Fri, 10/19/2018
From our different backgrounds as district attorney and early childhood education administrator, when we meet seriously disadvantaged young people, we wish we had the super power to improve their odds, to make them better. From our combined years of experience working with other officials, experts and agencies, we know a super power does exist that helps improve a child’s well-being and future. The power is early education, with engaged parents. Experience and experts tell us that birth to 5 are the critical years for determining a child’s success later in life, and that parents must be engaged in high-quality early-learning efforts. The evidence is so strong that it has brought together a national, bipartisan nonprofit of law enforcement leaders working to support early childhood programs. The effort is called “Fight Crime, Invest in Kids.” Across the country, district attorneys are working to bring awareness to programs like Head Start/Early Head Start on the Central Coast that provide solutions that ensure our next generation of Americans will be successful, and citizen-ready. Being a good citizen means when you’re young attending school, then finding a career or trade, voting, volunteering and even paying taxes. The groundwork begins at home and right at birth. There has been a new wave of interest in early education in recent years in the...Categories: Our Voice Tags: Citinzenship, Dan Dow, Edward Condon, head start, San Luis Obispo
Mon, 04/30/2018
By Edward Condon, R9HSA Executive Director No matter your industry or profession, you can find dozens of books on leadership styles and practices. Then there are stand-out works such as Stephen R. Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” or the grand-daddy of the genre, Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” All basically drive to this point: A good leader makes good things happen. When we consider what makes Head Start across our nation successful—we naturally look inward at our teachers, administrators and the engagement of parents. But there are other people involved who are outside of Head Start, and they play a vital role in how well Head Start families do. These are the leaders of elementary schools—the next waypoint in the lives of Head Start children. Spring is typically the time when Head Start children are introduced to their kindergarten teacher and classroom, when they are prepared for the transition into elementary school. How well this orientation is shaped, how effective is the transition is hugely dependent upon the cooperation and collaboration with the leaders of the elementary school—the principals and superintendents. In fact, a study by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research found that the most effective leaders in a district are those that focus more on culture than curriculum....Categories: Our Voice Tags: Everyday Champions, head start, Head Start's Anniversary
Thu, 04/19/2018
by Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director, NHSA Enrollment in state-funded preschool programs has more than doubled in the past 15 years, but an annual report released today by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) reveals that one of the defining aspects of Head Start — high-quality standards — is missing from many state-funded preschool programs. What’s more, many of those that are succeeding are doing so in part because of their strong collaboration with Head Start programs and/or because they have aligned their standards with the Head Start Program Performance Standards. Read between the lines and the message is clear: Head Start is leading the way in demonstrating how to provide consistently high-quality pre-K that improves outcomes for children in kindergarten and beyond. 2017 - National Institute for Early Education Research The State of Preschool 2017 annual report, based on 2016-17 academic year data, finds states heeding the demand for…nieer.org A Sought-After Partner Even though Head Start is fundamentally a federal-to-local program in terms of funding, state leaders have sought to partner with Head Start programs within their states in order to increase both the quality of their preschool initiatives and the number of three- and four-year old children they can reach. In fact, one of the states highlighted...Categories: General, Our Voice Tags: head start, National Head Start, NHSA, Pre-K, Quality
Fri, 01/19/2018
By Debbi Amaral Early Childhood Services Director Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. Click HERE to access the article in The Maui News as published! From the very beginning, one of Head Start’s brilliant strategies centered on engaging the community to help deliver services to children and families. As part of that effort, for the last 50-plus years, nonprofit community action agency Maui Economic Opportunity in the state of Hawaii has been committed to helping low income individuals and families become stable and achieve economic security through a variety of services. And though we live on a tropical island that outsiders might consider as a “paradise,” families residing on Maui with young children face the same challenges experienced by impoverished communities in the continental United States: high unemployment, limited access to proper health-care, lack of mental health services, substance abuse, domestic violence—and the dwindling resources needed to address all of these inequities. MEO’s outreach includes a Head Start program that serves 246 children in 13 centers on Maui and Molokai. For the last 20 years, one of MEO’s Head Start centers has been located on the University of Hawaii Maui College. This free, on-campus preschool enrolls children of Maui College students as a first priority, and it also serves families living nearby. Those of us at...Categories: Our Voice Tags: College, Hawaii, head start
Mon, 11/6/2017
By Alecia Jackson, M.Ed. Director Early Education Division, Assistant Director Human Services Department, Maricopa County I have long believed that an important power of the Head Start program is the dual focus on children and families—helping both children and their parents be successful. And part of that pathway for parents is a fulltime job with a livable wage. However, as an administrator of a Head Start program here in Arizona’s Maricopa County, I faced head-on a stunning limitation: Trying to go beyond our grant’s mandates to help parents deal with multi-faceted employment issues on their journey to economic security. Time after time I have witnessed: A parent stuck in a low-paying job because they lack the skills and abilities to qualify for a better paying job. A parent stuck in a dead-end job because they lack knowledge about career pathways in high demand fields. A parent stuck in unemployment because they can’t afford care for their children for the full working day Year-after-year observing these unmet needs has been frustrating. All over the United States, in fact, people doing my kind of work face these same kind of problem. Fortunately, this profound need for a wrap-around, two-generational approach to supporting under-privileged families has been realized by philanthropic organizations such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation...Categories: Our Voice Tags: Alecia Jackson, Arizona, Employment, Families, head start, Maricopa, Parents
Mon, 10/23/2017
A heads-up for the community: Head Start helps keep kids, parents healthy article was published on Saturday, October 21, 2017 in the Bakersfield Californian. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE Continue ReadingCategories: General Tags: Bakersfield, Community, head start, Health
Fri, 09/8/2017
By Tameka Henry, Regional 9 Head Start Association Parliamentarian Wherever you are standing—you need to lead. That has been a guiding principle for me—especially from the time my now teenage daughter was enrolled in Head Start 10 years ago and as a young parent I realized the challenge of being the best parent I could be. As I grew into my own power as an adult, I discovered leadership begins at home—by being a good parent. The first and most important job of any advocate is to lead your family—to teach and learn the skills of open and honest communication. From what I learned through Head Start, I helped my children to be problem solvers, innovators and cheerleaders of the peers. For me—as much as for them—I said to always speak truth and never let the power of others define your beliefs. But folks need to do more: The obvious opportunity is in your school or in your community. For me, that place was Head Start where my two daughters were enrolled. I realized that as a participant, I and my children were consumers of Head Start’s services—and to support them, to improve them—to preserve them, I needed to act. Region 9 Head Start Association’s Ed Condon recently said it well: “We are faced with the reality of not only having to be educators—but being cheerleaders as well to survive—to lead the charge.” I have learned not...Categories: General Tags: Action, Funding, head start, National Head Start
Mon, 08/7/2017
By Edward Condon Executive Director, Region 9 Head Start Association Like many Americans these days—and certainly among educators—the notion of good leadership presents itself regularly: Our national leaders—whose job it is to set policy and make choices for all of us—are casting a critical look at domestic spending, with cuts in mind for community programs like Head Start. Some in Washington, D.C. are now in favor of resurrecting a proposal to turn the Head Start program into a block grant for each state—thus threatening the structure of what makes Head Start successful—how it transforms children and parents’ lives through the emphasis on education, health and overall well-being. So right now with this threat on the horizon, Head Start in America needs more advocates—its own leaders and followers—to continue spreading the good word about the Head Start advantage. Current headlines notwithstanding, there is much to celebrate in our land—in particular that rising generation of young people...Categories: General Tags: advocate, call to action, followers, head start, head start advantage, leaders
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