The Pros And Cons Of Strong Start
Families living in poverty in urban areas face extraordinary pressures (Atkins et al., 2006). Strong Start, a program sponsored by Family Service of Greater Boston, is trying to decrease some of these pressures by utilizing a hands-on-model in urban preschools. Strong Start places an educational specialist and a clinician on-site at under-resourced, under-educated, urban early childhood development centers. It is an early intervention/prevention program that promotes healthy social-emotional development in at-risk, disadvantaged children who bring the effects of emotional, psychological, and physical trauma into early education settings. Strong Start aims to significantly improve the centers’ ability to address the mental health and behavioral
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Risk factors are increase by the fact that throughout much of the United States, child poverty is concentrated in urban communities (Atkins et al., 2006). Facing poverty is a major risk factor. Azzi-Lessing (2010) found that children in poverty demonstrate lower cognitive abilities and have more behavioral or emotional problems than children not living in poverty. As many as 80% of children experiencing poverty are exposed to community violence. Witnessing this violence impacts children’s academic performance, as well as resulting in higher rates of depression and disruptive behaviors (Atkins et al., 2006). As if this was not enough, many of these children face significant challenges to their social, emotional, and cognitive development due to the fact that they are more likely to be exposed to impaired parents and family stress than their non-poor peers (Azzi-Lessing, …show more content…
Child expulsion rates were significantly lower among preschool teachers who reported having on-going, on-site consultation (Pollard-Durodola, 2003). These are hopeful results considering that more children are being expelled from preschool than all other grades. Being expelled means these children end up with decreased ability to interact with peers, create family stress, become stigmatized as problem children, fail to develop school readiness skills, and cause disruptions to others (Pollard-Durodola,
Risk factors are increase by the fact that throughout much of the United States, child poverty is concentrated in urban communities (Atkins et al., 2006). Facing poverty is a major risk factor. Azzi-Lessing (2010) found that children in poverty demonstrate lower cognitive abilities and have more behavioral or emotional problems than children not living in poverty. As many as 80% of children experiencing poverty are exposed to community violence. Witnessing this violence impacts children’s academic performance, as well as resulting in higher rates of depression and disruptive behaviors (Atkins et al., 2006). As if this was not enough, many of these children face significant challenges to their social, emotional, and cognitive development due to the fact that they are more likely to be exposed to impaired parents and family stress than their non-poor peers (Azzi-Lessing, …show more content…
Child expulsion rates were significantly lower among preschool teachers who reported having on-going, on-site consultation (Pollard-Durodola, 2003). These are hopeful results considering that more children are being expelled from preschool than all other grades. Being expelled means these children end up with decreased ability to interact with peers, create family stress, become stigmatized as problem children, fail to develop school readiness skills, and cause disruptions to others (Pollard-Durodola,