THE PYRAMID PLUS CENTERLEADERSHIP TOOLKIT

For Program and Community Leadership Teams

Special Thanks to Pyramid Plus Funders

Department of Human Services ▪ Division of Child Care ▪ Division for Developmental Disabilities, Early Intervention Program (Part C) ▪ Division of Behavioral Health ▪ Division of Child Welfare

The Colorado Health Foundation The Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation Mile High United Way

Agenda

▪ Learning Objectives/Logistics ▪ What is Leadership? ▪ Fidelity Implementation ▪ Collaborative Leadership Model ▪ Collaborative Teaming Strategies ▪ Applying the Strategies and Tools at the Program and

Community Levels ▪ Activity: Thought Seeds ▪ Wrap Up: Quality Improvement

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Learning Objectives

▪ Participants will explore the importance of leadership in achieving fidelity implementation of the Pyramid Model and the Pyramid Plus Approach

▪ Participants will identify collaborative teaming strategies and action planning as effective leadership strategies

▪ Participants will learn to apply collaborative action planning strategies for improving children’s social-emotional and behavioral outcomes

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Logistics

▪ Establish Ground Rules ▪ Parking Lot ▪ Review Session Handouts ▪ Others (e.g. location of restroom, etc.)

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Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.

(Alan Keith of Genentech)

What is Leadership?

Effective Workforce: The Role of Leaders

Quality of services matters • Provide vision of high standards and expectations • Use evidence-based practices (EBPs) • Implement the EBPs with fidelity • Monitor practices and child outcomes • Provide professional development • Provide support, policies and resources • Model collaborative leadership: work as a team!

The Goal…

Fidelity Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs), such as the Pyramid Plus Approach that lead to…. positive outcomes for children, families, providers, and programs

Positive Social-Emotional Outcomes from EBPs

▪ Decrease in: • Withdrawal, aggression, noncompliance, and disruption • Teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, and special education

placement

▪ Increase in: • Positive peer relationships including understanding of

friendship, cooperation, and sharing • Self-control, self-monitoring, self-correction,

and improved social-emotional health • Academic success

What is Fidelity Implementation?

▪ The degree to which interventions are accurately and consistently carried out as originally specified by the developers

▪ The only way to know if a practice or intervention is being accurately applied with fidelity is to measure implementation

(Mincic, Smith, & Strain, 2009)

Challenges to Fidelity Implementation of Effective EBPs

Four Categories of Challenges:

▪ Lack of knowledge / skill ▪ Beliefs / Attitudes ▪ Lack of collaboration within programs, with families,

and within communities ▪ Lack of adequate fiscal resources and procedures

(As identified in focus groups with T/TA providers, state policy makers, program personnel, and families)

Administrative Support is Key to Implementation Fidelity

▪ Administrative Leadership and Vision ▪ Time ▪ Resources ▪ Training ▪ Coaching ▪ Data Collection ▪ Fidelity Implementation Measures (TPOT™, TPITOS)

▪ Written Policies and Procedures ▪ Families

Collaboration… ▪ is a process not an event ▪ is hard work that needs trust and respect - true shared

decision-making (yours may not be the decision chosen!) ▪ requires buy-in and ownership of all stakeholders -

attention to team needs and stage ▪ you can’t mandate what matters (Fullan, 1993)

Collaborative Leadership & Teaming

Take a few minutes and write one thing for each question. Be prepared to debrief as a large group:

1. What made a collaborative or team effort you were involved in not worth the time and effort?

2. What made a collaborative or team effort you were involved in worth the time and effort?

Activity: Is Collaboration Effective?

Collaborative Planning that works...

▪ Collaborative planning needs to show results; evaluation.

▪ Collaboration and collaborative planning requires: • objective facilitation • skills and trust re: collaboration • shared understanding about current state and what

needs to be changed • shared vision about goals • ongoing supports and resources, incentives • shared ground rules

The Collaborative Planning Model

A model based on literature used to: • implement program-wide DEC Recommended Practices • implement EC program-wide PBS/Pyramid model • build community-wide coordinated EC systems • improve and expand community-wide EC inclusion

opportunities • create collaborative PD systems in CSEFEL and TACSEI

partner states Hayden, Frederick & Smith (2003). A roadmap for facilitating collaborative teams. Longmont: CO, Sopris West

Collaborative Planning Model: Components

1. Leadership and Commitment 2. Set a Shared Vision 3. Identify Challenges & Strengths related to the Shared Vision

4. Develop Objectives 5. Write an Action Plan 6. Implement the Action Plan 7. Evaluate Progress

1. Leadership and Commitment

▪ Building commitment: hearing information and experiences of peers

▪ Administrative Leadership (“champion”) ▪ Decision-making / resource allocation authority ▪ Meaningful…committed to cause and shared decision-

making (decisions by team!) ▪ Stakeholder Leadership Team; Who?

• Has a stake, will be committed and positive • Can make decisions, commit resources as needed • Membership depends on purpose

2. Set a Shared Vision

▪ Destination, goal, outcome, etc. ▪ Binds the team to a common direction, creating a sense

of commonality and giving coherence to diverse activities (Senge, l990)

▪ Builds on past and present ▪ Is concrete and attainable ▪ Is uplifting, compelling, and important for all members ▪ Is clear and understandable to team and public ▪ Can change if all agree! (true vision may emerge over time as

team becomes cohesive and reflective) (Fullan, 1993)

3. Identify Challenges and Strengths related to Vision

▪ What must we overcome to reach the vision/goal? ▪ What are the categories of challenges? ▪ Which challenges do we address, which are priority

(prioritize)? ▪ What are our assets?

4. Develop Objectives

Prioritize Objectives: • “Think big, but start small” • Short term, long term • Cost-benefit analysis

5. Write an Action Plan

! Objective ! Strategies ! Who is responsible ! Timeline ! Indicator of success /

evaluation plan

! Coordinate activities ! Establish work groups ! Serve as meeting

agendas ! Evaluate progress toward

vision ! Establish policies,

agreements, resources, staff

For each prioritized challenge or category develop a written action plan including: Use the Action Plan to:

6. Implement the Action Plan

▪ Set the Action Plan in motion ▪ Use the Action Plan as a Guide to completing work in

an organized and operational manner ▪ Capture implementation information regarding

questions, needs, barriers, successes, etc. in an ongoing fashion

▪ Address implementation information collected when updating the Action Plan

7. Evaluate Progress

▪ Process: Meeting evaluations/interviews, etc. Do members feel:

• Valued? • It is a worthwhile use of their time? • That they are making progress toward the vision? • That the vision and action plan are appropriate? • The ultimate evaluation is whether they keep coming

back! ▪ Outcome: Action plan evaluations; data that show

progress toward vision

Information

Leadership: ▪ Administration ▪ Stakeholder Team

Evaluation: ▪ Process ▪ Outcome

Assessment of

Challenges to Vision

Action Planning: ▪ Objectives/Strategies ▪ Action Steps ▪ Resources ▪ Timelines ▪ Outcome/Impact

Commitment Vision Setting

Collaborative Planning Model for Program Improvement & Systems Change

Experiences

Smith, B.J. (2006), Module 4, Center on Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning

…for Collaborative Decision Making

Effective Teaming Strategies…

Leadership Team Logistics

▪ Who/Size: approximately 10-15 people, core team vs. work groups; commitment; roles, team building

▪ Place/Time: for meetings (food! morning, frequency) ▪ Ground Rules:

• no representatives • decision-making (modified consensus: with changes can

agree to publicly support decisions) • stable attendance • support decisions made in your absence • communication rules (one at a time, respectful

disagreement, updating missing members, etc.)

Leadership Team Logistics continued

▪ Administrative tasks: Adm. and/or staff share all team tasks (minutes, food, facilitator, time-keeper, etc.)

▪ Meeting facilitation: objective, uses strategies that build consensus vs. winners and losers; maintains enthusiasm

▪ Agenda: objectives, decision to be made, team roles, time allotments for each item

▪ Meeting evaluation: were objectives met, how was the facilitation, how was individual participation, did meeting move team toward it’s vision, was it valuable?

Leadership Team: Member Responsibilities

▪ Monitor implementation, use data for decision-making ▪ Plan and implement professional development

activities ▪ Create system of support for addressing behavior

issues ▪ Maintain communication with staff ▪ Evaluate progress

Leadership Team: Member Roles

▪ Host – provides the space and technology needed for the meeting

▪ Facilitator – starts meetings, prepares meeting agendas and evaluations, keeps team meeting focused

▪ Note Taker– records meeting summary with team actions, disseminates meeting summary and evaluations

▪ Timekeeper – ensures the team maintains agenda timeline in order to keep the meeting moving forward

▪ Snack Provider - brings snacks ▪ Buddy – supports new members in understanding the

processes and procedures of the meeting

Team Member Role Sign Up Sheet

Date Host Facilitator Note Taker

Time keeper

Snack Buddy

Agenda, Actions, & Summary

Meeting Evaluation

Meeting Objectives 1. 2. 3. 4.

Please answer the following questions. Low High

Degree to which the meeting objectives were achieved: 1 2 3 4 5

Facilitation of the meeting was: 1 2 3 4 5

I would rate my own contributions to the meeting as: 1 2 3 4 5

Degree to which I think this meeting contributed toward achieving our purpose: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Action Planning Form

Strategy/Action to be Taken

Persons Responsible Resources Needed

Timeline

Indicators of Success Evaluation Plan

Status Date Completed

Date: Goal/Vision: Objective: Team/ Work Group Members:

Team Decision Making Activities

Purposes of activities: ▪ Get EVERYONE’S ideas ▪ Hear all voices ▪ Ownership ▪ Effective and efficient

Facilitation materials: ▪ Sticky wall ▪ Flip chart paper (sticky

on back) ▪ Egg timer ▪ Tape ▪ Markers ▪ Index cards, etc.

Team Decision Making Activities

▪ Activities: • Brain storming on sticky wall then merge categories

(vision setting, identifying challenges to vision, etc.) • Small group work with flip chart paper (identifying

objectives for each challenge; editing vision statement and objectives, etc.)

Program-wide & Community-wide

What is a Program-wide and / or Community-wide model for preventing and addressing challenging behaviors?

Builds on the Pyramid Model and the Pyramid Plus Approach by designing intervention from the whole (universal) program to the individual child

Uses collaboration to ensure: • Administrative support and buy-in • Buy-in from staff • Family involvement

Adoption and Implementation

Program-wide

Program-wide, what makes it work?

▪ A champion ▪ Administrative leadership ▪ Shared decision-making with a collaborative

leadership team ▪ Ongoing support for those working directly with

children and families ▪ Clearly articulated policies and procedures related to

behavior ▪ Commitment to long term process - systems change ▪ Collaboration between ECE and mental health/

behavior consultants

Program Readiness Criteria

▪ Supporting behavior is Program’s main goal ▪ Leadership Team is formed and includes:

• Administrator • Training and Technical Assistance • Person with behavioral expertise • Teachers

▪ Leadership Team commits to evaluating classroom outcomes

▪ Leadership Team commits to true team shared decision-making

Program Readiness Criteria continued

▪ Leadership Team commits to meeting monthly for 2-3 years to achieve full implementation, monitoring progress, and using data for decision making

▪ Leadership Team commits to • Facilitating ongoing training and TA • Supporting teachers to implement the pyramid • Developing and promoting program/community-wide

expectations • Developing plan to provide individualized positive

behavior support (PBS)

Program Outcomes

▪ Reduced challenging behavior ▪ Promotion of social development ▪ Improved staff satisfaction ▪ Decreased turnover ▪ Increase in overall program quality ▪ Clearly articulated/implemented policies/procedures ▪ More intentional teaching and purposeful in supporting

children’s emotional development ▪ Elimination of “time-out” ▪ Less reliance on “outside” experts ▪ Stronger collaboration with mental health providers

Program-wide Critical Elements:

1. Establish a Team • Broad representation (membership) • Administrative support • Regular meetings • Implementation / action plan • Review and revise plan at-least annually • True shared collaborative decision-making • Effective teaming procedures

Program-wide Critical Elements:

2. Staff / Stakeholder Buy-In: • Staff / community poll establishes and indicates

awareness of initiative, interest and buy-in • Leadership Team maintains buy-in by inviting input

and feedback from key stakeholders such as staff, parents, community

Program-wide Critical Elements:

3. Family Involvement • Build awareness of and input to the initiative from

the beginning • Membership on Leadership Team • Multiple mechanisms for sharing and having input

into the initiative • Multiple mechanisms for home implementation • Family partnerships in developing and implementing

individualized support

Program-wide Critical Elements:

4. Classrooms and programs are implementing the Pyramid Model

• Positive relationships • Supportive environments • Teaching social emotional skills • Individualized supports for children with persistent

challenging behavior

Program-wide Critical Elements:

5. Professional Development and Staff Support Plan • Ongoing technical assistance - Coaching • Behavior support specialists are trained • Needs assessment for pyramid implementation • Individualized professional development plan • Group and individualized training strategies • Incentives and acknowledgment

Program-wide Critical Elements:

6. Responding to challenging behavior • Developmentally appropriate strategies • Crisis responses • Problem solving and support • Team assessment-based process for tertiary level • Partnerships / teaming with families

Program-wide Critical Elements:

7. Monitoring implementation and outcomes • Measurement of Implementation • Measure outcomes • Data collected and summarized • Data shared with staff, programs, community and

families • Data used for ongoing monitoring and problem

solving • Action Plan is updated, revised based on data

Program-wide Data Measures:

▪ Program Implementation Data Collection • Benchmarks of Quality • TPOT™, TPITOS

▪ Program Data Collection • Program Incidents (calls to families, dismissals,

transfer, requests for assistance, family conferences)

▪ Child Data Collection • ASQ-SE or other measure (social skills; problem

behavior) • Behavior / Skill rating for tier 2 and tier 3

… are in place to respond to challenging behaviors? As a team, answer the following questions: What processes do you have in place in your program for… and how are they working?:

• Responding to crisis situations

• Problem solving with teachers around challenging behavior

• Developing individualized plans for children with ongoing challenging behavior

What resources, activities, training do you need in order to ensure these processes are in place?

Activity: What processes…

Example of Program-Wide Adoption: SEK-CAP Head Start

▪ Rural program in southeast Kansas ▪ Covers over 7,000 square miles in 12 counties ▪ Serves 768 children and families ▪ Employs 174 staff in the Early Childhood Services ▪ 4 centers, 17 classrooms, 25 home visitors, and 19

child care partners ▪ Available from www.challengingbehavior.org ▪ Watch a video illustration on You Tube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Rl00F49Hg

Adoption and Implementation

Community-wide

Resources and References

▪ CSEFEL (Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning): What Works Briefs, Training Modules, and other web based resources www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel

▪ TACSEI (Technical Assistance Center on Social-Emotional Intervention): Recommended Practices fact sheets, tool kits, and other web based resources

www.challengingbehavior.org ▪ The Pyramid Model Consortium http://

www.pyramidmodel.org/ )

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Activity: Thought Seeds56

What will I change in my behavior in regard to this topic?

What will I apply to the families and the children that I work with in regard to this topic?

What will I take back to my team/co-workers in regard to this topic?

What went well today?

What needs improvement?

Quality Improvement57

Contact Us

Pyramid Plus: the Colorado Center for Social Emotional Competence and Inclusion University of Colorado Denver 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 643 Denver, CO 80204 pyramidplus@ucdenver.edu www.pyramidplus.org

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