HEALTHY SOCIAL BEHAVIORS PROJECT

The Healthy Social Behaviors Project was established to address behavioral issues in young children by offering services designed to identify, prevent, and modify challenging behaviors with a goal of reducing expulsion rates and promoting social-emotional development for all children. 

 

HSB Specialists have an early childhood education background and are passionate about empowering teachers to develop learning environments and teaching practices to promote social skills in young children. AACF’s HSB Specialist offers FREE support to teachers by providing technical assistance, coaching, and professional development to prevent and address challenging behaviors, as well as promote children’s social competence.  The HSB Specialist also works with teachers to implement effective classroom management strategies and Pyramid Model strategies to teach children socially appropriate behaviors.

 

Eligibility Criteria for HSB Services:

• Any licensed childcare facility in Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Northampton, Pasquotank or Perquimans counties that cares for children ages 0-5 years of age.  This includes NC Pre-K classrooms, Early Head Start and Head Start Programs, Developmental Day Programs, and GS 110-106 centers.

 

Why do teachers need HSB Specialists?

• Research shows that between the ages of 2 and 5 the brain is primed and ready to learn to manage impulses and emotions. (Mann, Hund, Hesson-McInnis, & Roman, 2017)

• Research supports the importance of developing social-emotional competence in preparing children for school readiness, peer relationships, positive attitudes toward school, emotional self-management, and academic achievement (Blair & Razza, 2007; Mann et al., 2017; Razza & Raymond, 2015)

• Preschool children are suspended up to three times more than students from kindergarten through 12th grades  (United States Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, 2012) 

• The Pyramid Model is listed as a recommended multi-tiered approach to prevent and limit expulsions and suspensions in early childhood settings (United States Department of Education and Health and Human Services Department, 2014)