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School tries lessons in kindness
By ED RUNYAN
YOUNGSTOWN
Project KIND, a Wean-Foundation-funded program that helps Warren kindergartners behave appropriately in the classroom, is being tried out in a Youngstown elementary school and could eventually be made available to schools nationwide.
Employees of the Warren counseling agency Community Solutions who work in the schools observed about seven years ago that many children were starting school without basic social skills, such as getting along with classmates or waiting their turn to speak.
It was about the same time that the agency began to hear about kindergartners in various places who were being expelled for poor behavior, and it seemed like a good time to address the issue, said Kathy Marando of Community Solutions.
So Marando and co-worker Kathy LaMarco developed Project KIND. The first step was to receive a list of unwanted behaviors from Warren kindergarten teachers.
“We tailored the program to address those issues, so the teachers would not have to use valuable class time covering them,” LaMarco said.
The program’s curriculum has evolved since its introduction in 2003 and now consists of 12 half-hour sessions.
The person teaching the class this year is Kesha Lampley, who is “just a marvelous role model” and teaches the lessons in a “low-key, loving way,” Marando said.
One of the keys to the program is the “treasures” awarded to the children when they master each new “key to success,” Lampley said. Among the treasures are pencils, rulers and other school supplies.
“The kids are very excited to earn treasures,” she said.
Each week, a new concept is introduced, such as kindness and respect, manners, smart choices, getting along with classmates, and getting along with teachers.
After each session, a newsletter goes home to parents, explaining what the children have learned and telling them what they can do to reinforce the concepts.
The Ohio Department of Drug Addiction Services recognized Project KIND as an exemplary prevention program and one of the most promising programs in the state in 2006.
Community Solutions took the program to Dr. Peter Leahy, interim director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at the University of Akron, to have it evaluated. Eventually that process is expected to lead to placement on the National Registry, which would allow other communities nationwide to use it.
Warren’s 500 kindergartners have received Project KIND during the fall and winter over the past seven years, and all of the teachers and principals have given it positive marks, LaMarco said.
The parents and children also seem to like it, Lampley said.
“One grandma said her granddaughter enjoyed going to school because of Project KIND,” Lampley said.
The Wean Foundation funded a Project KIND pilot program for the kindergartners at Harding Elementary in Youngstown that is going on right now.