Teaching Strategies, the country's leading developer of early childhood curriculum, assessment, professional learning, and family engagement solutions, today announced the acquisition of Noni Educational Solutions, a trauma-focused edtech start-up that has developed a groundbreaking, app-based resource designed to support preschool-5th grade teachers working with children who have been impacted by trauma.
The solution, called noni™ for Teachers, was developed in partnership with Adventist HealthCare The Lourie Center for Children's Social & Emotional Wellness, a pioneer in research on best practices for supporting children impacted by trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
"Even prior to the pandemic, more than two-thirds of children had experienced at least one traumatic event by the age of 16," said Jimmy Venza, Ph.D., child psychologist and executive director of the Lourie Center. "In the aftermath of these past two years and the resulting stresses placed on families and children, that statistic is only likely to worsen."
"Now more than ever, teachers need and deserve our support for trauma-informed instruction and coaching. We're excited to welcome Noni Educational Solutions to the Teaching Strategies family. noni™ for Teachers fills a gap not met by any other solution in the market and gives educators the tools and support they need to care for children impacted by trauma and help them regulate behavior so they can learn."
Teaching Strategies CEO John Olsen
noni™ for Teachers is an app-based digital coach and collection of classroom teaching resources that guide teachers through providing trauma-informed instruction. The app uses real-time responsive technology, serving up immediate guidance based on teacher input and giving teachers the ability to track and even predict child behaviors that stem from exposure to toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences.
"We know from decades of research on working with young children who have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences that the teacher-child relationship can actually act as a buffer against the negative impact of trauma," said Kai-leé Berke, co-founder of Noni Educational Solutions and an author of many of Teaching Strategies' curriculum and assessment resources. "Having personally experienced traumatic circumstances as a young child, and eventually teaching and caring for young children who had also had exposure to adverse childhood experiences, I know firsthand what teachers face as students return to the traditional classroom. Addressing the lifelong mental and physical challenges that can result from trauma is essential to a student's success, and we must ensure our educators have the support to do so."
The app also provides intervention and prevention plans, whole-class guidance, support for partnering with families of trauma-impacted children, built-in teacher professional development around trauma and adverse childhood experiences, and resources that address teachers' own self-care and mental wellness.
The app and teaching resources will be available for immediate purchase by schools and programs. It seamlessly joins Teaching Strategies' family of solutions to support social-emotional learning in early childhood education including The Creative Curriculum®, Al's Pals™, GOLD®, ReadyRosie®, and professional development courses.
About Teaching Strategies
Driven by research that shows a child's first eight years form a critical foundation for success in school and in life, Teaching Strategies has been an advocate for the early education community for over 40 years. Today, Teaching Strategies connects teachers, children and families to inspired teaching and learning experiences, informative data, stronger family partnerships, and professional learning through the leading early learning platform and resources. Its products, including the most widely-used curriculum and assessment solutions The Creative Curriculum® and GOLD®, are found in over 270,000 classrooms and reach over 2 million children each year. To learn why thousands of early childhood programs and many states choose to partner with Teaching Strategies to help ensure children's success in school and in life.
About Noni Educational Solutions
Noni Educational Solutions is an education technology start-up that is developing support and resources for teachers and caregivers who have children in their classrooms who have been impacted by adverse childhood experiences. Their mission is to support teachers across the country in providing trauma-informed, relationship-based, responsive care to young children. Co-founded by Kai-leé Berke and Tia Disick, lifelong early education professionals, the company is focused on developing innovative ways to leverage the power of technology to support building the kind of safe, secure relationships between teachers and trauma-impacted young children that lay the foundation for successful content learning.
About Adventist HealthCare's The Lourie Center for Children's Social & Emotional Wellness
The Lourie Center is a private, non-profit agency with a mission to improve the social and emotional health of young children and their families through prevention, early intervention, education, research and training. It was founded in 1983 by the late Dr. Reginald S. Lourie, a world-wide leader in the fields of pediatric child psychiatry and infant mental health, and his renowned colleagues, including Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and Dr. Stanley Greenspan, as an outgrowth of their six-year clinical research project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Decades of extensive research confirm the impact of The Lourie Center's programs for trauma-impacted young children, including an 80% success rate in transitioning children to public school; academic and social gains; and reduced suspension and expulsion rates.