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Houston Achievement Place (HAP) has a mission to help children and their care-providers learn the skills and develop the relationships for success in school, at home and in the community. Its guiding principles and values include faith in each person’s capacity for change, growth and healing; commitment to accountability and excellence; and teaching and learning through supportive relationships.
Spindletop has supported HAP for more than 35 years, most specifically in funding Project CLASS, a simple and fun curriculum teaching core-foundation social skills to children ages 3-12 years old. Project CLASS is in 60 elementary schools and early childhood centers in Houston, benefiting 32,000 students, 4,000 teachers and parents.
Michael Gets Mad, written by HAP Executive Director Paul Gilford, is the first book in a series on core-foundation social skills for children. Spindletop’s donation provided funding to produce this first-of-the-series book collection. This story about Michael reflects that anger is a normal and commonly occurring emotion, but how we express and handle our anger matters. It explores emotions such as paying attention, following instructions, accepting no, accepting feedback, calming down and making good choices. Each of the series is accompanied with online resources providing guidance and simple ways for children to improve in getting along better with others, at home and at school.
