Our Books

TAGPEC

Effective Discipline Policies (book cover)
We are very excited to announce that our book has won an Academic's Choice Award!

Effective Discipline Policies: How to Create a System that Supports Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence (2018)

By Sascha Longstreth, Ph.D., & Sarah Garrity, Ed.D.

Our award-winning book, Effective Discipline Policies, provides clear, evidence-based guidance for early childhood program administrators on how to design and implement high-quality behavior guidance policies. These policies help prevent challenging behaviors, strengthen teaching and learning, and promote children’s social-emotional competence.

Inside you’ll find:

  • A humanistic approach to teaching and guidance
  • A chapter on the critical role of culture and language
  • Practical tools for using the Teaching and Guidance Policy Essentials Checklist (TAGPEC) to create strong, evidence-based policies
  • A special chapter on trauma and early childhood mental health, written by a pediatrician and child psychologist

This book is designed to help administrators, coaches, and educators rethink discipline as teaching — not punishment — and to create learning environments where all children can thrive.

Check out the companion workbook for the latest version of the TAGPEC!

Developing and Implementing Effective Discipline Policies

A Practical Guide for Early Childhood Consultants, Coaches, and Leaders (2023)

This companion workbook expands on the core ideas of Effective Discipline Policies and includes the most recent revision of the TAGPEC, now updated to address inclusion for all children.

Using our five-step model, readers will learn how to:

  • Build collaborative teams
  • Rethink discipline approaches through a developmental and relational lens
  • Strengthen children’s social-emotional competence
  • Train and support staff
  • Implement school-wide, evidence-based policies
  • Drive continuous quality improvement efforts

Developing and Implementing Effective Discipline Policies is an essential resource for early childhood administrators, principals, trainers, coaches, and consultants. Together, these two books offer a complete roadmap for transforming behavior guidance systems — helping programs build cultures of compassion, equity, and growth.