Our preschool teachers provide a warm, caring and inclusive environment for all children. Our teachers support the development of executive function and self-regulation skills by setting clear expectations and providing behavior supports. They also model identifying, labeling, and discussing emotions, and they foster students’ social-emotional and problem-solving skills.
Discipline strategies will be developmentally appropriate and will include redirections, praise for positive behavior, discuss the impact of the child’s actions, and a temporary separation of the child from a problem situation. Adult-child interactions shall be purposeful, positive and respectful at all times. Children shall be positioned for success by having expectations clearly demonstrated and thoroughly explained. When further clarification or assistance is needed, it shall be offered and individualized to allow each child success. Positive reinforcement shall be used to shape behaviors, and correction and redirection shall always be done in a manner that protects the child’s dignity. Discipline techniques shall never humiliate, shame, or frighten a child. No staff member shall ever use profane language, threats, derogatory remarks, or other forms of verbal abuse.
If a child should need to be separated from a problem situation, the separation will be supervised, brief in duration and appropriate for the child’s age and developmental ability. The child will be separated to a safe, lighted and well-ventilated space within sight and hearing of a preschool staff member. No child shall ever be place in a locked room or confined in an enclosed area.
If physical intervention is necessary it shall begin with the mildest form (a hand gently placed on the child’s shoulder, for example) and increase incrementally and only as necessary to the strongest intervention needed to maintain a safe environment. The strongest intervention utilized would be to briefly restrain the child in a protective hug in order to allow them to regain control. Preschool staff shall never strike or shake a child. There shall be no use of corporal punishment. Instead, preschool staff shall model kindness, gentleness, and patience in all their interactions with students.
Discipline shall not be imposed upon a child for failure to eat, rest or for toileting accidents. In addition, discipline strategies shall never include the withholding of meals, rest, or toilet use.
Children in the preschool program shall not be abused or neglected while under the care of the center. In addition, the preschool staff is expected to be vigilant in protecting children and are mandated reporters when faced with evidence of possible abuse or neglect.
Parents are the child’s first teacher and are valued as partners with the preschool staff in all matters, including discipline. Home-school communication will be frequent and ongoing. In addition, teachers will communicate with the home specifically about a child’s behavior whenever the frequency or severity of the behavior is greater than expected for that particular child based upon his/her individual goals and developmental ability. By working together, the staff and parent can help each student develop patterns of positive behavior.