A PROJECT OF SERESC
Developing a Screening Process for
Determining Young Children in
Need of Targeted Supports
2015 Alaska RTI Conference
January 25, 2015
Howard Muscott, Ed.D, Director
NH Center for Effective Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Bedford, NH
www.nhcebis.seresc.net; 603-206-6891; hmuscott@seresc.net
Outcomes
A PROJECT OF SERESC
1. Understand how Tier 2 supports fit into the 3Tier PWPBIS as Response to Instruction
Framework
2. Identify three pathways for determining risk;
3. Develop a form for gathering information from
staff;
4. Develop behavioral indicators and cut scores; &
5. Understand how to use a normed systematic
screening assessment.
6. To learn about how screening was successfully
used to implement Tiered Interventions in Head
Starts
Agenda
A PROJECT OF SERESC
1. Overview of PWPBIS
2. Features of Tier 2
3. Pathways for Determining
Risk
4. Teacher Nomination
5. Behavioral Indicators
6. Normed Screening Tools and
Procedures
7. Post Screening Processes
5
A Systemic Multi-tiered
Approach
A PROJECT OF SERESC
“PBIS has allowed me to address
problems early before they
escalated and became a crisis. The
shift from reactive to proactive has
been one of the best changes I’ve
seen in all my years of consulting in
Head Start programs.”
NH Head Start Mental Health Consultant
Program-wide Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports
A PROJECT OF SERESC
6
Muscott, Mann & Pomerleau (2008)
PWPBIS is a systematic framework for
improving valued social, emotional,
behavioral and learning outcomes for young
children in early childhood education
programs.
PWPBIS uses a broad set of evidence-based
systemic and individualized strategies to
effectively prevent and respond to challenging
problem behavior and collaborate with
families.
PWPBIS is a strategic approach in which
collaborative teams use effective group
processes and data-based decision-making to
achieve desired outcomes.
7
Program-wide Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports Systems
Supporting
Decision
Making
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Supporting
Staff Behavior
SYSTEMS
PRACTICES
Supporting
Student Behavior and Families
DATA
Program-wide Positive Behavior Supports in
Early Childhood Education Programs
Tertiary Intervention:
Function-Based Support
for Children with
Persistent Challenges
Primary
Promotion: High
Quality Early
Education for All
Children
Individualized
Strategies
Social and
Emotional
Teaching Strategies
Secondary
Prevention:
Explicit Instruction
for Groups of
Children at Risk
Preventative Practices
Building Positive Relationships
with Children and Families
Muscott, Mann & Pomerleau (2008)
Adapted from the Center on the Social and Educational Foundations for Early Learning
8
A PROJECT OF SERESC
9
10
Tier 1: Primary Prevention in ECE
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Tier 1, primary prevention, is designed to
address the whole population in the ECE
program
 While applied to the entire preschool, the
emphasis here is on reaching the
approximately 80-90% of young children
who do not have serious behavior problems
or mental health needs
 The purpose of universal strategies is to
maximize learning, deter problem behavior,
and increase positive peer and adult
interactions
11
Tier 1: Primary Prevention in ECE
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 All children should
receive sufficient
density of positive
feedback from their
caregivers.
 All families should be
positively engaged.
Building Positive Relationships
with Children and Families
Sources: Shores, Gunter, & Jack, 1993; Brendekamp & Copple, 1997).
12
Tier 1: Primary Prevention in ECE
A PROJECT OF SERESC
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Maintain a predictable
schedule
Minimize and plan
effective transitions
Provide visual reminders
of rules
Teach appropriate behavior
Use positive reinforcement
to promote appropriate
behavior
Provide choices where
appropriate, and
Maximize child
engagement to minimize
problem behaviors.
Preventative Practices
Sources: Laus, Danko, Lawry, Strain, & Smith, 1999; Strain & Hemmeter (1999)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Tier 2: Secondary Prevention in
Early Childhood Education
 Tier 2, secondary prevention, is aimed at the
roughly 5-10% of young children considered at
risk for developing behavioral disorders or
mental illness
 These students enter school with significant
risk factors and are usually unresponsive to
universal prevention strategies alone.
 The goal of secondary prevention is two-fold:
 To decrease opportunities in which high-risk
behaviors might be fostered
 To establish effective and efficient prosocial
repertoires that would increase their
responsiveness to primary interventions
14
Tier 2: Secondary Prevention in
ECE
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Explicit instruction in
emotional literacy skills,
controlling impulses and
anger and friendship-making
skills is provided to small
groups of children.
 Research indicates that
systematic efforts to promote
children’s social
competence can have both
preventive and remedial
effects.
Social &
Emotional
Teaching
Strategies
Sources: Fox, Dunlap, Hemmeter, Joseph & Strain, 2003; Webster-Stratton & Reid (2004)
15
Tier 3: Tertiary Interventions
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Level 3, tertiary interventions, targets the 1-5%
of young children who display persistent
challenging symptoms or behaviors
 The goal of tertiary interventions is to reduce the
frequency, intensity and complexity of a child's
maladaptive behavior patterns and provide
him/her with suitable, efficient and effective
replacement behaviors that will compete with
his/her more maladaptive ones.
 Tertiary interventions are individualized,
assessment-based and designed to meet
individual needs.
16
Tier 3: Tertiary Interventions
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Function-based interventions
are developed through the
process of functional
assessment (FA) and
behavior support plans
(BSP).
 Functional assessment
determines why the student
exhibits challenging
behavior.
 BSPs are most effective
when developed by a team
with family involvement.
Individualized
Strategies
Sources: Blair, Umbreit, & Eck, 2000; Dunlap & Fox, 1999; Galensky, Miltenberger,
Stricker, & Garlinghouse, 2001; Moes & Frea, 2000; Reeve & Carr, 2000).
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Steps for Addressing Children in
Need of Tier 2 Supports
Develop a process for
screening/nomination
of children who are not
responding to Tier 1
behavior supports and
may need additional
supports
What is Screening?
Salvia & Ysseldyke (1988)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Screening is an initial stage of
assessment in which those who may
evidence a particular problem are
sorted out from among the general
population.
 Individuals who perform poorly on
screening measures as considered “atrisk.”
Features of Good Universal
Screening
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Accurate
Cost
efficient
Acceptable
Useful
Why Universal Screening?
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 To find children whose problems are not
immediately obvious and identify
problems with a high degree of accuracy
 Early identification leads to early
intervention
 Preschools that implement Universal
Screening select interventions based on
results of the screening tools. This is
effective and efficient.
Universally Accepted Types of
Screening in School
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Readiness
Vision
Why not?
Hearing
Behavior
Dental
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Why Screen for Behavior
Disorders? It’s Costly Not To!
 Indicators of problem behaviors are evident in
preschoolers and elementary age students
 Internalizers are missed with other approaches
 Early intervention matters
 Schools are the only place where we have
universal access
 Recommended by the President’s New Freedom
Commission and Special Education Task Force,
Surgeon General, Safe Schools/Healthy
Students as an evidenced-based practice
Minimizing Errors
Effective Screening Programs
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 A screening-identification program to be
considered effective, it must insure acceptable
levels of accuracy, cost efficiency, and consumer
acceptance.
 Accuracy implies that the screening process
provides reliable and valid information for the
purposes of making decisions (Hartmann, Roper, &
Bradford, 1979).
 Cost efficiency means that, relative to the outcomes
produced or achieved, the system's implementation
does not consume too much professional time.
 Acceptance implies that such a system would be
adopted by professionals and used repeatedly over
time.
Screening for Behavior
A PROJECT OF SERESC
I’m Concerned About A Child
What Should I Do?
Activity 1: Current Supports
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Think: Identify your current
process for getting help with a
student for whom you have
behavioral concerns (5 minutes)
 Pair Up: Discuss with
colleagues next to you (5
minutes)
 Share Out: (5 minutes)
Activation Pathways to Secondary Tier 2
Systems of Behavior Support
Muscott & Mann (2010)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Students Are Not Responding to Core Curriculum & Tier 1 Systems
Universal
Screening
Using
Normed
Systematic
Screening
Assessments
Universal Screening Using Local
Benchmarks
Behavioral Indicators (+ and -)
Instances of Challenging Behavior,
Attendance, Tardiness,
Nurse Visits, etc.
Teacher
Nomination
Parent
Nomination
Secondary Systems Activation
through Team-based Decision Making Process
Teacher Activation to Tier 2 Team
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Begins with completion of an activation form
 Form should be efficient and easy to complete
 It should include a reason for requesting
supports
 It should include a quick data summary
including behavioral and academic indicators
 It could include what has been tried
 Amount of information should match what’s
necessary to make good decision about potential
supports
 Consider what forms and information were used
with Tier 1 teams
Nomination Form
Activity 2: Nomination Form
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Think: Review the example
nomination form. Make suggested
edits that might improve the form
for use in your early childhood
program. (10 minutes)
 Pair Up: Discuss with colleagues
next to you (5 minutes)
 Share Out: (5 minutes)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Early Identification: Behavioral
Indicators and Cut Scores
1. Behavioral indicators of
students at risk should be
identified
2. Indicators should be practical
and related to behavioral risk
3. Data indicators should be easy
to collect or already available
4. Cut scores should be determined
for time periods that are
Isn’t Challenging Behavior Enough?
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Students
Students
with
with
externalizing internalizing
problems?
problems?
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Challenging Behaviors
in Early Childhood
Physical Aggression
Verbal Aggression
Self-injury
Property Damage
Disruption/Tantrum
Non-compliance
Social
Withdrawal/Isolation
8. Inappropriate
Language
9. Running Away
10. Unsafe Behaviors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
32
Defining Challenging Behaviors
A PROJECT OF SERESC


Physical Aggression – forceful
physical actions directed towards
adults/peers that may result in physical
contact and injury (e.g., hitting, kicking,
spitting, pinching, and throwing
objects).
Verbal Aggression – the use of
threatening, offensive or intimidating
words directed towards an adult/peer
(e.g., screaming, name-calling,
swearing/ profanity, use of threats).
33
Defining Challenging Behaviors
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Disruption/Tantrum – an outburst or action
that prevents learning or interferes with
teaching and persists despite an adult’s request
to stop or attempt to provide support.
 Non-compliance – refusal to follow a
reasonable request, direction or the established
routine, which persists after multiple requests
and a reasonable amount of time.
 Running away – the act of leaving a
designated area of supervision or boundary of
play without permission and without
responding to the requests of an adult to
return.
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Tier 2 Behavioral Indicators, Cut
Scores and Benchmarking
Periods for ECE Programs
Indicator
November 1
February 1
March 1
Instances of
3 or more
Challenging Behavior
3 or more in
this timeframe
3 or more this
timeframe
Nurse TLC Visits
(Non-medical)
4 or more
4 in this
timeframe
4 in this
timeframe
Absences
3 or more
3 in this
timeframe
3 in this
timeframe
High Stress Event
(Death in immediate
family, divorce,
domestic violence,
1 or more
1 in this
timeframe
1 in this
timeframe
Behavioral Indicators within
Timeframe
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Office Discipline Referrals (no minors)
08/01/2009-10/06/2009
Students: 20 Referrals: 25
Activity 3: Behavioral Indicators
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Think: 1. Determine a practical time
period that aligns with your school
calendar. 2. Identify/name 2-3
potential Tier II indicators on the
chart. 3. For one indicator,
determine the cut score for the
initial time period.(10 minutes)
 Pair Up: Discuss with colleagues
next to you. (5 minutes)
 Share Out: (5 minutes)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Tier 2 Behavioral Indicators, Cut
Scores and Benchmarking
Periods for ECE Programs
Indicator
Date
Date
Date
Date
Features of an Evidence-based
Screening Practice
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Good psychometric properties
 Reliability
 Validity
 Screening selects true positives and
minimizes false negatives
 Multi-source and multi-method assessment
and intervention are the most accurate and
effective.
 Factors associated with long term outcomes
 Efficient to implement
 Low cost
 Intervention and services are targeted for the
appropriate child
39
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Scientifically Validated
Early Childhood Assessments
ASQ:SE Screening – Determining
the Need for Additional Supports
 An easy-to-use, research-validated screening system that helps
educators assess children’s social-emotional development
 Self-regulation, compliance, communication, adaptive
functioning, autonomy, affect, and interactions with people
With the results, professionals can
quickly recognize young children
at-risk for social or emotional
difficulties, identify behaviors of
concern to caregivers, and identify
any need for further assessment or
intervention.
41
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Devereux Early Childhood
Assessment Clinical (DECA-C)
Ages 2-5
 The DECA-C
 Protective Factor
assesses both social- Scales (Initiative,
emotional strengths
Self-control, and
(protective factors)
Attachment)
and behavioral
 Behavioral Concerns
concerns.
Scales (Attention
 During the past 4
Problems,
weeks…
Aggression,
 62 Items
Withdrawal/
 15-20 minutes
Depression,
 Teacher and Parent
Emotional Control
Versions
Problems).
Implementation Procedures
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Systematic screenings are
recommended twice a year in October
and February/March
 In preschools, classroom teachers
screen students in their class they have
known for at least 30 school days
 Group administration at a faculty
meeting or training is efficient –
allow 1 ½ to 2 hours
Activity 3: Scientifically
Based Screening
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Pair Up: Discuss feasibility of
using a systematic screening
process with colleagues next to you.
(10 minutes)
 Share Out: (5 minutes)
Ready for School Success - NH
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 New Hampshire Center for Effective Behavioral
Interventions and Supports – Program-Wide Positive
Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PW-PBIS)
 NH Head Start Programs: Southern NH Services, Inc.
(Manchester & Nashua ) & Belknap-Merrimack
(Laconia) Head Start Programs
 Support for RSS-NH is provided by the U. S.
Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free
Schools, under the Foundations for Learning Grants
Program
READY FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Ready for School Success – NH
THE CHALLENGE
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Early childhood educators frequently encounter students
who are at risk for school failure because they exhibit
challenging behavior or lack the required social-emotional
skills for school success.
 If not provided with high-quality, effective interventions,
many of these students, particularly those with externalizing
behaviors, continue onward to experience a negative
developmental trajectory through their childhood,
adolescent, and adult years.
 Despite the overall success of Head Start programs in
providing early intervention services to students from lowincome households, providing students who are dually at
risk with behavior challenges or social-emotional deficits
and one or more additional risk associated with Head Start
participation factors (e.g., family poverty, developmental
delays) with adequate access to evidence-based interventions
and supports has remained a major barrier for many young
students and their families.
Ready for School Success – NH
OUTCOMES
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Improve school readiness of dually at-risk
preschoolers attending the Southern New
Hampshire Services, Inc. (SNHHS) and
Community Action Program BelknapMerrimack Counties, Inc. Head Start (BMHS)
programs
 Enhancing child and family access to a
linguistically appropriate, culturally competent
and sustainable multi-tier continuum of program
and community-based social, emotional and
behavioral supports (PWPBIS)
 Results in measurable gains in student’s
emotional, behavioral, and social development
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Ready for School Success – NH
SCREENING
 Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social
Emotional Development (ASQ-SE)
 Each fall, the students were screened for risk by
both teachers and parents using the ASQ-SE
 Fall 2011 indicated 26% (66 of 257) of students
at SNHS and 41% (23 of 56) of students at
BMHS were screened at risk by either their
teachers or parents. Parents generally rated their
children as more at risk. For example at BMHS,
three times as many children were rated at risk
by their parents than their teachers.
Ready for School Success – NH
SUPPORTING Dually-At-RISK
STUDENTS
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Dually at risk if (a) qualified for Head Start
participation, as indicated by enrollment in one
of the participating Head Start locations, and
(b) fell within the at-risk range on the ASQ-SE.
 The project was very successful in providing
additional services to students who were
identified as at-risk
 88% having received Tier II and/or Tier III
interventions depending on need and
response to interventions (Some parents
refused services or supports).
ASQ:SE Results Fall 2010
BM-HS DATA
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Total # Children Screened: 56
Total Typical Risk: 35 (62.5%)
Total Elevated: 21 (37.5%)
Elevated Teacher Scores: 6 (11%)
Elevated Parent Scores: 15 (27%)
Elevated in Both: 4 (7%)
PW-PBIS Big Idea
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Data-based decision making
requires commitment to a consistent
and effective data collection and
decision making process to attain
positive child and program
outcomes
A PROJECT OF SERESC
“Insanity is engaging in the same process over and
over, and expecting different outcomes.”
Albert Einstein
Who should participate in
Tier 2 Interventions?
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Universal Teaching strategies are
geared toward the entire program,
and apply to all classrooms
 Targeted Group Interventions are for
children who are NOT responding to
the universal system and require more
support to be successful
 Includes children either from a
classroom or across multiple
classrooms that need additional
social-emotional support
Tier 2: Secondary Prevention in
ECE
 Explicit instruction in
emotional literacy skills,
controlling impulses and
anger and friendshipmaking skills is provided
to small groups of children.
 Research indicates that
systematic efforts to
promote children’s social
competence can have both
preventive and remedial
effects.
Social &
Emotional
Teaching
Strategies
Sources: Fox, Dunlap, Hemmeter, Joseph & Strain, 2003; Webster-Stratton & Reid (2004)
Create Process for Implementing
Targeted Group Interventions
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Identify which children need TGI
 Identify the primary skill deficits
 Assign child to appropriate
intervention based on his/her needs
 Identify who will implement the
targeted group support
 Identify what to teach, where, when,
& how
READY FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS-NEW HAMPSHIRE
2011-12 BEHAVIOR SUPPORT CONTINUUM FOR DUALLY AT-RISK CHILDREN ATTENDING BELKNAP-MERRIMACK HEAD START AT LACONIA
A PROJECT OF SERESC
All Head Start Funded Children Screened within 45 Days by Teachers &
Parents
Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQE –SE)
(n=59)
Core Head Start
Program &
Monitor Progress
N=20
Children Screened as Dually At Risk (29 of 59 = 49%)
Children Without Elevated Teacher or Parent Ratings (30 of 59 =
51%)
Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQE –SE)
Children with Elevated Teacher Rating
Only (n=4 = 7%)
Children with Elevated Parent Rating
Only (n=15 = 25%)
Children with Elevated Teacher and
Parent Ratings (n=10= 17%)
Teacher Nominations without
Elevated Ratings on Either (n=10 =
17%)
All 39 Children Nominated for Social Skills Instruction (12 lessons)
Receive Social Skills Instruction
Complete Social Skills Instruction
DECA Completed
Incident Data Collected
Dually At Risk Children Reassessed After Social Skills Instruction
Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQE –SE) – Teacher Rating Only
Improved; Did Not Improve
Teacher Rating of Skill Improvement
Significantly Improved; Partially Improved; Did Not Improve
Creative Curriculum
Significantly Improved; Did Not Improve
Parents of Dually At Risk Children Nominated for Parent Skills Group
(once per week for six weeks)
attend and complete Parent Skills Group
Parents of Dually At Risk Children for Who Complete Parent Skills Group
Assess Skills/Dispositions with Pre-Post Self-Assessment
Parent Stress Inventory
Parents Rate Their Child Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional
(ASQE –SE)
Dually At Risk Children Who Did Not Respond Nominated for Big Bs Card
__ Begin Big B Program Daily in May
Monitor Progress
56
RSS-NH Tiered
Interventions
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Tier 1 Core Instruction at Head
Starts
 Tier 2 Continuum
 Social Skills Group Instruction
 Teacher Check Connect and
Expect
 Parent Education Classes
 Tier 3 Individualized Behavior
Plans
57
RSS-NH: Social Skills Instruction
Adapted from Center on Social Emotional
Foundations for Early Learning
A PROJECT OF SERESC




One time per week group 30 minutes
4-6 children
12 lessons in 2011-12
Samples
1 )I was so mad!
Goal: To increase emotional literacy; learn to express feelings in
healthy ways, to increase problem solving
2) How am I feeling?
Goal: To increase emotional literacy and to help children begin to
understand the mind body connection, increase empathy
3) What could you do to help?
Goal: To increase problem solving skills, develop theory of mind
and sense of altruism, and increase personal responsibility
4) What might happen?
Goal: To increase understanding of cause and effect; and problem
solving
5) Stop light/ solutions kit.
Goal: To teach and practice problems solving steps.
Problem Solving
Steps
?
1. What is my problem?
2. Think, think, think
of some solutions
3. What would happen if…?
Would it be safe? Would it be fair?
How would everyone feel?
4. Give it a try!
Frustrated
Sad
Frustrated
Embarrassed
Mad
Learning Self Control
 Recognizing that anger can interfere
with problem solving
 Learning how to recognize anger in
oneself and others
 Learning how to calm down
 Understanding appropriate ways to
express anger
Turtle Technique
Recognize
that you
“Think”
Stop.
feel angry.
Go into shell.
Take 3 deep
breathes.
And think
calm, coping
thoughts.
Come out of
shell when
calm and
think of a
solution.
62
Teacher Check, Connect and Expect
Mann and Muscott (2007); Adapted from Cheney (2006)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Teacher Check, Connect and Expect is an efficient,
early, & systematic response for students not
responding to primary prevention systems of behavior
support.
 Occurs prior to implementing more sophisticated &
less efficient secondary supports.
 TCCE is a procedure in which classroom teachers
provide higher rates of feedback & attention to ‘atrisk’ students for exhibiting expected classroom
behaviors linked to school-wide expectations
 TCCE allows for a systematic monitoring of student
behavior using data-based decision-making.
Teacher Check, Connect & Expect
Mann and Muscott (2007)
 Offers an immediate and low effort approach
whereby teachers:
 greet child at the beginning of the day
 review their behavior on a daily chart based
on classroom schedule & established
expectations
 provide feedback and encouragement at
each checkpoint & the end of the day
The Potential Benefits of
Involvement in TCCE
1. Provides increased positive teacher-child
contacts before relationship is damaged by
repetitious conflict (builds relationship)
2. Provides increased reinforcement to the child
for following expectations (builds self-esteem,
self-worth)
3. Provides increased home-school
communication and partnership (daily feedback
to family)
4. Provides an early, effective and efficient
response to emerging problem behavior before
it becomes chronic and engrained
Potential Benefits of Involvement in
Teacher Check Connect Expect
5. Connects logically and easily to program-
wide system of behavior support
6. Provides an efficient and measurable
assessment of progress that helps determine
if interventions are working
7. Provides information that may be useful for
identification of predictors of behavior
should more supports be needed.
8. Data can be entered in BIRCHIS™

Teacher:__________________
Name:_____________________
Classroom:_________________
Date:______________________
Be Safe
I earned _______ Green Lights
(Optional _______ of 28)
Be Kind
Be Careful with
Our Things
Make it Better
Arrival
Breakfast
Circle
Free Choice/Play
Small Group Activities
Outdoor Play
Lunch
Tomorrow is a new day. I will try again tomorrow. 
Updated
10-20-11

Name:_______________
I earned ____ Green Lights
Today is:_____________
(Optional ____ of 7)
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Be Safe
Wait Safely with Adult
Sit Down & Buckle Up
Stay in Seat
Hands and Feet to Self
Quiet Voice
Wait for Bus to Stop
Un-buckle
Tomorrow is a new day. I will try again tomorrow. 
Updated
10-20-11
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Ready for School Success – NH
PARENT EDUCATION
 38 participating parents attended 6-8 week
parenting classes (70% or more of classes)
 Used the Center on the Social Emotional
Foundations for Early Learning curriculum, an
empirically validated, widely recognized program
 Focused on strengthening parenting
competencies and fostering parents’ involvement
in children’s school experiences in order to
promote children’s academic, social, and
emotional competencies and reduce conduct
problems
Ready for School Success – NH
PARENT EDUCATION
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Care was taken to avoid time-related conflicts that
might preclude attendance, such as scheduling the
parent training during non-traditional hours to
better accommodate working families’ schedules.
 Reimbursement was offered for transportation
costs (e.g., taxi/bus fare or fuel consumption) to
and from the group location.
 Language translation services during the skills
group were offered to parents whose primary
language was not English.
 Child-care services or reimbursement were offered
to participating parents to cover the parenting skills
group scheduled meeting time.
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Ready for School Success – NH
Child GAINS
 91.4% of the 47 students who were
identified as at-risk by teacher ratings
exhibited an improvement of 15% or
greater on the ASQ-SE.
 Additionally, students who exhibited
improvement typically exceeded the cut-off
point of 15% by a wide margin, with an
average improvement of 45.6% in 2010-11,
and 57.1% in 2011-12.
 By the project’s end, 44.6% of students
whose teacher ratings had indicated
elevated risk now fell in the typical risk
category
Ready for School Success –
NH CHILD GAINS
A PROJECT OF SERESC
 Incident data on challenging behaviors was
collected on 32 at-risk students from the two Head
Starts during the winter and spring of school year
2011-12.
 Twelve students had no documentable behavioral
incidents during the data collection period and as
a result were considered successful.
 In addition 14 students reduced the number of
behavioral incidents by at least 25%. All told, 26 of
32 students were successful in meeting the
performance measure.
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Ready for School Success – NH
PARENT GAINS
 Parent survey responses to the parenting class
indicated high levels of satisfaction, with parents
reporting increased confidence in their ability to
build a positive relationship with their child, to
figure out reasons their child acts as he or she does,
and to have clear expectations and house rules.
 Parents also indicated that they were more likely to
actively engage in teaching social skills and to use
different strategies to promote positive behavior,
and that they would be likely to recommend the
training to other parents.
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Ready for School Success – NH
PARENTAL STRESS
 Parenting Stress Index – Short
Form (PSI-SF)
 Average decline in total parental
stress in parents who participated in
the training at Belknap-Merrimack
Head Start
 Pre-test percentile ranking of
75.7% (average raw score, 90.5)
 Post-test percentile ranking of
53.1% (average raw score, 75.5).
A PROJECT OF SERESC
Ready for School Success –
NH
PARENT EDUCATION
 Participation in parent education
programs was associated with
improvements in student behavior and
development.
 8 children at SNHHS identified as at-risk
on the ASQ-SE teacher rating scale and
whose parents participated in the
education programs
 Showed an average improvement of 26%
in teacher ratings of social emotional
development by the conclusion of the
education program