TIPPS’s goals are to:
The child on the left appears angry, upset and alone. This is what we do not want for young children. The child on the right is with a rainbow, suggesting hope and resilience.
The TIPPS project helps educators and adults of children who are in preschools. TIPPS gives educators and caregivers ideas about how to understand and be patient when kids are upset. TIPPS stands for: Inclusive and Equitable Futures: Trauma-Informed Practice in Preschool Supports. Temple University Institute on Disabilities and Dr. Amy Lynch from the Barnett College of Public Health created TIPPS. This project is funded by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.
Sometimes, when kids feel sad or scared, they might act out. If adults don't know how to help, those children might get left out or get in trouble. Black and Brown students and students with disabilities are asked to leave school more often than other students. We want to make sure all children are treated fairly and have a chance to learn.
We want to make sure every child feels safe, loved, and included in school.
When kids are left out, it is hard for them to learn:
When we are happy and safe, our brains grow strong! If kids are treated unfairly when they are very little, it can be hard for their brains to learn how to handle big feelings. TIPPS helps adults understand children better, so every child can have a happy, successful future.
We talked with educators and caregivers of children in preschool. We also looked at information from experts in education. We grouped that information here on this website and in these tools.
Consider taking care of your body, mind, and soul as you think about the information in this web page.
It can feel difficult to read about and reflect on difficult situations, like a preschooler receiving exclusionary discipline. As you look at this content about young learners, racism, ableism, exclusion, and the preschool to prison pipeline, we encourage you to take time and space to process things.
We invite you to pause, stop, and restart with the content at any time.
You may want to consider doing a self-care activity:
“Exclusion” means to be left out of school or a good way to learn.
Teachers showing joy and including every child will help stop kids from being left out.
Read about our environmental scan and access the full report.
Exclusion: The word “exclusion” means to be left out of school or a good way to learn.
Children are not first left out when they start school. Many children are left out even before they go to preschool.
Almost 66,000 children go to publicly funded, high quality pre-k programs such as Head Start, Child Care Works, and school district pre-kindergartens. But, about 90,000 other children do not go to free preschool and childcare even though they could. These children live in very poor families who have a hard time buying basic things. Their families may not understand they can get free preschool and childcare. They may not know how to help their children get into preschool or good child care in Pennsylvania. This means that being left out from learning starts before they even enter preschool. (2025 State of Early Care and Education in Pennsylvania Report)
High-Quality: The words “high-quality” mean that the educators know a lot and that things kids do and learn are very good.
Children are left out when they do not go to a high quality child care program.
About half of childcare programs in Pennsylvania are high quality. Child Care Works is the program that helps low-income families pay for childcare and early education programs. For children under 5 who use money from Child Care Works, only 4 out of 10 go to high-quality programs.
Exclusionary Discipline: The words “exclusionary discipline” mean that a child is left out of school or learning.
This happens when an educator thinks a child did something bad.
In kindergarten to high school more Black students are left out than students of other colors. It also happens more to students who have a disability.
It is sad that the same thing happens in preschool. One out of every five preschool children is Black. However, Black children make up almost half of all preschoolers who are sent home or kept out of class for acting out.
So, preschool children who are poor, Black, or have disabilities are left out of school more. They are more likely to get into trouble with the law when they are older. This is the Preschool to Prison Pipeline.
Our TIPPS team looked at a lot of information.
Report: Environmental Scan of Discipline of Early Childhood Education Students in Pennsylvania
In the report, you will find more information about:
Resources include accessible and downloadable PDFs, self-reflection tools, and videos. These resources are designed for early childhood education educators, administrators, ancillary providers, and caregivers.
Caregivers and educators can access information about:
These self-reflection tools help you think about what you do to create an inclusive classroom. They also help you notice times when children might feel left out, excluded, or disciplined.
*National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) developed a comprehensive, four-part scale, "Building Positive Behavior." Here, each part is presented as a separate tool to better connect its topic to our resources.
Tools and ideas that help schools avoid removing students from class, like suspensions or expulsions.
Home caregivers including caregivers, grand-caregivers, and other kin caregivers.
Pre-school aged children, preschoolers, young learners, young children.
A key term that means feeling hopeless after caring for others who are going through hard things for a long time.
Teachers and school staff, administrators, preschool and day care settings.
A way to collect and study information to better understand how discipline is used in early childhood programs.
When hard problems from caregivers or grandcaregivers affect how kids and families feel and act today.
Helps educators think about how they handle discipline, teach children, and build relationships.
An approach that helps us understand how hard or hurtful things from a child’s past can affect how they behave and learn.
“Early childhood education” means the learning and care that children get from birth to 8 years old, or up to 3rd grade. It helps young children grow and learn important skills like:
Sometimes school is hard for a child. The child may act out big emotions or thoughts in ways that are not okay. If a child breaks a rule or acts in a way that is not OK, a school might use discipline like suspension or expulsion. This means sending a student home for a few days (suspension) or removing them and now allowing them to return (expulsion) to school. A school could also call caregivers on a lot of days to pick their child up early from school (soft expulsion). Experts say this is harsh and unfair. Being out of school can hurt a child’s learning instead of helping them. Being removed from class can make it harder for them to do well in school.
Being left out of preschool can cause big problems for children, especially kids of color or kids with disabilities:
The phrase “Preschool to Prison Pipeline (PS2PP)” is about how a young child left out of daycare or preschool is more at risk to get in trouble with the law when they grow up.
PS2PP happens more to children of color, children with disabilities, or children of color with disabilities.
The child in the first photo feels left out. This is what we do not want. The children in the second photo are connecting and including one another. This is what we want.
Educators may be having a hard time and not know what to do. This can lead to unfair discipline. This can lead to children being left out.
Unfair discipline can happen for many reasons. It often affects children with disabilities and children of color the most.
Educators might not know they are being tougher on some kids than others. They might have unfair ideas about why kids act certain ways without even knowing it. Educators might not see how well kids can plan, focus, and follow rules (called Executive Functioning). Executive functioning problems (EFP) make it hard to understand and follow directions. Black boys and kids learning English are often misunderstood. Educators might think they are trying to be 'bad' on purpose. Instead of helping them, the school sends them home.
Citation: Garcia, E. B., Sulik, M. J., & Obradović, J. (2019). Educators’ perceptions of students’ executive functions: Disparities by gender, ethnicity, and ELL status. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(5), 918.
This is a survey that Harvard has developed to help you reflect on any bias you may have.
Educators need help to care for every student. Right now, there are not enough educators across Pennsylvania. Because of this, classes are too big, and it is hard for educators to give extra help to kids who need it. Educators also need more supplies and more people to help keep everyone safe.
Lohmann, M., & Macy, M. (2024). Early Childhood Special Education STARS: A Five-Point Model for Addressing the Educator Shortage. The Dialog: A Journal for Inclusive Early Childhood Professionals, 27(1).
Sandstrom, H., Kuhns, C., & Drukker, D. (2024). Staff Shortages in Early Head Start Programs.
The teacher on the left is feeling high stress. This is what we do not want. The teacher on the right is relaxed and happy showing connection with the students. This is what we want.
When educators have too much work, they can get very tired and stressed. This makes it hard for them to stay calm when a student is having a tough day. They may lose hope. Because they are stressed and have less hope, they might get upset more easily or send a student out of the classroom instead of helping them.
Schaack, D. D., Le, V. N., & Stedron, J. (2020). When fulfillment is not enough: Early childhood educator occupational burnout and turnover intentions from a job demands and resources perspective. Early Education and Development, 31(7), 1011-1030.
Sometimes, children act out because they don't know how to do something yet. They might be having a hard time playing with others or sharing their feelings. They might yell or hit instead of talking about the problem. Instead of seeing that the child needs help learning a new skill, an educator might only see the 'bad' behavior. If the educator doesn't know how else to help, they might just expel or suspend the student.
Pyle, A., Filip, R., McCann, A., Larsen, N., & Cowan, E. (2025). Playing through the pandemic and beyond: exploring the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms. International Journal of Early Years Education, 33(1), 219-235.
More young children are having early childhood mental health problems. Educators say they do not understand what to do when a young child has a mental health problem. Educators want to help, but they don't always know the best way to do it. If an educator doesn't have enough help or special training, they might send a student out of class because they aren't sure what else to do.
Stein, R., Garay, M., & Nguyen, A. (2024). It matters: Early childhood mental health, educator stress, and burnout. Early childhood education journal, 52(2), 333-344.
Adults need to work together to help children who are having a hard time. Educators can feel alone in the classroom. They may feel that caregivers do not see or understand the problems. Or, caregivers can feel their child is misunderstood. They may feel that educators are not helping their child. Educators and caregivers can work together.
Resources to learn more or to share with others include:
Educators: Would you like to think about your risk for using exclusionary discipline? Or would you like to think about what you can do to help a child have more positive behaviors?
These reflection tools might help you:
Children feel better when parents spend time with them and enjoy being with them. These kids are more likely to act well in school and less likely to be left out.
Children need and deserve to:
When kids don't get the help they need, they might act out. This is their way of telling adults how they feel. Stress can cause big feelings, and big feelings can lead to big actions. These actions can be hard for educators. Adults need to see these actions, understand them, and find a good way to help.
Yoga and breathing exercises help young children calm down and take care of their stress.
Children feel a little bit of stress every day. They might feel it when they say goodbye at school, hear a loud noise, or are in a big crowd. Sometimes stress comes from changes at home, like a new baby or a new schedule. This kind of stress doesn't last long. It actually helps the child's body and brain learn how to handle new things so you can grow up strong.
Big hard events cause a lot of stress that is bad. Adverse childhood events (ACEs) are really hard and cause a lot of stress. Hard events that cause a lot of stress could be:
Parents arguing around their children is bad for a child’s mental health.
When adverse events occur, children have big, ongoing stress because they do not feel safe. Their needs are not met. Children who have big, ongoing stress will find ways to feel safe. They may:
It is important for adults to know that a child’s behavior can come from a lot of stress caused by hard events or trauma. Adults can respond in a trauma-informed way.
A trauma-informed classroom is a way of teaching that looks at how a child’s stressful experiences can affect their behavior. Educators do not see the child as “bad.” Instead, they understand that the child may be trying to cope or asking for help.
Educators can learn trauma-informed ways to help kids who are going through hard times. For example, an educator can stop and take a deep breath with the child to help stay calm. They can also let a child pick between two choices when that child is upset. Instead of getting mad, educators try to understand why a student is sad or scared so they can help everyone stay safe and feel cared for. The child needs to know the adult sees them, believes in them, and keeps them safe.
These pictures show adults connecting with their children.
The resources below have helpful ideas for educators. They show how to help kids when they act out so everyone can feel better and keep learning.
Preschool classrooms can be very loud and have a lot of things to look at. There can also be a lot of movement like other children and educators going to different places in the room. This may make it more fun for some kids. But, this may be too much sensory information for other kids. Too much sensory information can be overwhelming. Children can have a hard time.
They may start to act out because there is too much happening. To help a child feel safe in your classroom space, you could:
It is important to know if what you are doing actually works. Ways to know if you are building positive behaviors are:
When educators feel safe and calm, they can be build strong relationships with children and their families. Educators and caregivers agree that talking clearly and working as a team helps kids learn best. When educators listen and show they care, they become strong partners with families.
When a child is having a tough day, how an educator acts can help or make things worse. It is important for educators to stay calm and kind. This can be hard to do, especially when the educators are feeling stressed themselves.
Some educators also had very scary or sad things happen to them when they were a young child. Even today, something might happen that makes their brain and body remember those old, bad feelings. This is called a trigger.
When an educator is triggered, they might act mean or get very upset without even knowing why. This can hurt the feelings of the students in their classroom. When sad feelings from the past affect how people act today, it is called intergenerational trauma. If educators do not get help with these feelings, they will not understand a child’s big behavior. They are more likely to leave a child out of learning or expel or suspend the child.
When educators get this tired, they might get grumpy or act like they don't care anymore. Preschool educators often feel this way because they don't have enough help or the right supplies to take care of all the children in their class.
Educators also get tired and have stress at work because of:
Stress makes teaching very hard. It is tiring to help children who are having a tough time at home. When educators do this for a long time, they can get "worn out from helping."
This feeling can make educators feel very tired, angry, or like they want to give up. When they feel this way, it is much harder for them to stay calm and kind when a student is acting out in class. This is called compassion fatigue.
Some people call this "the cost of caring." It happens when people feel a lot of stress because they have been taking care of others for a long time. Their bodies and their feelings get very, very tired.
Sometimes, taking a child out of the group feels like the safest choice. Educators can use a tool called the Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure to think about when and why they might use exclusion. To consider if a child in your classroom is at risk of expulsion, you can complete the Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure.
These resources offer more information on:
Videos:
Making rules for a classroom is one of the hardest parts of being an educator. Educators want to be kind and helpful, but they also have to be the boss. They want every student to feel safe and happy so they can learn.
It is hard for an educator to keep the class calm when a student is breaking the rules. This happens more often when a student is having a hard time at home or has a different way of learning. Educators have to work hard to be fair to everyone.
Educators sometimes worry that being strict with rules will hurt a student's feelings. This is especially true if a student is already having a hard time. But if the rules change all the time, it makes the classroom confusing and messy.
Educators care a lot about their students. Sometimes, saying 'no' or making a student follow the rules feels like being mean, but it actually helps the student learn and feel safe. Knowing what the rules are helps everyone do their best.
Educators have a lot of people to listen to, like caregivers and principals. They also have to make sure every student learns what they need for big tests. Because every student is different, it can be hard to know what is fair for everyone. A rule that helps one student might feel unfair to someone else.
The hardest part is that educators don't always know how a student will act. They have to be the boss but also be very kind. Learning the best way to help kids takes a lot of time and practice. Educators need to keep learning and get help from everyone at school.
Here are some reflection tools that you might find helpful.
Thank you. We hope that these resources are helpful to you.
This project is funded by The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council. The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $3,025,222.00 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. Council efforts are those of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Copyright © 2026 Temple University and the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council. Permission to reprint, copy and distribute this work is granted provided that it is reproduced as a whole, distributed at no more than actual cost, and displays this copyright notice. Any other reproduction is strictly prohibited.
