FAQs
As a leading nonprofit bereavement organization in Massachusetts, The Children’s Room (TCR) has provided caring grief support for children, teens, and families for almost thirty years. Services include peer support groups for children and teens, parent/caregiver groups, family consultations, and family nights. TCR also partners directly with schools to offer support and education in a school environment. The Pathways of Change curriculum provides a supportive environment for students to learn how to navigate experiences including change, loss, and grief. Students build resilience by identifying and exploring emotions, enhancing coping skills, and understanding ways to be an empathetic and supportive friend.
Children spend a significant portion of their day in a school setting. We know that change, loss, and grief are common among students and come in many forms. Students encounter a variety of stressors, including illness, divorce, home moves, loss of a parent or sibling, or separations from caregivers or friends. These losses can impact everything from their academic achievement and motivation to their peer relationships.
School professionals who support children day-to-day have an invaluable opportunity to normalize these experiences and support students. We hope that by sharing resources and information about Pathways of Change with parents/caregivers, families will also be able to reinforce what is shared in each lesson at home.
Pathways of Change focuses on giving students the awareness, understanding, and skills to navigate change, loss, and grief. While informed by expanded SEL models such as the CASEL framework, the topics within this curriculum are more specifically loss and grief focused.
School staff will join The Children’s Room during the facilitation of each session with the students. Staff will be offered training, materials, and resources to support students on an ongoing basis.
Lessons are activity-based and include art, play, and movement. Four lessons will be delivered once per week. Each 45 to 60-minute lesson is facilitated by The Children’s Room’s licensed clinical staff. Students will be guided through a warm-up exercise to gather and center the group. This is followed by an activity focussed on the lesson theme. In closing, TCR leads a closing circle discussion as the students transition back to their day.
Parents and caregivers will be invited to join us at a “Family Information Night” to learn more about what will be covered and ask any questions. In addition, materials will be provided for the school to send to families before, during, and after the curriculum to keep them informed of these topics.
All students in participating classes are invited to take part. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to reach out to the school with any thoughts or questions about this initiative. If a family decides to opt-out, they may communicate this request to the school.
Pathways of Change is provided at no cost to schools and families. The Children’s Room has developed this program with funding from The Parmenter Foundation.
Assessment and observation are an important part of our program and we plan weekly evaluations of each lesson. We incorporate and encourage feedback from parents, caregivers, and school staff throughout the implementation.
Contact
781-641-4741
1210 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA 02476
Developed by The Children’s Room. Made possible with funnding from The Parmenter Foundation. ©2022 The Children’s Room.
