Partnerships
Project CLASS Partnerships encompass two broad collaboration categories:
Project CLASS for Schools
Project CLASS for Community
Both sets of Partnership address the Background, Need and Obstacles described below.
Project CLASS for Schools
Project CLASS for Schools collaborates with a number of elementary schools and early childhood centers. School partners include Houston ISD, Spring Branch ISD, KIPP Charter schools, Catholic and Faith-based schools. These partnerships involve an integrated series of comprehensive services covering the full-school year and impacting all students and all teachers in each school, with intensified and individualize services for the children with behavior problems. The comprehensive services include: Project CLASS Core-Skills Workshop Training (In-Person or Virtual); In-classroom visitation and modeling on a regular and ongoing basis; Group and Individualized contact with the children with the most behavior problems and social skills deficits; Poster Sets in English & Spanish; Social Skills Activities coupled with Parent & Educator Guides; Songs & Music & Movements; and more. A more comprehensive description of services follows- after Project CLASS for Community.
Project CLASS for Community
Project CLASS for Community is an exciting and creative set of services complementing Project CLASS for Schools. With the goal of helping tens of thousands, potentially hundreds of thousands more children, parents, teachers, grandparents, foster parents, youth ministers, daycare & after-school staff, HAP has developed the rarest of rarities: a way to serve an astonishing number of children and adults that is remarkably cost effective and economically viable.
Project CLASS for Community collaborates with teachers, parents, grandparents and other caring adults through families, schools, daycares, after-school, YMCAs, churches, and other organizations.
Project CLASS for Community involves 10 components: an integrated series of 1) Children’s Books, 2) Animated Films, 3) Comprehensive Parent & Educator Activities Guides, 4) Songs, 5) Song Animations, 6) Demonstration Videos, 7) Virtual Training Sessions (Zoom & Webinar), 8) Coaching, 9) Partnerships, and 10) Community Awareness Outreach. The Books, Animated Films, Guides, Songs, Animated Songs, and Demonstration Videos are all free internet giveaways available to all with instant access. The Children's Books, Animated Films Social Skills Initiative is part of Project CLASS for Community.
Partnership Opportunities: Help-Line & Liaison & Training Collaboration
The Project CLASS Help-Line & Liaison & Training Collaboration is a year-long relationship and collaboration comprised of: Workshop Training experiences in-person & virtual; On-site Consultation; Help-Line Coaching; Mentoring; Needs Assessment; Access & Guidance to Project CLASS resources & new developments including Project CLASS Children’s Books, Social Skills Posters, Songs, Animations, Parent & Educator Activities Guides, Demo Videos, & Best Utilization practices. The Help-Line & Liaison & Training Resource Collaboration is designed to assist other organizations in using Project CLASS skills, content & resources to strengthen their services.
Help-Line Resources Liaison for Collaborations Overview
Need
Based on extensive experience witnessing behavior problems at school, in the home, and in the community, we know there is a Mt. Everest of need for children to develop core-foundation skills such as how to: Engage Eye Contact, Pay Attention, Follow Instructions, Accept No, Calm Down When Angry, and Make Good Choices. These and other core-foundation skills are the ABC underpinning skills critical for: Positive Behavior; Learning; Focus of Attention; Academic Achievement; Family Relationships; Getting Along with Others; Combating Bullying & Hate; Mental & Behavioral Health; Success not Failure.
Background
Houston Achievement Place (HAP) and Project CLASS have a solid history of proven results improving Children’s Behavior, Focus of Attention and Learning Readiness. These results are achieved by equipping children with core-foundation social skills and strengthening the capabilities of teachers, parents and other caring adults to teach core skills to children.
Obstacles Impeding the Development of Core-Foundation Skills
Young children who are disadvantaged often come from families that are underserved, low-income, at-risk, transient, unstable, disorganized, limitedly educated, logistically challenged, and limitedly able to access high quality and dependable services & assistance (such as day-care). The services & assistance that are accessible often suffer from many of the same issues and challenges.
Project CLASS Workshop Training Description
Project CLASS Workshop Training is a full-day training experience typically delivered to groups ranging from 15 to 75 persons. This Workshop is experiential, skill development focused, and involves a trainee to trainer ratio of 4-7 trainees per trainer. The reason for this structure is to facilitate skill development in the most compressed period of time.
The Project CLASS Workshop builds on the current skills of the participants and strengthens abilities to: concentrate teaching on important, simple, clear, defined user-friendly social skills; notice and communicate what children are doing and not doing in their social behavior; communicate with language and intention that help children implement skills and experience success; respond in a consistent and effective way to children’s appropriate and inappropriate social skills behavior, facilitating their social skills development; effectively “set expectations” for social skills behaviors; effectively use “praise and positive attention” directly linked to social skills behaviors; effectively use “reminder prompts” directly linked to social skills behaviors; effectively make use of “choices” and “consequences” directly linked to social skills behaviors; make social skills teaching FUN by using music, songs, movements, and stories; avoid a number of pitfalls that lead to power struggles with children; feel more confident that participants know what to teach and how to teach social skills effectively; teach social skills positively with positive results.
Project CLASS In-School Services Component
Project CLASS Trainer at the School.
Project CLASS In-School or On-Site Services supplement and integrate the core Project CLASS Workshop Training experience. Based on needs, priorities and preferences, the menu of options for these services includes: providing social skills class lessons to classrooms, working directly with individual children who have need for extra social skills practice; working directly with several children in small groups who have need for social skills practice; providing social skills focused observations and feedback to teachers & teacher assistants; social skills problem-solving; providing booster training sessions; doing presentations or mini-training sessions for parents; reading Project CLASS social skills story adventures; conducting mini-pep rallies; providing parent social skills sessions; demonstrating music, songs and movements; role-modeling social skills teaching skills. These services are typically delivered by Project CLASS trainers who are certified teachers.
Project CLASS Posters, Music, Songs, Movements, Activities, Animations
Project CLASS Tools & Resources are designed to optimize teaching and learning. These Tools & Resources work in conjunction with child developmental realities, brain functioning, effective modes of learning, and attention span parameters. Project CLASS Tools & Resources include: social skills posters (English, Spanish); social skills songs and music (English & Spanish); social skills movements; activities; stories; games; dramatic scenarios; motivation systems.
Volunteer Opportunities
Houston Achievement Place would love for you to become involved with us. If you are an individual who would like to provide a “thin slice of well-leveraged time” to help children throughout Houston, consider joining our advisory board of directors. Our advisory board meets six times a year and advises on the direction of our organization, in addition to providing crucial linkages to resources in Houston. For more information, contact Katrina Chance at kchance@hapkids.org.
If you are a member of an organization, corporation or faith community that would like to give back, we would love to discuss ways in which to do so with Houston Achievement Place. Contact Katrina Chance at kchance@hapkids.org for more information.