Description

SUMMARY
This case study describes the approaches TPS has taken to address a student’s aggressive
behavior in school and the lack of a strong relationship between his mother and her TPS coach.
In response to a pattern of big behaviors in the classroom, the school has provided informal
mentoring, occupational therapy, and extra support during transition times. The family’s coach
has taken time to improve her relationship with the student’s mother after she had a negative
first impression of TPS. The case illustrates the need for consistency in coaching and the
effective treatment of complex behavioral needs in the classroom through a combination of adult
support and health-based approaches.
BACKGROUND
Enrollment: K is a 4-year-old male student who first enrolled at The Primary School as a
3-year-old in a K3 preschool classroom. Prior to TPS, K was enrolled at another local child care
center and TPS identified early in the enrollment process as needing support to reduce hitting
and other aggressive behavior.
Family: K is an only child, and he is being raised by a single mom with various other family
members in the area. His mom had negative experiences growing up in foster care, so she is
committed to providing a better childhood for K. She has been very involved in the process and
wants to do everything she can, but TPS coaches have had trouble developing a close
relationship with her.
ISSUES
K’s Behavior
Concerns:
● Actions: K sometimes exhibits behaviors that are impulsive and aggressive. He has
shown a range of aggressive activities, from pushing, hitting, and biting other students to
strangling others and throwing objects. During a day of school, behaviors included hitting
the teacher and other kids, biting/kicking/screaming after a timeout, attempting to run
from the class, and throwing shoes.
● Emotions: K tends to shift moods and move from angry to happy very quickly. He will
shriek or cry at least once a day when he becomes upset, for anywhere from 2 to 15
minutes.
● Opposition/Defiance: K goes directly against some of the teacher’s instructions. He will
run away when asked to line up or turn away when asked to join a group. He also
responds “no” to requests—even when offered a fun activity—but he becomes upset
when he misses these opportunities.

Triggers: Teachers note that K is most likely to have outbursts or show defiant behavior in
certain situations.
● Transitions: K struggles when moving between activities at school, especially when
directed to move on to a new task.
● Carpet Time/Naptime: K has trouble focusing and staying in one place during class
carpet time and naptime.
● Bathroom Accidents: K has accidents almost daily, and he will cry or hit things when a
teacher tries to help him.
● Seeking Attention: K is more likely to have a big behavior when he sees another child
receiving attention from the teacher.
Strengths:
● K is very verbal, and he is able to hold conversations about a wide variety of topics. He
loves to be a helper and tends to come up with amazing ideas during imaginative play.
● K is academically skilled—potentially even ahead of other kids his age. He already
knows his letters and numbers well, and he is able to verbally spell his name.
Parent-Coach Relationship
Background: Because K was enrolled early in the organization’s development process, he
came at a time when TPS was still working on hiring new coaches. K and his mom were
assigned to Coach L during the enrollment period after K’s mom had a negative impression of
her first phone conversation with TPS. Coach L has a background in early childhood
development, so she provided feedback and support. However, as new coaches arrived at TPS,
K’s case changed hands several times, moving through four coaches in total. The current
coach, Coach C, has been working with K and his mom for about two months.
Concerns:
● K’s mom seems to have had a bad experience with his first school, and a potentially
negative first impression of her first coach. Some of K’s teacher note that K’s mom also
seems reluctant to open up and be honest about his progress, and moving to TPS was a
difficult transition for her.
● K’s mom tends to be firm, guarded, and somewhat hard to get through to. Coaches feel
that she has some trouble with trust and it will take time to build a stronger relationship with
her.
Strengths:
● K’s mom is very nice in person and receptive to the program. She went through
Foundations, the first 8-weeks of the parent curriculum, and has since been setting goals
to positively impact K’s development.
● K’s mom is dedicated to making his experience better than hers was and giving him
more opportunities.

GOALS
K’s Behavior
● Minimize aggressive and attention-seeking behaviors
● Control impulses by giving K strategies to calm himself and express needs verbally
● Improve response to instructions and performance in structured activities
● Help K regulate temper tantrums and follow rules
Parent-Coach Relationship
● Help K’s mom develop trust in TPS coaches and respond better to them
● Prevent K’s mom from being shuffled between coaches again; provide more consistency
● Take time to build a stronger relationship with K’s mom and earn her trust
APPROACHES
K’s Behavior
Adult Help: K receives support from assistant teachers and mentors throughout the day,
particularly during structured times in school. During unstructured times, when he is allowed to
choose his own activities, K typically works well independently.
● Teachers: K’s teacher, Jen, and other aides accompany him during all transitions and
naptime and prompt him to reflect verbally on his behavior. They have also focused on
giving him more positive attention so he doesn’t feel the need to use big behaviors be
noticed.
● Mentors: K has been assigned an adult mentor to help him build leadership skills and
routines. He also has various “informal” male role models during school, including a
substitute teacher and a staff member’s husband, who teach him sports and other
activities.
Behavior: When K has a big behavior, one staff member supports him, while others support
other students in the room and help divert attention.
● Bathroom: K is asked to use the bathroom before every transition to help reduce
accidents that might trigger outbursts.
● Transitions: Teachers are working on transitioning K between activities earlier than
other students to help him keep his focus. They assign him a job or provide
encouragement to keep him from needing to be carried or given intense one-on-one
attention.
● Language: Teachers use phrases such as “what do you need” and “how can I help you”
to support K during outbursts, as well as if/then language (“if you use your words, then
you can choose an activity”). K is also prompted to “use his words” and praised for doing
so with no reminders.
● Consequences: Teachers remove K from class activities if he is being disruptive.

Sometimes it works to ignore his outbursts, but this makes it more likely that other
students will mimic him.
Health:
● Occupational Therapy: Because K is such a sensory person, the school provides
informal therapy to help with self-regulation and improve impulsive behavior.
➢ One staff member takes K outside for heavy lifting each morning to help him use up
energy before school starts.
➢ Teachers have experimented with having K wear a weighted vest or giving him toys
that he can put in his mouth. They give him pretzels and other hard snacks to eat.
➢ K uses some independent strategies, like getting up to get water or going to the
classroom’s “cozy corner,” to calm down when he needs to.
● Mental Health: While K’s mental health needs are still unclear, teachers are looking to
find out more about his attention-seeking behavior, which might have to do with his
relationship with mom. Someone will likely come in to look into this more, but mentors
are helping in the meantime.
Parent-Coach Relationship
Check-Ins: TPS staff check in with K’s mom daily to make sure that she is on the same page
and using the same language as the teachers/coaches, and that K knows she is involved.
Coach’s Role: K’s mom’s coach recognizes that building her trust will take some time, and that
she needs to give K’s mom a chance to become comfortable with the program. The coach is
staying in touch with K’s mom while continuing to respect her boundaries.
Mom’s Role: K’s mom is actively involved in the behavioral aspect of K’s case, and she aims to
take a firmer approach and give more immediate consequences for negative behaviors. She
also uses a mood meter at home to facilitate conversations about K’s emotions and behaviors.
OUTCOMES
Positive Results:
● Naptime: At the beginning of the school year, K was very disruptive during naptime. He
would scream, try to run away, and generally keep other students from sleeping.
Teachers also noticed that K’s behavior would worsen in the afternoon when he failed to
nap earlier in the day. K has recently become more successful with napping, and he
responds especially well to teachers massaging him as he falls asleep.
● Attendance: K previously had attendance issues, and he would miss school entirely on
Wednesdays because of the early pick-up schedule. TPS collaborated with K’s mom to
find a solution, and he now attends school more consistently.
● Friendships: Teachers have noticed that K has been getting along with a growing
number of students, and there are many classmates he enjoys spending time with.
● Socio-Emotional Lessons: The whole class has socio-emotional lessons, and K

responds especially well to them because he has such strong verbal skills. These
lessons have helped him improve and express himself better.
Challenges:
● So far, there has been no consistently successful approach to improving K’s behavior.
This makes it difficult to form a reliable plan.
● K still has trouble with carpet time and transitions.

Prior to the start of the new school year, teachers, coaches, and other members of the “cross-team” (e.g.,
Medical Director, Speech & Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, etc.) meet to exchange
information about students and families, to ensure a smooth child transition experience and continuity of
supports for both child and caregiver(s). During this period, you are provided with a case study on K, who
will be joining your classroom, and learn about K and K’s mother.
In your first month at The Primary School, you observe that K’s progress on his goals has stalled or even
regressed. You have utilized the approaches that were shared during the summer, but have not felt
successful in supporting K. You have had difficulty connecting with K’s mom and sharing this information
with her. You request that K’s case be discussed at the next teacher/coach meeting.
Prepare a document that outlines the below:
● Why you think K’s behavior might be regressing?
● Who you would want to pull into the meeting (other than the Parent Wellness Coach)?
● The ideal outcome of the meeting.
Activity 2: Learning Environment
Space is an essential part of how we create learning experiences for students. Please record and submit a
video of your classroom and share a 300-word explanation of what we are seeing in the video. Submit your
written response using the link provided to you. Videos can be submitted as a link (e.g., YouTube) or as an
uploaded file.
● The video should be no more than 2 minutes and should not be narrated
● We are particularly interested in seeing evidence of how your classroom supports all learners, facilitates student
agency and ownership of learning, encourages positive behaviors, and fosters child-centered and effective
instructional practices.
● In your written response, describe what we see in the video, how it supports student learning, what you are most
proud of, and how you wish to evolve and improve upon your setup.
● If you are currently in a non-instructional role, please use the classroom of a teacher that you directly
support or a classroom that you feel best represents your work as a teacher.

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