I'm still checking out The National Head Start Association's website...www.nhsa.org. I have clicked around and I landed on the NHSA Blog. There is a lot of information on there. The most recent posting talks about the long-term benefits of Head Start. It also talks about a study that was done on the long-term affects of excellent, average, and poor teachers. The results found that students with excellent teachers held onto the benfits much longer than those with average or poor teachers (Vinci, 2012). In the end and "regardless of test scores, good teaching in a nurturing environment changes children’s lifetime trajectories" (Vinci, 2012). Vinci (2012) also notes the importance of offering high-quality programming to all children throughout their years of school.
The next posting is about the One Window of Opportunity campaign. There are lots of stories from alumni, parents, volunteers, and staff about their experiences with Head Start. The focus in this posting was about early intervention. I know that we screen children for learning difficulties and for speech and language development and when services are needed, we refer students and get families the services they need.
Another posting talks about something we discussed earlier in our class. How others outside of early childhood professionals have taken an interest and shown the importance of early investments in our youngest learners. In this posting, an economist, James Heckman, has recommended expanding Head Start and Early Head Start funding.
As far as any new information about the issues that we have focused on this week, I really didn't find anything new. However, as a previous employee of Head Start, I know that we serve children and families that are low-income and do our best to meet the needs of children that come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. I also know that Head Start has another website that gives even more information to staff and families. I look forward to taking time to continue to read this blog in the future and see what else is shared!
Jodi,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an intersting website. The article that you read is so important for professionals in the early childhood field to understand. Unfortunantly, most professionals in this field only focus on the standards and testing scores which confins our children. Thanks for sharing!
In my heart, I believe that a warm and trusting attachment to a teacher is more worthwhile to a child, both in the short and long term. Your research into the Head Start programs provided more evidence of this!
ReplyDeleteI love teaching, I do have to say that it is very stressful at times because we are always having to worry about test scores. I feel like I do not always get to know the full potential of my students because we dont get much free time to just have fun and enjoy school!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteAs educators, sometimes the difference we make in a child's life may be totally unrelated to academic achievements. Kind words, a listening ear, or a support system are sometimes what a child needs more than anything. Your post reminded me we can make a difference in a child's life in so many ways.