Project BEST: Helping kids, teachers learn in the classroom
Flying fists, screaming and temper tantrums are things most parents must endure when their children are young.
But getting a call from your child’s teacher or child care provider — especially when your child hasn’t even started preschool yet — telling you it’s time to find another educator isn’t a good sign.
In an effort to curb specific problem behaviors in children, Family Resources’ Project BEST is starting its second year helping area child care providers and preschool teachers know how to handle challenging children one child at a time.
Project BEST, which stands for “Behavioral Evaluation, Support and Training,” offers free comprehensive consultation services for infants through age 5. Through classroom and individual child observations, provider training, parents’ education, program development and child-focused interventions, Project BEST hopes to turn negative behavior into a positive experience for everyone involved.
Alice Novak, executive director for Project BEST, thinks a lot of challenging behavior comes from environmental aspects.
“A lot of times, something that puts them over the edge is something that the adult is doing and has to adjust,” Novak said.
With more than 80 licensed child care centers and 290 family day care homes in Scott County, there are a lot of children in the early childhood education realm that could take advantage of Project BEST. The only requirements of the program are that the child must attend an early childhood school or day care provider in Scott County and be less than 6 years old.
According to Novak, it’s three times more likely for a child to get kicked out of an early childhood setting, such as a private day care provider or facility, than to be expelled when he or she reaches high school.
“Preschool challenging behavior has a correlation to juvenile delinquency, but it’s harder and more expensive to deal with when a child gets older,” Novak said. “Their brain becomes hard-wired and so stuck in this survival mode that the brain will have a hard time moving into the problem-solving mode.”
Scott County providers and day care centers can request Novak’s free aid to come and observe any particular classroom or child from birth to age 6. Any leads Project BEST receives come through referral.
Although most of last year’s 24 children served through the program were preschool age, Novak is hoping this year’s numbers will not only double but that more young children around 2 or younger will get involved with the program.
“People just don’t know the red flags to look for when their child is younger,” Novak said. “If your child cries too much, is very fussy or other similar situations, it’s one where we could come out and help.”
Funded under empowerment state funds, Project BEST runs on a $113,000 budget. Those funds are allocated through Scott County Kids and must be renewed annually.
The organization is focusing its dollars on a select group of children instead of a larger demographic, but Scott County Kids Executive Director Marcy Mendenhall thinks the program is right on target.
“We feel investing in this population has been an advantageous move to handle these behaviors on a pre-emptive level,” Mendenhall said. “This money could be spread out between other kids, but we do believe funding this program will bring change by helping providers have a strategy.”
Bettendorf in-home child care provider Mary Cameron knows having a better strategy or game plan will help her 12-year-old day care business. Last year, Cameron had Novak help her with a 4-year-old boy who didn’t know how to control himself or interact with other children.
“Even though I’ve been doing it for a long time, it’s nice to have pointers and to help me stay on track,” said Cameron, who watches six children during the day. “In the past, I was alone. No one came in to observe or help. In the past, you just pray and wait until they go off to kindergarten.”
Even though parents and educators push children to know their ABCs and colors quickly, Novak said having the social part of education is more crucial than letters or colors.
“We really work on social and emotional learning strategies, because 80 percent of a kindergarten class should be about social aspects while the other 20 percent is the education,” Novak said.
After the observations, specific play activities, different teacher tactics and sometimes professional “play” counseling, most children do improve with the help of Project BEST.
Kathy Schulte, Early Childhood Services Principal at Davenport’s Children’s Village West, loves having another individual to bounce ideas off of.
“We try all of these interventions, but it’s so great to have that new perspective come in and so an assessment to see how we can change the classroom,” said Schulte, who used Project BEST in three different scenarios last year. “It’s another great resource for all Scott County early childhood providers so that we can pull together to work for what’s best for the children.”
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