SPOKANE, Wash. – A local program is working to ensure children get a strong early learning environment by providing mental health support in the classroom.
“Our teachers are going unsupported and we’re sending them into the class with our most valued treasures,” said Kerra Bower, the founder of Pilot Program for Children’s Mental Health. “We have to support those who are supporting our future.”
Bower’s program has been working to change the way childcare centers view mental and behavioral support by helping teachers both inside and outside of the classroom.
“What my team does is they really come alongside the teacher, and they say ‘This beautiful but difficult work still has to be done. Now, how do we become your village?'” Bower said.
Little Scholars Development Center is one of three childcare facilities where this new child development mental health program is run.
Since its launch a year and a half ago, one center running the program reported a 40% reduction in incident and behavioral reports.
“That lends directly to the fact that if you support these teachers,” Bower said. “You give them what they need, they’re going to be better able to manage behaviors in their classroom.”
Bower acknowledges there has always been a need for extra support in Child Development settings, but that the pandemic amplified that need.
“I saw teachers dealing with PTSD, I saw teachers dealing with various anxiety disorders. I would walk into classrooms and teachers would be crying during naptime in corners and i realized that if I didn’t do something right now, this crisis was just going to continue,” Bower said.
Jamie Tate, the director at Little Scholars, said she has used the program both as a teacher and a mother. To her, having a support system to lean on has been a game changer.
“The best part of it has been having the counselors and being able to (talk about) any stressors that I have or that I hear around the building,” Tate said.
Bower said so far, the program has supported more than 75 teachers.
The next step is to secure funding and work to keep this support system going for years to come. She says the program plans to start tracking retention rates next year.
“We are also very excited to be able to partner with Spokane Public School District and start receiving the kindergarten readiness numbers for this project,” Bower said.
