George J. Posner, Ed.D.
Certified Educational Planner

    212 Bundy Road
    Ithaca, NY 14850
    607-273-5400
    fax 607-273-0558
    e-mail: gjp3@cornell.edu



|| Services for Youth | About Dr. Posner ||

Welcome to the web site for Educational Consulting Services. As the Director of ECS, I personally work closely with each client and visit each school or program recommended. My wife, Adrienne, assists me in my work with parents and often visits the schools and programs with me, providing another valuable perspective. Although ECS also refers students to traditional boarding schools when appropriate, many of my clients are looking for a school or program that can address behavioral, emotional, or learning issues that have become problematic for the student in traditional schools. ECS offers a comprehensive approach to addressing these issues beginning with an initial inquiry call by the parents (for which there is no charge), the development of a plan based on information gathered from the family and professional working with the family, help with implementing the plan, and concluding with a one year follow-up of the student's progress. I believe that the work that Adrienne and I do with parents and children is distinguished by the personal attention we give to every client. We approach each case not only as educators/counselors, but also as fellow parents. While many of our clients come from within our region (i.e. driving distance), we have worked successfully with clients across the US and Canada. References will be furnished upon request.


Outline of Specific Services

1. Consultation sessions (on the phone or in person)

2. Special-needs school placement

  • Referral for evaluation (as needed)
  • Assessment of previous school records
  • Analysis of existing psychological and educational evaluations (when available)
  • Conferences with allied professionals who have seen child (e.g. psychologists)
  • Liaison with special-needs school personnel
  • Recommendation of most appropriate schools
  • Preparation for school visits (as appropriate)
  • Help with application process
  • Liaison with schools during admission process
  • One year follow up, including monitoring progress at school
  • Referral to escort services (if needed)

3. Post-secondary program placement (e.g. programs that emphasize
    independent living skills)

Services are the same as #2 above.


4. Short-term, therapeutic program placement

  • Conferences with parents, mental health professionals and others (as appropriate) to assess the situation
  • Referral to program
  • Monitoring while in program
  • Recommendation for types of follow-up services
  • Referral to escort services (if needed)



Services for Youth with Special Needs

  1. Referral to outstanding short-term (3-8 weeks), therapeutic, outdoor-based intervention programs. These programs are especially effective for transition and evaluative purposes.
  2. Referral to structured, residential, boarding schools, many offering 12-month programs with enrollment year round. These schools include those that provide special support for learning differences, treatment for substance abuse, behavioral and emotional problems, and may even provide family therapy.
  3. Referral to residential treatment centers that can provide 3-18 months of frequent, formal, intensive therapy including medication management within a non-hospital, secure, but school-like setting. These programs can work with adolescents that do not require acute psychiatric care, but do need the services of a mental-health team for problems related to depression and other mental illnesses, substance abuse, sexual abuse, and attention deficit disorder.
  4. Referral to post-secondary programs that provide college classes, therapy, and help in developing independent living skills within a supervised, supportive, and structured environment.
  5. Referral to escort services that can provide safe transportation for youth to and from programs anywhere in the U.S., child-location services, as well as crisis intervention services when parents are unable to cope with a youth who is out of control.
  6. Specializing in long-distance clients.

About Dr. Posner

Dr. George Posner is Director of Educational Consulting Services (ECS) and personally conducts all sessions with families. During the past thirty years he has been teaching and advising youth and has been active as a teacher educator and educational researcher. He is the author of three books and over thirty articles on teaching and curriculum and has served as a consultant to schools, universities, and states across the U.S. and abroad on matters of curriculum, teaching, and teacher education. In addition, he has served as a member of the Board of Education, Ithaca City School District, and as a teacher at The Albany Academy. Currently, in addition to directing ECS, he is Professor of Education at Cornell University, where he has served on the faculty for the past 26 years. At Cornell, in addition to teaching and research, he serves as Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Curriculum and Instruction, Coordinator of the Undergraduate Program in Education, and Chair of the Curriculum Committee for the Department of Education. He is a Certified Educational Planner and a member of numerous professional associations, including the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. He has been married for 28 years to Adrienne Posner and has two daughters, one a Hyde school graduate, now a junior at Le Moyne College(NY), and the other, a student of veterinary medicine at the University of London.

Note: All referrals are based on extensive research on each program, including personal site visitations, contact with parents of program graduates, and first-hand experience by former clients.