Month: August 2020

Supporting Our Staff As They Support Our Families

Given current circumstances, now more than ever, there is a need to support our Home Visitors, Family Service Workers and Center-based Teaching staff who cannot interact with their families in the conventional manner.

We have several options for training as these valuable professionals attempt to bridge the gap created by the pandemic, between families and programs. Please consider using some of your training and technical assistance funds to support staff who previously, consistently struggled with how best to reach their families and now have to grapple with restrictions, virtual visits and limited access not only to the children and families they serve, but also to solid, concrete ways to support them.

Mentor Coaching is an excellent way to support practitioners and teaching staff as they learn to navigate through new guidelines and restrictions on how they can reach their children and families and can be done virtually. Essential Elements is currently providing effective virtual mentor coaching to our clients for both teaching staff and family service staff.

At the heart of our mentor coaching services is a trusting, collaborative relationship with each Practitioner. Together, the Mentor Coach and Practitioner are active collaborators both focused on meeting the Practitioner’s individual learning needs. This begins with a commitment to be reliable to each other and a formal agreement to create measurable and meaningful individualized learning objectives together. This safe coaching relationship remains focused on the Practitioner’s learning, change, and growth.

Our mentor coaching services will meet the mentor coaching services requirements in the Head Start Program Performance Standards.  These services will guide your Practitioners toward improved implementation of best practices in your program, within the new boundaries in place for providing services during the COVID 19 pandemic

For more information, contact us by email or phone.

Re-opening In The Midst Of New Challenges And Hurdles

As our Head Start programs begin to tackle the new school year, with ever changing guidelines for re-opening, we want to offer our support and assistance.

Many program management and staff, new and veteran, have very real concerns about the children and families they serve.

  • What have our children experienced during the shutdown?
  • How have our parents fared?
  • Can they work?
  • Have our kids experienced food insecurity?
  • Have they been safe?
  • What will we need to do and what might we be faced with as we re-open?
  • How can I support my staff as children return to us?

All of Essential Elements’ trainings are now offered virtually. As Head Start professionals prepare to welcome children and families to a new school year that is not like anything any of us have previously experienced, we would like to help. We are offering virtual trainings that address the tough topics, effects of COVID 19 and the current race inequities, discussions in our communities, secondary trauma, and virtual support of families.

We are conducting virtual trainings for pre-service on most of our training topics, however, we would like to offer you additional support. Our trainers have been developing content that is relevant to current issues Head Start professional and the families they serve are experiencing.

Below are our most requested topics from programs searching for effective ways to support staff and families while addressing the very real impact and consequences the pandemic and racial tension brought to our programs across the country.

  • Managing Your Stress: Self-Care Strategies for Difficult Times
  • Working with Challenging Families During a Pandemic
  • Becoming Trauma Informed and Recognizing Secondary Trauma
  • Managing Challenging Behaviors
  • Helping Children Feel Safe in Today’s Society-COVID 19 and Racism
  • How to Have Hard Conversations with Staff
  • How to Have Hard Conversations with Families
  • Becoming Trauma Informed – Responsive Caregiving
  • Moving from Helper to Partner
  • Linking the Classroom to Home

For more information, contact us by email or give us a call.