Comprehensive school support services  

Higher Ground offers a collection of best practice youth development strategies combined with mental, physical, emotional, and community health projects that develop school culture and climate.  Higher Ground wraps itself and services around schools allowing them to achieve their goals of providing a balanced program that develops the entire child and family.

Developmental Recess
and
School Climate Regulators

Higher Ground daytime staff are highly skilled and qualified in the areas of second step, tribes, and HG character development curriculum that impacts schools climate and culture.  We work with our school leadership and support staff to lay out a plan of action to transform a school into a peaceful setting were children and adults practice mutual respect.   

Professional Development
and Teacher Coaching

Often times, traditional teacher-credentialing programs fail to prepare teachers to work with “New Millennium” children. Today’s children are experiencing trauma unlike no other time in recent history. The mantra of Higher Ground’s professional development and teacher coaching program is to “help teachers teach.” Higher Ground assists teachers in their ability to recognize, understand, and respond to students’ stress-triggered and challenging behaviors. The program also provides both individual and classroom-wide behavior management interventions that allow teachers to better reach students in distress.

Service Coordination

The current Higher Ground Leadership team has over thirty years experience specializing in collaborative management, fiscal and legislative compliance and project implementation. We work to assure that multiple services at a sight or within a district are managed and implemented in a cohesive manner and students receive the appropriate services in a timely manner. We also make certain that projects are fiscally sound and support the overall school site plan. Higher Ground can provide coordination of all supplemental services at school sites including, but not limited to SSTs, SARTs and COST meetings.

Grade Level Collaborative Support

Higher Ground offers several programs and activities related to supporting the Grade Level Planning process on a school site. Because different schools want different activities to occur during this time, we have come up with several different options to meet their needs. Some of the options are, but are not limited to, Physical Education, Service Learning, Second Step Violence Prevention Program and different Enrichment Programs. The PE program uses a standards-based, grade level curriculum and focuses on appropriate skill-building and team building activities. The Service Learning program is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Second Step teaches students how to effectively manage their emotions and demonstrate self-control. Research indicates that children who learn and use these skills do better in school academically. By learning these skills at a young age, children will be equipped with the emotional skills to manage conflicts effectively as they age. The Second Step curriculum is organized by grade level and divided into three parts: empathy training, problem solving/self-control and anger management. Teaching materials consist of easy to use, step-by-step lessons, photos and videotapes.And finally, the Enrichment programs consist of different visual and performing arts activities that can be determined by the school site.

If you would like more information on this, or any other Higher Ground service, please call the office at: 510-658-6454 ask for Amber Blackwell, MA Programmatic Operations Director or Tiffany Gipson, Administrative Operations Director at highergroundndc@yahoo.com.

Hear what our teachers have to say about. . .

Our Behavior Plans
and in class support:

Ms. Lee (Kinder Teacher) Allendale Elementary---------------------------

"...Sometimes we have to send children out for a few minutes and Coach Archie helps and when the children return they have increased self control and concentration.” 
-Ms. Lee

 Hear what our teachers have to say about...
Our after school teachers and day time intervention mentors:

 Mr. Moore (Fifth Grade Teacher) Allendale Elementary

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 “Higher Ground teaches our students. . leadership skills, acting appropriately in the classroom and on the yard. Higher Ground helps us teach the children that the rules are the same across the board [also] Staff are committed to helping and go above and beyond the call of duty."
 -Mr. Moore

"Higher Ground has realy helped my son become a better student. He used to be really shy and kept to himself so much he would never ask for help. Thanks to the After School Program he has become more social and has a lot more confidence in himself. He has improved so much. I really am very happy to see him so happy here."

-Alejandro Jerez Sr.

Francisco Jerez (5th grade) and his father, Alejandro Jerez Sr. work on spray paint art together.