INSTRUCTOR: Hello teachers, aides, and support staff. Thank you for everything that you do for your students. As educators, you create safe spaces for learning every day, and that's especially important for young children. Preschoolers experience trauma at an exceptionally high rate. Trauma is even more common than we may think. By the age of six, an estimated 60% of children in Philadelphia will have experienced some form of trauma, like neglect, abuse, or witnessing violence. And many cases go unreported, meaning trauma is present in your classroom, whether we know about it or not.
We can't always know each child's story, but what we can do is create a safe, nurturing space for all children and give them tools to cope, now and in the future. Trauma doesn't just affect one child. It impacts their classroom, and it impacts you as their teacher.
That's where PREPPS comes in. PREPPS is a weekly, in-class curriculum designed to teach young children lifelong coping skills. For many students, school is the safest and most stable place in their lives. Our goal is to help you create a supportive classroom where children can recognize their emotions, understand their energy levels, communicate their needs, and develop empathy for others. These skills help children navigate challenges and regulate their emotions and connect with those around them, and they're essential for both academic and social success.
Instead of singling out individual children for support, PREPPS is designed for the whole classroom. Teaching these skills to everyone strengthens the entire class community, creates a sense of belonging, and harnesses the power of coregulation, where children learn to manage emotions by connecting with those around them. This way, no child feels isolated, and every child benefits from a supportive, emotionally aware learning environment.
For some students, especially those who have experienced trauma, the social and sensory demands of a busy classroom can be overwhelming. When they struggle to express themselves, their nervous system may enter fight, flight, or freeze mode, leading to externalizing behaviors like hitting, yelling, or running away, or internalizing behaviors, such as withdrawing, avoiding eye contact, or shutting down.
Traditional behavior programs often focus on individual students, particularly those with externalizing behaviors, which can unintentionally create feelings of shame and isolation in students who are already struggling. Because internalizing behaviors are less disruptive, they often go undetected as students who are having a hard time end up not getting the support that they need. Instead, we believe that by delivering the social-emotional learning curriculum to the whole classroom, we foster connection and shared learning, creating a supportive environment where all students receive the tools they need to thrive.
Singling a child out can have significant negative effects. It creates cycles of shame, making it difficult for the child to build confidence and resilience. It also increases feelings of disconnection, making the child feel isolated from peers and adults. This can trigger stress responses, which reduce the child's ability to focus and learn effectively. Additionally, it diminishes their sense of belonging, which is essential for emotional and social development. Lastly, these facts do not only impact the individual child. They impact the entire class, making it harder for everyone to learn in a supportive and inclusive environment.
Group learning is a powerful tool for teaching social-emotional skills. When children learn together, they begin to understand that big emotions and reactions are a normal part of life for everyone. This awareness helps them recognize that struggling at times does not mean something is wrong with them. Instead of feeling disconnected and isolated, students engage in playful, unstructured interactions, fostering meaningful connections, strengthening their relationships with peers. Instead of experiencing shame one on one, children develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments as a group by engaging in shared learning experiences.
Through group learning, we can support students in need without making them feel othered. By learning these strategies alongside their peers, they feel all included, wanted, and connected to their group. Group learning fosters a supportive environment where children can coregulate emotions, helping them shift from a state of fight or flight to feeling calm, collected, and ready to engage. While a brain that has experienced trauma may struggle with attention and concentration, collaborative activities can enhance focus and curiosity by providing structured social interactions that sustain attention and encourage active participation in learning.
Implementing the PREPPS curriculum benefits the entire classroom. The whole room engages in lessons promoting mindfulness, communication, and self-regulation skills, which helps all students navigate challenges more effectively and fosters a more supportive learning environment. This approach reinforces classroom norms that prioritize emotional well-being, ensuring that students feel heard and understood. It also builds empathy by helping children recognize that everyone faces struggles, encouraging kindness and support among peers.
Ultimately, social-emotional learning delivered to the entire classroom of students creates a culture rooted in safety, respect, and belonging, where all children can learn and grow together. By teaching coping skills early on, we help children develop healthy habits that will support them throughout their lives. This approach provides crucial support for children who may be silently experiencing trauma, giving them the tools they need to manage their emotions. Early coping-skills education also reduces the likelihood of children developing unhealthy coping mechanisms later in life. Most importantly, it empowers all children to navigate adversity with confidence and resilience, setting the foundation for lifelong emotional well-being.
We see the hard work you do every day, and we appreciate you. PREPPS is designed not just for students but for you, the educators, too. We look forward to partnering with you in creating a nurturing and emotionally supportive classroom. Thank you for being part of this journey.
