Many Verona parents know how to coach a child to hit a long fly ball. They can coach them to defend the crease or handle the intricacies of crossing the ball. But when it comes time to coach a child out of a temper tantrum or refusing to go to bed, they may discover that they’re the ones who need coaching. That’s where a new Verona business can take the field.
Kristen Niemczyk-Kistner’s new Verona-based business is called Success Street. With experience as a social worker in the Montclair and Bloomfield public school systems, Niemczyk-Kistner has co-founded a business to give parents the coaching, encouragement and resources they need to successfully manage problem behaviors.
“Parent coaching provides you with the support and guidance you need to become the parent you have always wanted to be,” Niemczyk-Kistner says. “A parent coach will assist you in creating a positive, peaceful home environment by identifying the areas of need, establishing goals, and develop an action plan.”
A six-year resident of Verona, Niemczyk-Kistner has a bachelors in psychology from Montclair State University, a masters of social work from Kean University, and a doctorate from Rutgers. Currently a member of the Montclair Board of Education’s child study team, she was previously on Bloomfield’s child study team from 2005 to 2013.
She is joined in Success Street by Melissa Palmero Dupree, who has an undergraduate degree in psychology from SUNY Albany and masters in school psychology from Mercy College. Palmero Dupree has worked as school psychologist in both Bloomfield and the Clarkstown Central School District in New City, N.Y.
As part of its service to area families, Success Street will be running free monthly teleconferences, beginning with “How to Avoid Tantrums During the Holiday Season” on Wednesday, December 10. It will teach parents how to recognize tantrum triggers and to intervene effectively. “Our goal is creating a peaceful home environment,” Niemczyk-Kistner says. “With a teleconference, you can participate from the comfort of your home. You don’t have to schedule time away from being at home.”
Success Street will also be offering group and individual coaching. For the moment, all services will be private pay, but Niemczyk-Kistner says they are looking at having some of the services covered under insurance.
“Having working the schools for over 10 years, we’ve seen that there is a great need for behavioral services at home,” she says. “Many of the behavioral difficulties we see in school are things that parents are also experiencing at home. They are looking for at-home services.”
For more information:
Success Street, LLC
Behavioral Consulting and Parent Coaching
1-866-568-2155
[email protected]
