I cannot believe that this quarter is already finished; it really does seem just like yesterday that we were all struggling with just setting up this blog. I am so proud of the way we all were able to persevere and conquer the "blog beast". I actually enjoy writing to you all through here and reading the comments that come back. I want to especially thank Wendy Mercy and Patty Ingram; you both responded to all of the my blogs and many of our discussion posts. You both provided ideas that your centers use to gain parent engagement and I found that I could share some of those with my Family Service Worker for us as well. I also appreciate the positive words of support for what I have been doing with my students; it is nice to be recognized for caring and really wanting the best for the children in my community.
I look forward to sharing with you all next quarter, our last, in EDU 412. I am getting so excited to be done and have that degree in hand. I know how hard we have all worked and the sacrifices we have made with our time and energies. My hope is that even when the courses are done and we are back to our families again; that we can still check in with each other once in awhile and see the gains we have achieved with our accomplishment; I plan to continue my blog after this course.
Good luck to you all and see you in a few weeks.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Family Interaction and Experiences
It seems that life is at full speed for not only myself but the families enrolled in the Head Start program as well. It is getting close to Kindergarten registration for the four and five year olds in my classroom and the families are excited and apprehensive as well. I did ask to meet with a few of the families (during seperate times) to discuss a few questions I had. I have been so lucky in that all the families are incredibly supportive of my goal that is about to be complete, they say they see the need for trained preschool teachers and only hope that I stay with the Head Start program once I complete my degree; which I have informed them that is my plan.
When I met with the families I had some questions about their prior knowledge of Head Start or a preschool program in general. We live in a small rural community that does not even have a day care center in our town, the closest centers are located about 10 miles away and they care for children from all over our county that covers approximately a 25 miles radius. Many of the families enrolled in my program do not consistant transportation so taking their children to day care is not an option. I was surprised to learn that many of the families knew very little about the Head Start program, only that it was for "poor" families; this is how they described themselves. I found that somewhat disturbing as well, it was as if they felt their child didn't deserve better than the "poor people" program. As an employee I know we are so much more than that but for them they did not know better. As part of our recruitment plan my supervisor is trying to find ways to promote our program and so I asked the parents how they came to be enrolled in the program. Most answered that they received our flyer in the mail, a few said that the Family Service Worker came to their door, and a few were referred to us through the Deparment of Social Services. It was interesting to see that none of them answered they had heard about the program through past parents. I do know that before I was employed with this particular site there had been issues with staff members and CPS reports being made on them. The few things that have been shared with me about what families did know had to do with these negative reports which occurred almost ten years ago. Having to defend our program based off past experiences is difficult; especially since I am not from this community and am considered an outsider.
What I wanted the families to feel confident in doing is supporting the improvements that have been made in staffing and qualifitications. I asked them to please share the good things that our program has done for them personally with other families that have children that may qualify for our program. They are our connection to the community, they have the first hand knowledge on what happens in their child's life when they are with us as well as what they are bringing home. We spoke about various ways that the parents could help in advocating for two full classrooms in my center for next school year; we lost one of them last year and I fear that closing our doors may be more of an option when I am only running 20 students compared to our other sites that have 40 or more. The families agree that the need is in our community and want to help! They are going to become part of our recruitement plan; hanging flyers, passing out applications to their friends, and writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper. They also see that by becoming more involved in the activities at our center they are showing how important engagement truly is. I have 2 parents that are going to come in a plan at least four more field trips for the remainder of the school year for us. I also have a group of parents that will work with our Family Service Worker in holding a fundraiser, yet to be determined, to raise money for the field trips as well as for the annual End of Year Celebration.
I don't know if it is the deadline of the school year ending or the successes that they are seeing in their children that have them more willing to participate now; but I am not going to ignore it!
When I met with the families I had some questions about their prior knowledge of Head Start or a preschool program in general. We live in a small rural community that does not even have a day care center in our town, the closest centers are located about 10 miles away and they care for children from all over our county that covers approximately a 25 miles radius. Many of the families enrolled in my program do not consistant transportation so taking their children to day care is not an option. I was surprised to learn that many of the families knew very little about the Head Start program, only that it was for "poor" families; this is how they described themselves. I found that somewhat disturbing as well, it was as if they felt their child didn't deserve better than the "poor people" program. As an employee I know we are so much more than that but for them they did not know better. As part of our recruitment plan my supervisor is trying to find ways to promote our program and so I asked the parents how they came to be enrolled in the program. Most answered that they received our flyer in the mail, a few said that the Family Service Worker came to their door, and a few were referred to us through the Deparment of Social Services. It was interesting to see that none of them answered they had heard about the program through past parents. I do know that before I was employed with this particular site there had been issues with staff members and CPS reports being made on them. The few things that have been shared with me about what families did know had to do with these negative reports which occurred almost ten years ago. Having to defend our program based off past experiences is difficult; especially since I am not from this community and am considered an outsider.
What I wanted the families to feel confident in doing is supporting the improvements that have been made in staffing and qualifitications. I asked them to please share the good things that our program has done for them personally with other families that have children that may qualify for our program. They are our connection to the community, they have the first hand knowledge on what happens in their child's life when they are with us as well as what they are bringing home. We spoke about various ways that the parents could help in advocating for two full classrooms in my center for next school year; we lost one of them last year and I fear that closing our doors may be more of an option when I am only running 20 students compared to our other sites that have 40 or more. The families agree that the need is in our community and want to help! They are going to become part of our recruitement plan; hanging flyers, passing out applications to their friends, and writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper. They also see that by becoming more involved in the activities at our center they are showing how important engagement truly is. I have 2 parents that are going to come in a plan at least four more field trips for the remainder of the school year for us. I also have a group of parents that will work with our Family Service Worker in holding a fundraiser, yet to be determined, to raise money for the field trips as well as for the annual End of Year Celebration.
I don't know if it is the deadline of the school year ending or the successes that they are seeing in their children that have them more willing to participate now; but I am not going to ignore it!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Meeting with Directors and Specialists
Over these past two weeks I was so lucky to have two of the specialists come to visit my center; the Mental Health and Disabilities Specialist and the Health and Nutrition Specialist. I had actually requested the Mental Health and Disabilities Specialist so that we could meet with one of my students families to discuss some concerns. Since last year I have been concerned with a young students development and have shared these with the specialists. Unfortunately the girls parents have been slower on following through with what they have stated is a concern for them as well. We have met numerous times to express how the Head Start program can connect the family to the school system but they wanted to go through their pediatrician to address some concerns first. This student will be entering into kindergarten next school year and I am highly concerned with her ability to be successful without some supports in place. The questions that I had for the specialists is what would be our next step; I really want this family to feel their child is capable but she will need support. All of us have a suspicion of her being on the Autism spectrum and although we have seen growth in her development she is still not close to being independent. When we met with the mother of this child the specialist was able to explain to her the process of trying to get the family connected to the school system. The student came to me last year at the age of three with an IEP in place for speech concerns. I am not sure how she did it but she passed the developmental screening that was administered. This child could not feed herself, had no play or social skills, and would not even sit and focus on any activity that was presented to her. The specialist explained to me that because she had a passing she was not able to complete another assessment for a full year; which the deadline just passed in the fall. The importance of having another assessment completed so address a higher age range and expectations was shared with the mom; who was not aware that what the test will be looking for changes as the child gets older. One great thing that came out of the meeting was a sense of team; we all want to see this child progress even more and by keeping each other informed we are in the right direction.
The Health and Nurtition specialist happened to stop by yesterday to complete a file review. While she was there we got into a discussion on how the children in the Head Start program have an advantage over those not in a program from our community. We are in the recruitment phase for next school year and were brainstorming ideas on how we can catch perspective families attention. I know when I entered into this program I was not aware of just how important a child's dental health was to their development. I had worked with families that had medical insurance and their children's needs were always met. Just the dental health of the families and children that we have in our program show how limited their access is. Our Head Start program has been lucky to have a dental mobile come to our site and do an exam on every child that had not had a currrent dental exam the first five years I have been there. This is the first year that there has been no funding this but the local dental clinics are beginning to see how dedicated we are and have allowed us to schedule visits with them. In the past they have declined Medicaid or medical card patients because appointments are often not kept. Our Family Service Worker has transported 9 children and families to dental appointments so far this year!
My Head Start program is the only option for parents of children ages 3 to 5. We do not have any child care centers, only one home based child care provider, and no preschool option in the local elementary school. In the town next to ours they just brought in a preschool program at the elementary school and they collaborated with our other Head Start site. I know the children are in my community we just have to show parents how much we can offer them; not just a "free baby sitter".
A challenge that I am finding is that based off past employees and incidences our current program is struggling. I have had parents tell me that they were not going to send their child until they realized certain past staff members were gone. I have been here six years now and I am trying to prove myself over employees from ten years ago or longer. That is difficult in a small community! The new Site Administrator has lived in this community her entire life and she now understands that we are facing an uphill battle but one we are dedicated to overcoming. The children deserve it and the families can definitely benefit from it!
The Health and Nurtition specialist happened to stop by yesterday to complete a file review. While she was there we got into a discussion on how the children in the Head Start program have an advantage over those not in a program from our community. We are in the recruitment phase for next school year and were brainstorming ideas on how we can catch perspective families attention. I know when I entered into this program I was not aware of just how important a child's dental health was to their development. I had worked with families that had medical insurance and their children's needs were always met. Just the dental health of the families and children that we have in our program show how limited their access is. Our Head Start program has been lucky to have a dental mobile come to our site and do an exam on every child that had not had a currrent dental exam the first five years I have been there. This is the first year that there has been no funding this but the local dental clinics are beginning to see how dedicated we are and have allowed us to schedule visits with them. In the past they have declined Medicaid or medical card patients because appointments are often not kept. Our Family Service Worker has transported 9 children and families to dental appointments so far this year!
My Head Start program is the only option for parents of children ages 3 to 5. We do not have any child care centers, only one home based child care provider, and no preschool option in the local elementary school. In the town next to ours they just brought in a preschool program at the elementary school and they collaborated with our other Head Start site. I know the children are in my community we just have to show parents how much we can offer them; not just a "free baby sitter".
A challenge that I am finding is that based off past employees and incidences our current program is struggling. I have had parents tell me that they were not going to send their child until they realized certain past staff members were gone. I have been here six years now and I am trying to prove myself over employees from ten years ago or longer. That is difficult in a small community! The new Site Administrator has lived in this community her entire life and she now understands that we are facing an uphill battle but one we are dedicated to overcoming. The children deserve it and the families can definitely benefit from it!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Observation and Interactions
These past two weeks have been chalked full of interesting and challenging changes for the staff. Since I am employed at my site of observation I have found that keeping myself out of the role of teacher and in the role of observer is sometimes difficult because I want to jump in and help resolve issues.
I had the opportunity to observe the assistant teacher take over the lead teacher role, in my time of stepping out, and engage with the rest of the adults in the classroom while trying to maintain a continuity for the children. Not only am I in my internship but we have collaborated with two local colleges/universities that also brings in three interns into my classroom each day. A challenge that I have observed is trying to guide these interns, who have limited experience in an Early Childhood Education classroom much less with a Head Start classroom. Just getting them used to a daily routine is unique but as we were conducting the orientation process for the large group I found that even though they were asked if there were any questions they did not know what to ask. It is going to be interesting to help guide the interns through the Head Start philosophy while also understanding that their ultimate goal is not to even end up in this professional field. This does remind me though, the importance of knowing the benefits our program has to offer over a day care or child care center and especially over no social experience before entering into a school system. The one student who is interning from a different program is working on her degree in Early Childhood Education. I found that orientation to go so much more smoothly then the larger group. She had a number of questions and seemed extremely interested in what we did for the children and their families. With both groups I look forward to observing and sharing information that will definitely allow them to learn more about the Head Start program.
One task that I took on for my work is interviewing some of the families; which I tied into this blog assignment as well. Since we are beginning our recruitement process for next school year I wanted to know how the parents from this school year heard about our program, what they knew about Head Start before entering the program, what is a few things they have learned since being in our program, if we have helped connect them with any medical/dental support programs, and if there was anything else they wanted to share with our staff. I was so pleased and excited at the responses that I got; so much so that I have been asked to send out a questionaire to all of the families to get their feedback as well. Many of the families came to use with limited knowledge about our program; believing we were mainly a "free" day care type program. They have been so pleased with getting help with medical and dental appointments; our family service worker has even taken a few of the children with their families in his personal vehicle just so they could get seen. All the information that we are gathering from these questionaires is going to help us with our Public Relation efforts. To have quotes to advertise with is going to be so beneficial. It also helps the families that we have now understand that we are definitely making a difference and they are seeing the developments. That makes me feel great!
I had the opportunity to observe the assistant teacher take over the lead teacher role, in my time of stepping out, and engage with the rest of the adults in the classroom while trying to maintain a continuity for the children. Not only am I in my internship but we have collaborated with two local colleges/universities that also brings in three interns into my classroom each day. A challenge that I have observed is trying to guide these interns, who have limited experience in an Early Childhood Education classroom much less with a Head Start classroom. Just getting them used to a daily routine is unique but as we were conducting the orientation process for the large group I found that even though they were asked if there were any questions they did not know what to ask. It is going to be interesting to help guide the interns through the Head Start philosophy while also understanding that their ultimate goal is not to even end up in this professional field. This does remind me though, the importance of knowing the benefits our program has to offer over a day care or child care center and especially over no social experience before entering into a school system. The one student who is interning from a different program is working on her degree in Early Childhood Education. I found that orientation to go so much more smoothly then the larger group. She had a number of questions and seemed extremely interested in what we did for the children and their families. With both groups I look forward to observing and sharing information that will definitely allow them to learn more about the Head Start program.
One task that I took on for my work is interviewing some of the families; which I tied into this blog assignment as well. Since we are beginning our recruitement process for next school year I wanted to know how the parents from this school year heard about our program, what they knew about Head Start before entering the program, what is a few things they have learned since being in our program, if we have helped connect them with any medical/dental support programs, and if there was anything else they wanted to share with our staff. I was so pleased and excited at the responses that I got; so much so that I have been asked to send out a questionaire to all of the families to get their feedback as well. Many of the families came to use with limited knowledge about our program; believing we were mainly a "free" day care type program. They have been so pleased with getting help with medical and dental appointments; our family service worker has even taken a few of the children with their families in his personal vehicle just so they could get seen. All the information that we are gathering from these questionaires is going to help us with our Public Relation efforts. To have quotes to advertise with is going to be so beneficial. It also helps the families that we have now understand that we are definitely making a difference and they are seeing the developments. That makes me feel great!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Advocacy Topics and Interview
I found this assignment to be both interesting and informative. Since I am completing my internships this quarter at my place of employment I thought that this would be an easy interview and I would know immediatly what my topic was going to be; I was incorrect. I chose to speak with two different positions within our Head Start program; the first being D.L. who is our Family Service Worker and is primarily responsible for enrollment, all health requirements being met and kept current, and any family issues that may arise (difficulty paying bills, parenting issues, locating housing, etc). The second person is new to the Head Start program but has been in the Early Childhood Education field for over eighteen years. S.H. is the new site administrator over the county I live in and oversees the daily operations of two Head Start programs. S.H. has her Masters in Early Childhood Education Administration, her Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and has just recenlty ended a teaching/intern leader with a local community college when she took over the position with our program. I was excited to hear what her ideas and concerns were in this field.
When I met with D.L. I expected his answers to be the most needs to focus around the families. This was pretty much correct; he sees the impact that all family issues have on childrens development and ability to function day to day. He feels that some of the areas of high need in our community are lack of family support (from people in their lives), lack of parents own education or negative educational experiences, no parenting programs within our small community, parent involvement or "engagement" with the children, and adult priorities that overshadow children. I was so excited to hear that he wants to bolster and support the interactions that the parents in our program have with the classroom staff as well as in the community. He is new to his role this school year as well but was with our program for the past two years in various roles. The fact that he is not only willing but is committed to continuing the efforts as a team only shows that the families in our community are going to have more support than they have ever had.
When I met with S.H. I could see that her thinking wheels were turning and she is so excited about everything she is learning. As I stated, she has been in the Early Childhood Education field for quite some time but she is new to Head Start. I love that she has been in the instructor role for an internship program because she understands everything I am going through right now and is so supportive of whatever I need to do. Her goal is to help see that all three of us lead teachers finish our degree's; which will be accomplished with all of us graduating this June. She had so many ideas and suggestions that it was hard to keep up with her but as I sat and listened I could see one of her biggest goals for the children in our community is to advertise and support the Head Start program. Two years ago my center went from a two classroom building with full enrollment to a one full time and one half day classroom. Last year we lost the half time classroom and I have been on edge that they will cut my building completely. One thing that is keeping us running is that we are the only childhood program in the closests 3 small towns (we are a small rural community), which covers approximately a 20 mile radius. She has already began this process by meeting with the local county paper and discussing having weekly articles included with the other school listings. She wants there to be weekly examples of what we do with the children; family participation events, field trips, classroom activities, and collaborations. One of the big boosters right now is our new collaboration with the local University (Virginia Tech) and the Honors program. We will have 6-7 interns/volunteers a day come to our county and split up amongst the three classrooms in our county. They have all committed to a four year contract and they will be helping support our programs through various fund raisers and community awareness projects. This is going to be exciting!
Other needs that she has dealt with in her experience in the classroom as well as an administrator is parent involvement, meeting developmental needs of all the children enrolled (individualization), providing healthy meals/nutrition, and ways to support families through the referral, testing, results, and IEP process. She is learning that with the Head Start program there are many things in place that are addressing each of those areas and she is excited to continue to grow with her comfort as well as how to continue to support those collaborations.
After rereading my notes and thinking about what my advocacy role and paper I want to continue looking into the role and impact Head Start has. I know I feel it daily when I go into work and interact with the children but to put it out to the community that may have never heard of us or does not fully understand that we provide more than just "baby-sitting". In continuing the goal of this paper I can easily address 3 other areas that were brought up by both D.L. and S.H.; 1) parent involvement/engagement, 2)health/nutrition, and 3)developmental needs and supports.
Some questions that I have for you all are:
1) If you do not work for a Head Start program - have you ever heard of Head Start? Do you know what the vision is for Head Start?
2) Does any of your programs or internship sites utilize curriculum and if so what are they?
3) How are the families supported in your program? Is there much parent engagement/interaction other than just at drop off and pick up times.
4)Are there any specific questions you would like to find out about Head Start in general or my specific program?
When I met with D.L. I expected his answers to be the most needs to focus around the families. This was pretty much correct; he sees the impact that all family issues have on childrens development and ability to function day to day. He feels that some of the areas of high need in our community are lack of family support (from people in their lives), lack of parents own education or negative educational experiences, no parenting programs within our small community, parent involvement or "engagement" with the children, and adult priorities that overshadow children. I was so excited to hear that he wants to bolster and support the interactions that the parents in our program have with the classroom staff as well as in the community. He is new to his role this school year as well but was with our program for the past two years in various roles. The fact that he is not only willing but is committed to continuing the efforts as a team only shows that the families in our community are going to have more support than they have ever had.
When I met with S.H. I could see that her thinking wheels were turning and she is so excited about everything she is learning. As I stated, she has been in the Early Childhood Education field for quite some time but she is new to Head Start. I love that she has been in the instructor role for an internship program because she understands everything I am going through right now and is so supportive of whatever I need to do. Her goal is to help see that all three of us lead teachers finish our degree's; which will be accomplished with all of us graduating this June. She had so many ideas and suggestions that it was hard to keep up with her but as I sat and listened I could see one of her biggest goals for the children in our community is to advertise and support the Head Start program. Two years ago my center went from a two classroom building with full enrollment to a one full time and one half day classroom. Last year we lost the half time classroom and I have been on edge that they will cut my building completely. One thing that is keeping us running is that we are the only childhood program in the closests 3 small towns (we are a small rural community), which covers approximately a 20 mile radius. She has already began this process by meeting with the local county paper and discussing having weekly articles included with the other school listings. She wants there to be weekly examples of what we do with the children; family participation events, field trips, classroom activities, and collaborations. One of the big boosters right now is our new collaboration with the local University (Virginia Tech) and the Honors program. We will have 6-7 interns/volunteers a day come to our county and split up amongst the three classrooms in our county. They have all committed to a four year contract and they will be helping support our programs through various fund raisers and community awareness projects. This is going to be exciting!
Other needs that she has dealt with in her experience in the classroom as well as an administrator is parent involvement, meeting developmental needs of all the children enrolled (individualization), providing healthy meals/nutrition, and ways to support families through the referral, testing, results, and IEP process. She is learning that with the Head Start program there are many things in place that are addressing each of those areas and she is excited to continue to grow with her comfort as well as how to continue to support those collaborations.
After rereading my notes and thinking about what my advocacy role and paper I want to continue looking into the role and impact Head Start has. I know I feel it daily when I go into work and interact with the children but to put it out to the community that may have never heard of us or does not fully understand that we provide more than just "baby-sitting". In continuing the goal of this paper I can easily address 3 other areas that were brought up by both D.L. and S.H.; 1) parent involvement/engagement, 2)health/nutrition, and 3)developmental needs and supports.
Some questions that I have for you all are:
1) If you do not work for a Head Start program - have you ever heard of Head Start? Do you know what the vision is for Head Start?
2) Does any of your programs or internship sites utilize curriculum and if so what are they?
3) How are the families supported in your program? Is there much parent engagement/interaction other than just at drop off and pick up times.
4)Are there any specific questions you would like to find out about Head Start in general or my specific program?
Monday, January 9, 2012
First post!
Here I am, so close to my goal of a degree I can almost touch it! Never have blogged before in my life so I am tackling this new, and somewhat scary, task and hope to learn more about not only my peers but myself as well. Off to my new adventure!
~Mrs. Julie
~Mrs. Julie
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