie, Director, Therapeutic Options, Inc.

Transformation Education makes sense “Punishment doesn’t work. Begging someone to do something doesn’t work. The carrot and the stick doesn’t work. I think (Transformation Education) can be used anywhere. It just makes sense.

Dr. Elizabeth Hess Rice, Assistant Professor, George Washington University

Commitment to learning “What I see [at The Children’s Guild] is a real commitment to the right staff – staff who really cares about kids. A commitment to the context that’s the right environment for children to learn, a commitment to the state of the art with promoting children’s learning as well as promoting their emotional behavioral development.”

Dr. Mark D. Weist, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine