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Duarte Unified spotlights preschool ‘Conscious Discipline’ program after 6-week pilot
Summary
Duarte Unified School District staff presented results from a six-week implementation of Conscious Discipline in preschool classrooms, saying the approach supports social-emotional learning, adult modeling and self-regulation. Parents and aides described behavioral and classroom changes; the board and community were invited to visit the program.
Duarte Unified School District highlighted its child development program’s rollout of Conscious Discipline, a social-emotional, brain-based classroom model, during the Oct. 9 board meeting.
District Director of Child Development Sofia Valdez said the district first brought the training after Valdez attended a week-long Conscious Discipline Institute in Philadelphia in 2023. Valdez said staff received professional development, one-on-one coaching in classrooms and monthly collaborative meetings, and that this year the program added a six-week “6 Weeks of Success” sequence to begin the school year.
The nut of the presentation, Valdez said, is that Conscious Discipline “starts with adults” and trains teachers and aides to model calm and self-regulation, helping children learn emotional-management tools. “When adults model calm and self control, children learn to manage their emotions and develop life skills themselves,” Valdez said.
Conscious Discipline instructor Laura Angulo demonstrated classroom routines captured in a short video shown to the board and attendees: group breathing exercises, use of “feeling buddies,” and the program’s “safe place” corners to help children self-regulate. Instructional aide Amber Shen described how staff now “pause, take a deep breath” and connect with students using empathic language rather than punishment when children struggle. Parents who spoke said they had observed changes at home; one parent said her child returned from preschool offering supportive phrases such as “we wish you well.”
The presentation noted program elements: a trainer-coach model, in-classroom role modeling, mentoring, and a sequence of routines for the first six weeks of school intended to establish safety, belonging and self-regulation. Valdez said the pilot began the first day of school and continued through recent weeks; staff reported students became more resilient, respectful and responsible by the end of the sequence.
Board members asked about ages and resources. Valdez said the preschool serves two- and three-year-olds and a limited number of four-year-olds and pointed board members to the classroom “safe place” and materials, which the program uses continuously during the day. The board encouraged site visits.
The district will continue the Conscious Discipline work as part of child-development staff professional learning and said it expects the model to be used across preschool sites as staffing and program schedules permit.
