REACH & ICJA: Collaborative Problem Solving

From the Desk of Mrs. Pederson,

The goals of Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) are to rethink the reasons why children misbehave and to identify how we can use empathy in our approach to help build meaningful relationships with them.

Tamar Shames, Director of Professional Development for REACH, has been working with ICJA for the past two years on implementing CPS as a tool to help address behavioral needs of students in the classroom.

At the end of the 2018-2019 school year, Susan Sennet, Shelley Stopek, Alissa Zeffren, Orit Marmel, Sheri Goldstein, Marlene Wasserstrom, and I attended Tier 1 training.  We hosted the event in conjunction with REACH and were joined by teachers and administrators from other Jewish Day Schools around Chicagoland.  To maintain our progress, we participated in monthly meetings with Tamar to continue our understanding of the CPS program and how to implement what the methodology calls “Plan B conversations” with our pupils.  

In the summer of 2020, several of us participated in Tier 2 Training and Susan, Shelley, Alissa, Orit and I continued meeting during the school year, with Tamar, to focus on applying our strategies in practice. 

Most recently, Alissa and I completed the CPS Certification program.  As soon as the paperwork is processed, we will be certified in Collaborative Problem Solving and will lead small groups in learning about the philosophy and methodology of CPS.