(new nation) — Caitlin Sawyer’s son Levi took up acting after his grandfather died and struggled to make the transition from pre-kindergarten to kindergarten at his rural elementary school in Crete, Nebraska.
“He had a really hard time following the teacher’s instructions. Just line up, go in, sit down and put things away,” Sawyer said. “At home, I noticed more aggression, especially towards me. I rebelled and struggled with routines and transitions.”
To address her son’s behavior, Sawyer, who is also a special education teacher, worked with a school psychologist to develop a plan using: a program called Teacher/Parent/Partner or TAPP.
TAPP works by parents and educators talking to each other. We then make communication a habit and offer specific tactics based on shared information about what is happening both at home and at school. Train school psychologists and other professionals on how to implement this method and work with teachers and parents.
TAPP has been tested in big cities and small towns. But the program’s founders are particularly interested in what local schools can do. The project is in the midst of his five-year research project to create an online version specifically designed to help rural communities. The program Sawyer participated in was part of that research.
the need is there.the rural school less likely to rate For mental health disorders than their urban counterparts. This is despite having mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. more common among rural children than urban children.rural youth Increased risk of suicide from city kids
“Rural schools tend not to have specific programs for behavioral, social-emotional and mental health challenges, and neither do the rural communities that surround them,” said Susan Sheridan. Principal Consultant of TAPP Director of the Nebraska Research Center for Children, Youth, Families, and Schools at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The premise of TAPP sounds pretty straightforward. A good relationship between parents and teachers is almost universally recognized as important.Despite this, teachers and parents often do not communicate regularly. In one survey conducted in the 2015-2016 school year, Only 42% of students There were parents who said they had been contacted by phone about their child. in the meantime, teacher survey It shows that many struggle with contacting and engaging their parents.
“Even as an educator, I sometimes lost sight of what I knew just because it was happening to my child and not to the students in my school,” says Sawyer. . “It’s been really helpful to be in a meeting like that and have other members of the team that you know care about your child.”
Sawyer meets with Cassandra Ginapp, Levi’s teacher and school psychiatrist, to find out what concerns they have about his son’s behavior, and plans to take him from home to school.
From the TAPP process, Sawyer introduced a new bedtime routine. She used a timer to let her know how long it was until her son went to bed. She combined this with a sticker chart so she could get rewarded for good behavior.
Meanwhile, his teacher and Ginup began to work on his behavior at school. When he did a good job, he would get an extra job.
“So for him, being a teacher’s helper and a line leader, these were important things that he handled really well. That’s what she gets him to work on,” Ginup said.
By the end of the process, which took about nine weeks, Sawyer noticed a considerable change in her son.
“The most noticeable thing I noticed about him was that he was more able to handle his emotions with me. The aggression stopped. He was able to talk more to me. We both We both got into rhythm and understood each other,” she said.
TAPP founder Sheridan says the program is particularly suitable for rural schools.
“In this context, it is particularly important that services build capacity not only for students, but also for parents and teachers, as they are adults who can continue to provide active and effective support to young people. ‘ she said.
Sheridan and her colleagues did some research TAPP being implemented in various districts across the country. These studies found that implementing TAPP reduced behavioral problems such as tantrums and yelling.
She was unable to estimate how often TAPP is being used today, but noted that hundreds of people have been trained in the TAPP process. It is currently being implemented in rural Colorado, rural Nebraska, and Madison Her Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin.
It’s not a perfect system. Ginapp pointed out that he TAPP will only work if all parties involved put in the effort.
“If parents may be a little resistant, or if you have a teacher, if they’re a little resistant and don’t agree with the process, you know it can go wrong,” says Ginapp. Said.
For Sawyer, this process has been invaluable.
“I don’t think there’s been enough emphasis on the relationship between parents and teachers, especially with students who struggle with behaviors such as emotional regulation and other things going on at home. Teachers and protection.” I feel like there is a lot of power in communication and teamwork between people,” said Sawyer.
