Questions+or+Comments+for+the+El+Caballo+Group

Please post any questions or comments regarding the Head Start Program here:

I really liked that the Head Start pogram focused on getting children ready for school at the preschool level and even younger, I also really liked how they also focus on parent involvement and have services for the family like job training, and child rearing courses. What i found very interesting, aslo I did not know this, was in order for a child to be eligible for a Head Start school they have to be from low income families or are in foster care or from families recieving public assistance. I though that this program was open to all children, since its so widely known. So my question is, Can or have there been families from a Middle class, or above, family that have joined Head Start? ~ Roxanne Gencarelli

Over 12 percent of the Head Start enrollment have disabilities,mental retardation, health impairments, visual handicaps, hearing impairments, emotional disturbance, speech and language impairments, orthopedic handicaps and learning disabilities. Are there QUALIFIED teachers instructing these children? Are they included in classes with other students? Also, is there any cost to the families? Janet Russo

Your myth and facts section regarding the Head Start program was very interesting and beneficial. It really helped clear up some questions I had of my own regarding the program. All in all I find the program to be extremely beneifical and the fact that it has benefited in so many ways (community, enviroment, and health) to be even more easily seen as a great program for children and a great approach toward education. Audrey Spronz

You mention that the students and their families are offered health and dental service. Is this all over the country? Also, to the students that receive benefits do their parents need to be from lower income families? If not dot do the parents pay a co-pay to the school district? - Kate Sullivan

I feel the biggest factors and benefits that come with enrolling a child into the Head Start program are the social and cognitive developments children will experience. Attacking issues such as these at an extremely young age is very important in the development of young children's minds. As Janet mentioned earlier though, the issue of having children with special needs must be observed closely to ensure that the right people are supervising and aiding said children. - Matt Kimbell

It is great how this program focuses on improving the academics of children starting at the very beginning (you say from birth - age 3). It is very important that this program enhance a student's social and cognitive development. As a result of this program's efforts, there has been an increase in test scores and these children have shown a great improvement in school. I also found it interesting that the Head Start Program has programs for children (to improve their reading and math skills), as well as programs for the families. One of the most important things while a child is in school, is to get the parents/families involved in what their children are doing. - Amanda Damato

I am wondering how many of the 2,600 Head Start programs in the U.S. are located in New Jersey. If there are multiple programs in NJ, where are they located? I am also curious about class size. You said that the a verage class size is between 17 and 20 children. What is the maximum number of children permitted per class? Is it possible for children to be shut out and deprived of the HS experience because of a high volume of enrollment? - Emily Saphire

I think that this program is amazing. It is nice to see that young children, despite their families' economic struggles, are able to be put on a straight path in the beginning of their lives. It just seems that having this program for only pre-school aged children is only beneficial to some degree. It is truly important for these types of benefits to go to children in the elementary school ages. Also, I would like to note, as we have spoken in class, there is a very thin line between who gets these benefits and who does not. To some degree it seems unfair for the parents that make just enough money to keep their families out of the poverty level, but do not have enough money to send their children to pre-school, get screwed out of such an excellent program. Yet, I agree that there needs to be a line. I only hope that our government could draw lesser money lines with our childrens' education. - Marissa Bezerra

I am a strong proponent of Head Start. I like how the program offers many options and solutions not just to the child but also to the parents in particular the classes (health and nutrition, daycare, etc.). The program is promoting safety and hygiene in children from a very young age and that is pivotal to their success. The importance of strong involvement of the parents strikes me as an interesting component of Head Start. Ideally, parents will be involved in every decision regarding the welfare of their child but sometimes, it takes a lot to get them involved. I do like the effort the program makes. I, like Emily, am curious about the prominence of Head Start in NJ. Do they coincide exclusively with the former Abbott classification? - Allison Ruggeri

One of the biggest differences I see with the Head Start program, compared to the other programs, are the special services provided to the entire family (e.g. job training, child rearing courses). It shows that the Head Start program is trying to provide young children with a well-rounded beneficial and educational lifestyle, in home and school. As mentioned above, I am also curious how the health and dental benefits is structured. Lastly, I think the emphasis on practicing good hygiene is an important component of the Head Start program particularly if they aren’t learning hygiene skills at home. –Lori Dunn

The video posted for the Head Start Program really lets you see feedback about how successful the program is. The program is not only focused on education but, designed around health and nutrition as well which is very beneficial for the low income families. I also like the idea of the 'co-constructing a cirriculum' where teachers see their students views and opinions. We always talk in class how it should be very important to incorporate students topics into everyday learning. The combination of teachers and parents is a different idea but seems to work well for The Head Start Program. Definetely a fan! - Jenna Sernio

I enjoyed reading the myth/fact section at the end of the page. It was interesting to see how HS officicials responded to the criticisms of their program. I am interested to see more about enrollment into a HS school, are they hard to get into? Are children often turned away for not meeting the requirements for the program? -Jamie Fullam

I know you wrote that it is important to the Head Start program to have parents involvement and that many of the parents in fact are involved in their child's Head Start school. I was wondering if there was any information or examples of how the teachers incorporated the parents into their plans since many families have the entire adult household working and can not always afford the luxury of a stay at home parent. ~ellen grahl

I really liked the myth/fact section at the end of the page. I think it gave a very balanced view of the program. I know a few other people have mentioned it but I was wonder too about the impact of the Head Start Program in New Jersey. Does is relate specifically to the Abbot District classification?--Valerie Wakeham

Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the NHSA states that the HS program is one of the best documented success stories in the federal government because studies have shown that our society receives nearly $9 in benefits for every $1 invested in HS children. I would love to see that same ratio for children in regular public schools. It needs to be a "relative" analysis. Nine to one means nothing without a comparative analysis. Also, the average cost per HS child is $7,326. I would like to see the average cost of each child in regular public school. The 1.4mm volunteer number is striking to me. That's more volunteers than students. Amazing! - Jason Moynihan

This is the first program outside of our group's that I actually like. I love the idea of preparing young age students as well as their parents for the challenges of school. I feel it is extremely helpful to the families to provide such services as child rearing courses and medical benefits to release some of that stress and pressure of the parents to focus more on the child's educational process. It is a great support that I think makes parents want to be more involved in their child's school career. -Margaret Mulawka

Aspects of the Head Start program reminded me of Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) approach to narrowing the achievement gap. Like Head Start, the Harlem Children's Zone tries to throw a safety net of various interventions over the entire community to combat the effects of poverty, including the prevalence of single-family moms, homelessness, high-school dropouts, high crime, etc. HCZ provides child-rearing classes for expectant parents and parents of toddlers, pre-K and K classrooms that try to provide learning-rich environments for impoverished children, elementary school classrooms with small class sizes and lots of one-on-one attention, free health care to families, after-school programs, etc. This community-wide umbrella approach can be hugely effective, especially when high-quality teachers are empowered to aggressively address children's learning deficits at an early age. I did notice from Paul Tough's recent book on the Harlem Children's Zone that Canada has experienced less success in his interventions with middle school students. It's really tough to bring kids up multiple grade levels once they're teenagers & more focused on bonding with their peers instead of their teachers & there's a prevalent culture of apathy towards learning. I'm curious what percentage of the Head Start studies are large-scale, randomized, longitudinal studies that look at long-term effects of Head Start through the middle school years. Although the wiki indicates that Bush wasn't enamored w/ Head Start, Obama is very enamored of the Harlem Children's Zone approach. For that reason alone, I'd guess that he'll be supporting Head Start as well. - Claudia Sayre

__** El Caballo Answers and Feedback in response to questions and comments: **__

__**Qualified Teachers?**__ Actually, a big criticism of the program. It’s been argued that these teachers, who are paid significantly less are not as qualified as teachers who serve in other programs.

NIEER Fact Sheet on Head Start Teachers – July 2003 Teacher qualifications and compensation are major issues for preschool generally, but occupy an important position in the debates about Head Start reauthorization. Serious efforts to improve the educational effectiveness of Head Start would need to begin with teachers. Standards for teachers remain minimal and compensation is extremely low compared to K-12 teachers. Basic Facts  Head Start has about 50,000 teachers.  The average Head Start teacher salary is about $21,000.  Public school teachers earn about twice that much, $43,000.  Ultimately, it would cost about $1 billion per year to pay Head Start teachers the same as kindergarten teachers ($20,000 x 50,000). Fringe benefits would add 20-30%.  Practical approaches to achieving the goal of a qualified teacher in every Head Start classroom would require gradual increases over time. One implication of this is that costs increase gradually, as well.

__**Details for Teacher qualifications**__ Research shows that preschool produces the strongest effects when teachers are well qualified. Preschool teachers with B.A. degrees in early childhood education are the most effective. However, most preschool teachers are less qualified in Head Start. Head Start has made efforts to improve teacher qualifications by requiring 50% of teachers to have A.A. degrees by 2003. Estimates based on the 2001-02 Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) indicate about 30% of Head Start teachers currently possess (at least) a bachelor's degree. However, Head Start teacher qualifications are quite variable across states: in New York, 64% have a B.A. or higher; in Alaska and Alabama, only 12% have a B.A. Teacher qualifications could be increased largely through turnover and higher standards for new hires. More information is available at the link below:

http://nieer.org/mediacenter/index.php?PressID=7

Children with special needs? Head Start provides support for children with special needs, through what’s called an Intervention Team that works directly with the teachers and families. Speech, language, hearing and developmental screenings are given to each child.

Source: http://www.kidsheadstart.com/education.html

__**Is the program “inclusive”?**__ Yes. Head Start is an inclusive program. ALL children, regardless of needs, are included in regular classroom activities.


 * __Cost to families?__** This federally funded program is free for those that qualify- low income families, foster children and those with special needs from the age of 3

__**Health and dental benefits?**__ From our research, it seems that all Head Start programs offer some level of health and dental benefits to their qualifying students and immediate family members. This includes those families that are considered low income, but it also covers children with special needs and foster children, no matter what their family income is. See below for specifics:

__MEDICAL__ Head Start will pay a share of costs for a physical examination not covered by insurance, CHIP or Medicaid if family is in need or requests it. If the child is covered by insurance but there is a co-pay, Head Start will cover the remaining costs if needed.

When a child has need for medical follow-up, the parents will be asked to apply for Medicaid or CHIP when not covered by private insurance. Family Advocates will assist with this process. If the family does not qualify for Medicaid or CHIP, Head Start staff requires a copy of the denial letter in order to pay for services. The Health Coordinator will seek funding from other sources (i.e., service clubs, religious organizations, Tribal services, etc) to meet the need for a child. Head Start funding will be used to cover exam and follow up costs when other dollars are not available.

__DENTAL__ A dental screening is to be performed by a dentist or health care professional, to determine if a more comprehensive examination is needed. X-rays, cleaning and fluoride treatment will not be paid for by Head Start. Head Start will share costs for the screening if there is a need for assistance with insurance co-pays or for those without insurance.

http://www.suu.edu/headstart/documents/03-CHD2PAYMENTFORHEALTHANDDENTALPOLICY06.pdf

__**How many Head Start programs in NJ?**__

400 Head Start sites providing educational and support services to approximately 17,000 young children and their families collaborate with multiple school districts.