Mazel Toy!

Children's
Prien

A veteran
social worker
has dedicated
her career
to the students
in Detroit's
public schools.

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Brenda Gehnan-Berkowitz

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Brenda Gelman-Berkowitz receives the Champion of Children Award from the Detroit Public
Schools' Diane Stephenson and Children's Aid Society's Cal Williams.

CARI WALDMAN
Special to the Jewish News

renda Gelman-Berkowitz
remembers the gym at
Bagley Elementary School
when she was a little girl.
Growing up in northwest Detroit,
she is a product of the Detroit
Public Schools.
"My recollection of that gym was
huge," she says. Now it seems tiny
to me.
More than 30 years later,
Gelman-Berkowitz finds herself back
in that same gym at the corner of
Roselawn and Curtis in Detroit.
This time, she's a source of strength
to children who are neglected and
abused.
A social worker in the Detroit
Public Schools for 21 years,
Gelman-Berkowitz has been in
charge of a project in the office of
Early Childhood Education for the
last four years. She works to prevent
abuse for all preschool and kinder-

garten students in the Detroit dis-
trict. Each year, she steps into 77
school buildings and thousands of
classrooms where students need
ongoing help.
"These children experience abuse
or pain in their homes almost every
day," says Gelman-Berkowitz.
"Many have dysfunctional homes,
while others have behavioral, emo-
tional or learning disabilities in
school."
Working with high-risk students
and diligent teachers, Gelman-
Berkowitz tries to find individual
solutions. In the cases that she can-
not resolve in a few sessions, she
makes an assessment and refers the
child to Children's Aid Society, a
100-year-old nonprofit agency.
Those that Gelman-Berkowitz
feels need further guidance are
assigned a social worker from
Children's Aid who goes into the
home for ongoing help.
"There is a real lack of parenting
skills in these homes," Gelman-

Berkowitz says. "When children feel
a sense of belonging and feel capa-
ble, they are less likely to have
behavior problems. Most of these
parents are duplicating the way they
were raised."
Gelman-Berkowitz has made great
impact, not only in this project. Her
support has been noted on the
numerous occasions that she has
gone to court and psychiatric clinics
on behalf of children that have been
abused, abandoned or removed from
their homes. In the absence of par-
ents, Gelman-Berkowitz has been a
child's strength.
The Children's Aid Society
recently honored Gelman-Berkowitz
with its Champion Of Children
Award. "In a thankless job, where I
mostly hear all negatives, this was a
positive," says Gelman-Berkowitz.
She also wrote and has a copy-
right on "The Friendship Circle," a
program she designed to help teach-
ers infuse conflict resolution skills
into their curricula. "It is designed

to help students express their feel-
ings, concerns and experiences, in an
open-ended manner. It has been a
great success in making students feel
heard," says Gelman-Berkowitz.
At 45, Gelman-Berkowitz is also
passionate against parents hitting
their children. In an effort to find
better alternatives, she has written
"Just Some of the Reasons NOT to
Spank, Or to Use Corporal/Physical
Punishment." Teachers in southwest
Detroit have translated it into
Spanish.
Every effort Gelman-Berkowitz
makes, it seems, ultimately helps a
child.
Gelman-Berkowitz will enjoy the
rest of the summer with her husband
Marty and 10-year- • ld son Michael.
But soon she will be back in the car
for her commute from Walled Lake
to Detroit. "I use the time to think
of ways I can bring peace to
Detroit," she says. "I sit at a stop-
light and say, 'Today I will help
someone.'" TI

8/20

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Detroit Jewish News 51