- “I am a director and preschool teacher of a new child development center. For the previous seven years I was a Head Start teacher and was trained in using Al’s Pals. The children loved it when it was Al’s Pals time. I thoroughly enjoyed using it as a teaching tool in my classroom. When I left Head Start for my new position, I had to leave Al’s Pals behind. I would love to implement the program in my new classroom and purchase the Al’s Pals curriculum package.”
- - Jennifer Howard
- Program Director
- Spirit Lake, Iowa
- “The children very much enjoy and look forward to our Al's Pals lessons each week. They love the songs! Discussions around the photos have been enlightening. Children are able to talk about issues that bother them. We use the "Calm Down Steps" EVERYDAY for many different children and have found that, for some, those steps are exactly what's needed. Teachers have nothing but praise for the program!”
- - Marcia Werp
- Lead Preschool Teacher
- Kansas City, Missouri
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Program Settings For Al's Pals
- Typical Settings for Al's Pals
- Innovative Settings and Adaptations
- Culturally Diverse Features of Al's Pals
Typical Settings for Al's Pals
Al's Pals is primarily implemented in the following settings:
- preschools
- child care centers
- Head Start classrooms
- kindergarten classrooms
- first grade classrooms
- after-school programs
- community-based programs
- faith-based programs
In order for children to receive adequate exposure to Al's Pals, it is important for these essential components to be maintained: a) a consistent group of children who attend regularly for at least four to six months, b) Wingspan-trained staff who deliver the lessons and work with the children several hours a week, modeling and reinforcing the concepts taught.
Innovative Settings and Adaptations
Increasingly, Al's Pals is being implemented in innovative settings. Wingspan works closely with partners to formulate implementation plans for innovative settings and to help construct adaptations that maintain the essential components for program effectiveness. Some examples include:
- residential substance abuse treatment centers for women, with on-site child care
- special education classrooms
- family child care homes
- transitional housing shelters
- therapeutic treatment centers for children who have been abused and neglected
Contact an Outreach Specialist to discuss adapting Al's Pals for implementation in an innovative setting.
Culturally Diverse Features of Al's Pals
Wingspan programs are effective with children and families across a broad spectrum of racial, ethnic, economic and geographic backgrounds. Grounded in resilience research applicable to all children and families, and developed intentionally to be inclusive,
Wingspan programs reflect diverse perspectives, cultures, and experiences. Evaluation research has shown consistently positive results across children's ages, gender, geographic and racial/ethnic backgrounds.
Culturally diverse features include:
- Al's Pals puppets named Al, Ty, and Keisha, are gold, aqua, and pink.
- Instructional posters and worksheets have hand-drawn faces that are ethnically generic.
- Wingspan music styles include pop, reggae, rap and rock. (Click to hear "Different and the Same" song.)
- Names used in curriculum puppet scripts and stories are representative of many communities - Maria, Sam, Antoine.
- Curriculum photographs include people of varying colors, ages, and sizes, as well as individuals with disabilities. The photo backgrounds relate to varied settings.
- Parent letters, handouts, posters, Al-a-grams, and certificates are available in English and Spanish.
- Parent education modules involve very little reading or writing, and are organized for easy translation in delivery to non-English speaking audiences. Handouts and posters are available in English and Spanish.