|
|
 |
 |
|
Achievements and News
|
7/16/08
Kicked Out of Preschool? Part II: A Rare Success Story
PEP?s Day Care Plus program is featured in an online article by MSN Encarta. Melissa Slager, MSN Encarta reporter, explains the important role Day Care Plus plays in helping young children maintain placement and succeed in an appropriate preschool setting.
2/7/08
PEP Leader Awarded for Commitment to Children
Claudia Lann Valore, Chief Program Officer, was honored
with Beechbrook's distinguished Hearts of Hope Award.
1/11/08 Alternatives to Expelling Preschoolers Sought
Angela
Townsend, Education Writer for The Plain Dealer, explores PEP's Day Care
Plus program and others as local solutions to high preschool expulsion
rates.
1/10/08 PEP Pilots Bibliotherapy Curriculum in Local Districts
Pep's Intervention-Based Bibliotherapy
curriculum, which blends Language Arts and social-emotional objectives, is being piloted in four local school districts.
1/8/08 Angela Townsend Education
Column
Townsend
highlights PEP's service to children with
autism.
12/1/07
PEP CEO Co-Authors Special Education
Training Manual
Frank A. Fecser, Ph.D. co-authored the sixth addition
of a textbook designed to provide teachers with essential tools to enhance
their positive relationship with troubled students.
11/2/07 PEP CEO Earns Woodruff
Prize
Frank A. Fecser, Ph.D. was recognized for his outstanding work in
the mental health community.
9/27/07 John Nosek Received Distinguished Award
John Nosek received the Suzanne Brookhart Harrison Award for
Exceptional Service to Children.
|
This is Part II of a two-part story. To view the story in its entirety (Parts I and II), visit
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Departments/Elementary/?article=KickedOutPreschool.
Kicked Out of Preschool?
Part II: A Rate Success Story
July 14, 2008
By Melissa Slager
Top of
Page
http://encarta.msn.com
Back in 1996, a group of Cleveland-area nonprofits conducted their own survey to see how many preschools were expelling children.
They found more than 90 children had been kicked out of preschool programs in the previous six months, and that was just among those schools who bothered to return the survey.
"It was probably much worse," said Ann Bowdish, early childhood services director for the Positive Education Program.
So in 1997, Positive Education Program, a 30-year-old nonprofit that addresses children's social, emotional and behavioral problems, started a new program called Day Care Plus.
Today, Day Care Plus works directly with the teachers and families of more than 500 children at risk of being expelled from preschool. The program works, Bowdish says. More than 95 percent of the at-risk kids are able to stay in their current classroom as a result of the help.
Joanah, the Lakewood boy, is one of the few whom PEP Day Care Plus helped into a different program.
Consultant Anne Gannon worked one-on-one with the family, from meeting with Joanah's therapist to coordinating with the director of his new school, Lakewood Baptist Child Development Center.
"It's devastating to a parent to hear their child isn't accepted. I tell them, though, that sometimes it isn't a good match," Gannon says. "No, you're not a failure, and your child is not a failure -- we just have to find the right fit for him or her."
They found that fit at Lakewood Baptist Child Development Center, where Joanah is now in an integrated classroom that includes children at a variety of developmental stages.
Joanah's mom, Lori Napier, said the change took some adjustment but has been for the best. She credits Lakewood Baptist staff, who are diligent in keeping her apprised of what's happening day to day, as well as Gannon for stepping in when the mother felt she had nowhere else to turn.
"I feel like they're backing me up," Napier says.
What helps
There are things any preschool can do to help keep kids like Joanah in their classrooms.
Not all preschools are heartless. "The daycare business is a tough business," Gannon says. But sometimes people don't "get it."
In January 2008, Gilliam, the Yale researcher, followed up his study of preschool expulsions with a policy brief outlining what can be done to help curb the rate.
Near the top of the list: Teachers should have regular access to early childhood mental health consultants, people like Gannon, who can help them address challenging behaviors in the classroom.
Preschool teachers who reported having an ongoing relationship with a classroom-based mental health consultant are about half as likely to report expelling a preschooler, relative to teachers with no such support, according to Gilliam's research. Only about one-quarter of these teachers, however, reported regular classroom access to a mental health consultant.
Schools have speech-language pathologists, occupational therapy and special education programs. But this kind of help is often missing.
Gilliam says it's "actually very tragic that when you ask preschool teachers what they'd like assistance with more than anything else, they say behavioral issues."
His spotlight on the issue is beginning to pay off, according to Pre-K Now, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.
Several states, such as Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and Michigan, have expanded their early childhood mental health consultation systems, according to the group.
There are more practical changes preschools can make, too.
If a school does not have a documented expulsion policy, or specific policies against expulsion, that's the first step. Most states don't have procedures for preschools to follow like they do for K-12, and so problems often go unnoticed, Gilliam says.
Teachers also need to be treated with respect, given breaks and paid well. And, for all that, they need to be qualified.
The National Institute for Early Education Research recommends all lead teachers have bachelor's degrees, but fewer than half of the 38 states that sponsor preschool programs require such a credential.
"They're not just babysitters. Early care in education really does require some skill and some training," says McCabe, the Cornell early childhood expert.
Class size makes a difference
The National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends a ratio of no more than 10 students per teacher, and preschools need to enforce that, at a minimum, Gilliam says.
The recommendation resonates with Gannon, who sees class size as the biggest problem.
"When you have too many children in one area all trying to get the teacher's attention -- sometimes I'm wondering, why do they think this child has a behavior problem? I would have a behavior problem, too, if I was in this room," she says.
Besnoy, the New York City-area mom, feels that was a contributing factor in her son Wyatt's case. Wyatt was one of 17 kids in his former classroom, although the teacher had an aide.
"When you have that many kids ... you don't want the kid who's not cookie cutter. Because you don't have time to deal with them," Besnoy says.
Parents also bear responsibility, and many want help but don't know where to turn, Gannon says.
Maybe a child lacks a consistent bedtime, has an undiagnosed learning disability or is spoiled by parents who don't know how to set limits.
"Parents appreciate that (help), too. They like to know if what they're doing is working because they, of course, want their children to be successful, too," she says.
Gilliam says his study of preschool expulsion rates, the first national study conducted, actually was a small afterthought to a much larger study of preschool policies.
"It was this bizarre finding that was kind of thrown in there and has got all this attention," he says. "It's a good thing -- if it helps."
|
|
PEP
Leader Awarded for Commitment to
Children Top of
Page
Claudia Lann Valore, PEP Chief Program Officer, was recently awarded
the 2008 Beech Brook Hearts of Hope Award. This award recognizes caring
Northeast Ohioans who give hope to children in need.
Award
winners are both professionals and volunteers who have been helping
children for at least five years.
They were chosen by an independent panel of judges and were
presented the award at a luncheon on February 7th.
Nominated for this award by her colleagues, Claudia has been
with PEP for 30 years.
Beginning as a teacher-counselor, she was promoted through many
positions before becoming a key member of PEP's leadership team.
Working as front line staff, and well before the No Child Left
Behind Act mandated effective education for all children, Claudia designed
a model of effective instruction that allowed teachers to effectively
teach all children, regardless of their academic or mental health
challenges. She recognized
that building academic competence, in and of itself, is emotionally
healing. Claudia took this
belief and operationalized it, creating processes by which teachers could
instruct children who exhibit significant emotional and behavioral
challenges. It is because of
her instructional system that children at PEP have been taught
successfully, possibly for the first time in their
lives.
Through
her personal commitment to troubled and troubling children and her
motivational teaching, thousands of children in Greater Cleveland have new
skills, and new hope for a brighter future.
|
Top of Page
Positive Education Program's Day Care Plus provides consultation
services and technical assistance to child care providers, and support for
families with children experiencing difficulties in the child care
setting. Click Here to learn more about Day Care Plus.
Alternatives to expelling
preschoolers sought
Educators try to help
children adjust
January 11, 2008
By ANGELA TOWNSEND
The Plain
Dealer
Thousands
of American preschoolers are expelled every year for offenses ranging from
biting to tantrums, but a new study says those numbers could be cut.
"We're
not saying, 'Don't expel children,' " said Walter Gilliam, director of the
Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University
and author of the study released Thursday.
"But
we are saying, do something differently," he said.
Among the
suggestions are smaller day-care and preschool classrooms - no more than
10 students per teacher; access to early childhood mental health
consultants; and effective ways, such as reasonable work hours and regular
breaks, for teachers to alleviate stress.
Billie
Osborne-Fears, executive director of Starting Point for Child Care and
Early Education in Cleveland, praised the study's renewed focus on early
childhood behavioral issues.
"Somewhere
down the line, we got away from the social and emotional, and toward
[stressing] academics," Osborne-Fears said. "We have come full circle. I'm
so glad to get back to our roots."
In
fact, the Cleveland area has tackled day-care and preschool expulsion
head-on since 1996.
That
year, a survey revealed an alarming rate of preschool expulsions that
"literally blew everyone away," said Ann Bowdish, early childhood services
director for the Positive
Education Program.
"Something had to happen."
The
following year, in collaboration with Starting Point and the Cuyahoga
County Community Mental Health Board, PEP
- which works with day-care centers and school districts on children's
social, emotional and behavioral problems - created a consultation service
called Day Care Plus.
Today
Day Care Plus provides consultation and training to 90 child care centers
and preschools.
In
the year ending June 2007, Day Care Plus worked with 534 children who were
in danger of being expelled. With the program's help, more than half of
the 23 students who were eventually asked to leave were placed in another
setting.
Dana
Weiss' daughter Maddison was expelled from two Strongsville day-care
centers last year after parents complained she was biting and hitting
their children.
Maddison,
2, is a sweet, smart, high-energy child, according to her mom.
"She's
very happy and loving, but she's got a mean streak in her," Weiss said.
"It's difficult when you know that your child is the most wonderful person
in the world."
Help
came when a teacher at the second center called in PEP, which dispatched a
Day Care Plus consultant.
It
turned out that the center's environment was too big for the little girl,
who was being deprived of the one-on-one attention needed to improve
delays in her speech, social and emotional skills.
Maddison
has since thrived in a private home-based center and will enroll in a
preschool next month when she turns 3.
"I
think she's going to blossom," Weiss said.
The
Young Futures Child Care Center in Cleveland has 13 preschool-aged
children and two teachers. Even in that small setting, "You still pull
your hair out sometimes," said center administrator Yvonne Wallace.
The
center has become an "intensive site," meaning that Day Care Plus
consultant Cathy Moore drops in a couple of times a week. During one such
visit this week, Moore worked with a 3-year-old boy with a history of
challenging behavior.
"It's
allowed me to continue keeping the children enrolled," Wallace said. "I've
never kicked a child out."
Several
other agencies also provide consulting services similar to Day Care Plus.
For
example, the Pepper Pike-based social services agency Beech Brook last
fiscal year received nearly 200 referrals for mental health
services.
The
Community Psychiatric Supportive Treatment program at Applewood Centers
sends consultants directly to homes and deals with everything from a
child's depression and anxiety to attention-deficit disorder.
Across
the country, there are few statewide programs that provide the type of
mental health consultation the study advocates. Michigan and Connecticut
are among only a handful of states with programs in place, Gilliam said.
Ohio's
Department of Mental Health offers consultation services for preschoolers
at risk from being removed from child care. The Early Childhood Mental
Health Consultation program had referrals for 1,163 preschool children in
the year that ended in June. Of those, 1,044 were able to be stay in their
centers.
The
program also trained 3,469 early childhood providers.
Ohio
does not require documentation of preschool expulsions, nor does it
provide assistance to families of expelled children - two things the study
advocates.
The
state does, however, require social, emotional and behavioral screenings
within 60 days of a child entering a state-funded program (such as Head
Start), said Sandy Miller, director of Early Learning and School Readiness
for the Ohio Department of Education.
Other
services are provided to families when needed, she said.
"We
have to help folks understand the range of behaviors of young children and
acting out that happens for a variety of reasons during these early
years," Miller said. "Well-designed learning experiences and well-educated
staff who understand social development can make a big difference in how
children 'behave.' "
The full study can be found at www.fcd-us.org/resources
. Search for
"expulsion." |
|
PEP Pilots Bibliotherapy Curriculum in Local Districts
Top of
Page
Positive
Education Program (PEP) recently introduced its Intervention-Based
Bibliotherapy curriculum to students and teachers in four local
districts. Through an
introductory pilot project, children in eight classrooms will
participate in this unique curriculum, which seamlessly blends
Language Arts standards with social-emotional objectives.
Through
grant funding from The George Gund Foundation, PEP was able to
develop a comprehensive pilot project, providing training and
support for teachers as well as structured curriculum guides for
classroom use. The
pilot is being conducted in the city school districts of Brunswick,
Cleveland Heights/University Heights, East Cleveland and Parma. During the initial stages of
the project, teacher feedback has been positive and
enthusiastic.
The
pilot project was developed in response to a high level of interest
expressed by educators for instructional tools to use to help their
students learn to identify and manage their feelings. The first phase of the
project allows PEP to test the curriculum in more traditional
educational settings and determine overall teacher satisfaction with
the lessons.
Participating teachers will receive ongoing training and
support from PEP bibliotherapy experts throughout the project,
creating a learning environment where the sharing of ideas is
constantly nurtured.
Through
a second component of the pilot project, PEP will gather data to
determine the effect the curriculum has on students with serious
emotional challenges.
Together, the two components will determine whether PEP?s
Intervention-Based Bibliotherapy curriculum could be appropriately
used in various educational environments. It will also help PEP to
determine if this information can be successfully shared with peers
and colleagues.
The
Intervention-Based Bibliotherapy curriculum has been used with great
success within PEP classrooms for several years. The curriculum allows
teachers and students to talk about difficult issues such as
bullying, peer pressure, prejudices and stereotypes, coping with
grief, and coping with learning disabilities. Students are able to address
these topics through a once-removed perspective. They are able to identify
with characters in a story and relate to their challenges, thereby
sharing their own experiences through the safety of literature. The curriculum also provides
teachers the language and instruction to tackle difficult
social-emotional issues while providing critical language arts
instruction.
Funding
for the development and implementation of PEP?s Intervention-Based
Bibliotherapy curriculum was provided by the following foundations:
The Abington Foundation, The Althans Foundation, The Ellie Fund, The
George Gund Foundation, Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, McGinty
Family Foundation, The South Waite Foundation, and Thomas H. White
Foundation.
|
|
Akron's superintendent search
to include ideas from residents
Top of Page
Angela Townsend's Education
Column
January 8, 2008
By Angela Townsend
The Plain Dealer
The
Akron School District will gather opinions tonight from residents as it
embarks on a search for a new superintendent. The school board will hold a
public meeting at 6 p.m. at the Central Learning Center, 400 W. Market
St., Akron. Residents will be asked to share their expectations for a new
leader and to identify the major issues the district will face in the next
three to five years.
Last
month Superintendent Sylvester Small announced his plans to retire at the
end of July. In 2001, Small became the district's first black
superintendent after spending his entire career in Akron public schools.
Help
for autism:
The
Cleveland Clinic and Monarch School are often in the spotlight for
services they provide to children with autism, but two other local
agencies also have a long track record in that area.
The
Cleveland-based Positive Education Program has 10 treatment centers
to help school districts educate children with social, emotional and
behavioral problems.
One
center's focus is on children and young adults with autism. In the past
three years the number of students in the program has increased from 60 to
90. To contact PEP, go to pepcleve.org or call 216-361-4400.
Highland
Hills-based Achievement Centers for Children provides rehabilitation
therapies, recreation, education and family support services for children
with disabilities.
Its
autism program started in 1998. Fourteen students are in year-round
preschool, and 12 stu dents are in grades K- 4. The goal: to teach
students skills needed to rejoin a regular classroom setting and to help
school districts create an environment that helps the children learn. To
contact the center, go to achievementcenters.org or call 216-292-9700.
Expulsion
study:
Nearly
three years ago a study highlighted an alarming trend in education --
pre-kindergarten students being expelled at a higher rate than children in
grades K-12. On Thursday the people behind that initial research will
release a follow-up study, which identifies three ways that policymakers
can reduce those expulsion rates.
Yale
University's Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy
will talk about its findings, based on data from the 40 states that
provide money for pre-kindergarten education. To read the center's 2005
report, go to the resource library link on fcd-us.org and search under
"expulsion."
Generous
gifts:
The
Friends of the Cleveland School of the Arts, a nonprofit created in 1982
to raise money for the school, has received a donation for the school's
literacy program and music department.
The
David H. and Barbara M. Jacobs Charitable Trust recently gave $50,000 for
the literacy program and a $60,000 gift for instruments, supplies, choir
uniforms, private lessons and other supplies.
The school
has 640 students in grades 7 to12. |
|
PEP CEO Co-Authors Special Education Training Manual
Top of Page
Frank Fecser, Positive Education Program CEO, is the
co-author of the recently released sixth edition textbook entitled
Conflict in the Classroom - Positive Staff Support for Troubled
Students. The book is widely used for training special educators,
providing valuable support and advice from those experienced in teaching
troubled students.
Several members of PEP's leadership authored chapters in this
book. An abstract follows:
Conflict in the Classroom - Positive Staff Support for
Troubled Students
Abstract from the Publisher (PRO-ED,
Inc.)
Gone are the days when educating at-risk and troubled
students are solely the responsibility of the Special Educator in a
designated classroom. Presently, conflict exists in every classroom
and each student's adversity comes in varying degrees - depression,
defiance, violence, poverty, abuse, neglect, etc. For the staff
member involved, theories from a textbook rarely provide the assistance
and support their students need in effectively coping with the daily
trials and tribulations.
The sixth edition of Conflict in the Classroom
provides this
much-needed reality-based support. It's filled with practical
strategies and advice from teachers, authors, and colleagues who
have first-hand real life experience with the troubled student. Each
meaningful chapter is woven together by the humanistic beliefs of
psychoeducation, a concern for both the inner life and external
behavior. It's a fusion of current and effective educational and
mental health practices. |
|
PEP
CEO Earns Woodruff Prize Top of Page
The
Woodruff Foundation, which supports behavioral health care, education and
research in Cuyahoga County, recently awarded Frank A. Fecser, Ph.D. with
its 2007 Woodruff Prize.
Given
by the Woodruff Foundation, this distinguished honor annually recognizes
one individual and one organization that have demonstrated outstanding
work in the fields of mental health and/or chemical dependency.
Dr.
Fecser, CEO of Positive Education Program (PEP), was nominated to receive
this award by PEP staff and board members, as well as community leaders
and peers, who recognize the extraordinary leadership and guidance he
provides to the mental health community.
Dr.
Fecser's tenure with PEP spans 30 years, beginning as a classroom
teacher. With his guidance
PEP has earned the reputation as one of the county's leaders in the area
of multi-system collaboration and is a local and national leader in
children's metal health. Dr.
Fecser is the co-founder of the Life Space Crisis Intervention Institute
and is co-author of the recently published books Conflict in the
Classroom - Positive Staff Support for Troubled Students and Life
Space Crisis Intervention: Talking with Students in Conflict.
According
to the criteria of the Woodruff Prize program, the $10,000 award to an
individual must be donated to a nonprofit organization of the winner's
choosing. Dr.
Fecser has designated Positive Education
Program. |
John Nosek Receives
Distinguished
Award Top of Page
John Nosek, PEP?s Government Affairs Director, was the 2007
recipient of Beech Brook?s Suzanne Brookhart Harrison Award for
Exceptional Service to Children, the highest honor bestowed by the
agency. The award recognizes an individual who has devoted his/her
career to helping children.
As the name indicates, this award honors
Suzanne Brookhart Harrison, a lifelong friend of Beech Brook and
enthusiastic supporter of issues that help children. John Nosek is a fitting candidate for this
award.
Like
Suzanne Brookhart Harrison, he too is committed to helping children have
the opportunity for a bright future.
For nine years, John has been with PEP, advocating for children and
their families. He serves on numerous community boards and committees,
ensuring that the needs of children in this community are addressed.
Through John?s daily work, he affects change for countless Northeast Ohio
children and their families.
PEP proudly congratulates John on this well-deserved
recognition! |
|