On May 19-20, 2021, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will host the 2021 Children's Behavioral Health Conference. This virtual opportunity will focus on "Powering through the Pandemic and Inspiring Hope" and feature speakers including resilience experts, bestselling authors, political activists and more.
Click here for details and to register.
Oklahoma is committed to promoting and supporting the social and emotional wellness of young children while enhancing their learning and growth. The Pyramid Model promotes the skills necessary for young children, birth to five, to understand and manage their emotions. In addition, it addresses disparities in discipline practices; promotes family engagement; and fosters inclusion of children with, and at risk for, developmental delays and disabilities.
All Oklahoma early childhood practitioners, in partnership with families, will have the knowledge, skills, disposition and supports necessary to nurture infants and young children’s social-emotional well-being within their family, culture and community.
Oklahoma is participating in this early childhood professional development opportunity designed to support the social-emotional development of children birth through five. The Pyramid Model was created nearly two decades ago with funding from the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education. Today, over 30 states utilize this research-based model to implement evidence-based practices that help infants and young children.
The OPSR Board has established a Pyramid Model State Leadership Team to help achieve the goals set forth below. In addition, Oklahoma is working with the Pyramid Model Consortium that exists to promote the dissemination, sustainability, scale-up and high fidelity use of the Pyramid Model by providing training and technical assistance to states.
Together, our state will work to achieve the following outcomes:
1) Enhance the capacity of workforce to adopt the Pyramid Model.
2) Increase the number of high-quality Pyramid Model trainers and coaches.
3) Develop a cadre of high fidelity program-wide and community-wide implementation sites.
4) Partner with families to enhance skills and strategies to support their children.
5) Increase children’s prosocial skills and reduce challenging behavior.
6) Prevent and limit expulsion and suspension in early childhood settings.
The Pyramid Model State Leadership Team (PMSLT) is a cross-sector group of early childhood stakeholders that work together to resolve state-level barriers. By utilizing the Pyramid Model framework, with its emphasis on strong relationships, this team will focus on professional development as well as facilitating best practices at the local level.
As Oklahoma’s Early Childhood State Advisory Council, the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Board established the Pyramid Model State Leadership Team in April 2020. This important action was taken in response to the high number of children in Oklahoma who experience adversity during their early years as well as a need to improve coordination across early childhood programs.
Members of this team include parents, state-level early childhood and education program leaders and private funders. And the diversity of the PMSLT is enhanced by team member's expertise and passion for improving the well-being of young children.
The PMSLT is excited to collaborate with the Pyramid Model Consortium to educate professional development trainers in the Pyramid Model; work with selected implementation sites; and assist with strengthening interagency collaboration at state and local levels. Creating a common vision for all state-wide training efforts, the Pyramid Model will ensure a cohesive and effective approach to addressing the needs of young children with challenging behaviors and special needs while aligning with Oklahoma’s social-emotional learning foundations.
From implementation guides for early childhood practitioners to tools for families, we've got everything you need to utilize the Pyramid Model and ensure that every Oklahoma child is in an environment where they feel acknowledged, welcomed and loved.
The Oklahoma Pyramid Model Pinterest page shares resources and ideas that promote the skills necessary for young children to be socially-emotionally healthy.
Keep up with the latest and greatest when you like the Oklahoma Pyramid Model Facebook page.
How exactly do you make the Pyramid Model work? Below are easy-to-follow resources for Pyramid Model implementation, so that you can become one of the many programs in Oklahoma to carry out our state's vision of improving the social-emotional well-being of young children within their family, culture and community.
The Center for Early Childhood Professional Development (CECPD) is now offering free training for Oklahoma. Sponsored by ProSolutions, this Pyramid Model training includes three training groups with modules that incorporate interactive games, videos, audio, tests and quizzes. Below you'll find a description of each training group and modules as well as instructions on how to access these courses on the CECPD website.
Birth - Five: This online training includes three modules, each broken into six hour segments. Module 3 is the same for each training group.
To register for any of these modules through CECPD, click this link and enter "Pyramid" in the Course Title filter or enter the "Event ID #" in the Event ID filter.
Infant Toddler: This online training includes three modules, each broken into six hour segments. Module 3 is the same for each training group.
To register for any of these modules through CECPD, click this link and enter "Pyramid" in the Course Title filter or enter the "Event ID #" in the Event ID filter.
Preschool: This online training includes three modules, each broken into six hour segments. Module 3 is the same for each training group.
To register for any of these modules through CECPD, click this link and enter "Pyramid" in the Course Title filter or enter the "Event ID #" in the Event ID filter.
Family engagement is at the heart of the Pyramid Model. Practicioners and programs have the opportunity to both offer support to and learn from families. Below are a few resources to help you get started as you build strong relationships with families at all tiers of the Pyramid Model.