Our Vision
All Massachusetts Infant and Early Childhood Practitioners will have the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and supports necessary to nurture young children’s social-emotional development within their family, culture, and community.
Our Mission
The Massachusetts Pyramid Model State Leadership Team will help develop and sustain a statewide, collaborative professional development structure that utilizes the Pyramid’s conceptual framework, joined with other related promotion, prevention, and intervention efforts. Massachusetts Practitioners trained in the Pyramid Model will have the capacity to promote social and emotional competence, prevent emotional disruption, address challenging behavior, and understand the impact of nurturing relationships on children’s capacity to learn.
MA History
In 2009 Massachusetts became one of the first states to implement Pyramid Model practices. A State Leadership Team (SLT) was established with MA leaders from public and private organizations concerned with the social-emotional development of young children and their families.
The SLT has worked closely with the Pyramid Model Consortium to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for implementation of the Pyramid Model and complete the exploration/planning stage for each of the Pyramid Model key structures.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) are aligning their work to bring EC-PBS Pyramid Model strategies to programs across Massachusetts, creating linkages across district-based and community-based programs.
The community-wide approach is designed to create stronger networks for families, provide cohesive services for children, and support interconnected professional development for staff.
What is the State Leadership Team?
Our State Leadership Team includes representation across many different agencies, organizations, and disciplines active in the implementation of the Pyramid Model across the Commonwealth. This membership reflects a a high level of collaboration amongst those who serve families with young children in Massachusetts.
Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
The US Department of Education is implementing a revised accountability system under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To support this new system, known as Results Driven Accountability (RDA), states are required to develop a State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP). In developing, implementing, and evaluating the SSIP, states have been asked to select a measurable outcome and deliver innovative, evidenced-based practices for students with disabilities to improve the measurable outcome. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) has selected improved outcomes for preschool children with IEPs as the State Identified Measureable Result (SiMR) and the Pyramid Model as the improvement strategy. Massachusetts selected this outcome and correlating strategy based on input from a variety of stakeholders, a thorough data analysis, and an examination of existing state infrastructure. The Pyramid Model is a tiered intervention framework that includes evidence-based practices for promoting the social, emotional, and behavioral development of young children. Using a train the trainer model, the Department is providing intensive support to 18 districts. In addition, related statewide initiatives are being bolstered to leverage existing infrastructure in order to promote expansion and sustainability. Beginning in FY2017, the department will begin the evaluation of the SSIP and make revisions based on data analysis. The Department will report these results annually to OSEP through FY2020.
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) has participated in the dissemination of the Pyramid Model approach throughout the state. This includes Educator Provider Support grantees funded through EEC to offer a variety of professional development opportunities are offering CEU-bearing Pyramid Model trainings to community and public early care and education programs.
The Massachusetts Early Intervention (EI) system is implementing a state-wide initiative to embed principles from the Parents Interacting with Infants (PIWI) approach to working with families during home visits. This initiative will focus on supporting all EI specialists to engage with parents by focusing on identifying the dyadic characteristics in each parent (or caregiver) – child relationship and utilizing triadic strategies to strengthen the dyadic relationship for each family. In addition, we are supporting EI specialists to purposely move from using most directive to least directive triadic strategies in their on-going work with families. In the initial phase, we are focused on the EI specialists’ home visits with a parent or caregiver and not child care settings.
A collaboration between three state agencies—the Departments of Early Education and Care, Public Health, and Housing and Community Development, to support young children experiencing homelessness. The project, funded through the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant, provided training and coaching to shelter staff using the Pyramid Model of early childhood Positive Behavior Support in 2014-2015 across three regions of the state. The training provided them with a new mindset for working with families, as well as a new set of tools. As a result of this training, the staff reported increased confidence and skill in supporting parents to build their children’s social emotional competence.
Kicking off in the spring of 2012, the State Leadership Team has hosted an annual Pyramid Model Summit, bringing together professionals across disciplines and settings in order to share lessons learned, spark new ideas, and make connections. Each year the Summit features practitioners from across the Commonwealth, as well as national Pyramid Model experts. Over the years the Summit has covered a wide range of topics connected to Early Childhood. This event was in-person until 2019 and shifted to a virtual offering in 2021. Below are the topics that have been presented in recent years:
- 2019 – Trauma Informed Care and the Pyramid Model (In-person)
- 2020 – No Summit Due to Pandemic
- 2021 – Addressing Equity and Intergenerational Trauma through the Pyramid Model (Virtual series) CLICK HERE TO VIEW WEBINARS
- 2022 – Cultivating Happier Environments for Children, Caregivers and Early Childhood Providers (Virtual series) CLICK HERE TO VIEW WEBINARS
- 2023 – Together We Belong: Embracing Inclusion for Every Child and Family (Virtual series) CLICK HERE TO VIEW WEBINARS
- 2024 –
- 2025 – From Exclusion to Inclusion (In-person)
