The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

Strategies that are used by advocates and the organization where I am employed GCCSA-Head Start is to get parents more actively involved in their child’s education and well- being at school and at home.

By getting the parents involved it improves the student attention in class and it makes a better parent-teacher communication and will foster the well-being of the whole child and their family.
Policies that tend towards improving teaching quality in the classrooms has led to the implementation of the CLASS tool which Federal Monitors are using to monitor classrooms on the federal reviews every three years in Head Start Programs across the country.
I have recently been trained on using this CLASS tool since my agency is now requiring us to monitor the teaching staff starting this upcoming school year. Policy makers are putting systems in place to monitor the progress of students enrolled in the program as many individuals who hold positions in state and government office are opposed to using funds to operate the program. I am hopeful that by using this tool and getting high scores will change the minds of individuals who have a vote, understand the importance of keeping and funding Head Starts across the country.

Organizations like ECE and are working in low- to moderate-income communities where public schools and Head Starts are located, turning their attention to improving public education. They work at the neighborhood and policy levels to address the range of issues on inadequate funding to maintain these much needed programs.

What appeals most to me is that programs are staying abreast of the regulations needed in order to maintain a quality program that meets and in some cases exceeds expectations of policy makers and are advocating for families most in need.

Early Childhood Education - International Context - Children, Programs, Eccd, and Development - StateUniversity.com http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1926/Early-Childhood-Education-INTERNATIONAL-CONTEXT.html#ixzz21xpdEY5h

                           Parent , Family and Community Engagement

In viewing the videos of families who have and had children in Head Start made me understand and appreciate the program even more. Head Start benefits not only the child and their family it benefits the community as well by providing needed services to under income families getting them where they can be self -sufficient and productive.

The parent and family Involvement benefit the child by the parents being involved in their child’s education and success in school. It gives the families the opportunity to volunteer at the child’s school, serve on committees and be a part of the decisions that are made in the program especially when they serve on the Policy Council Committee. Take part in their child’s classroom as an observer, or a volunteer, and contribute their time and input to enrich the program. The child gets to see that their parent is taking an interest therefore enhancing the child’s self -esteem. Additionally parents working with staff and other parents in a cooperative way to achieve mutual goals benefits the child success.

 

I believe the value for early childhood professionals, the public and for policy makers and government officials hearing such stories is that by hearing them they will understand the importance Head Start has on children, families and the communities where the centers are located and the importance of advocating for continued funding for the program and for qualified teachers and support staff to teach and provide services such as health and nutrition services, early detection for  disabilities. Mental Wellness Services or therapy is also provided, as needed, to address children’s social-emotional needs.

                                                

                                 

                                        Quality Programs for all children

This week I have learned about the five strands of early childhood and how socio-cultural, economic, and political/policy has influenced how agencies and private organizations provide their services to young children and their families. The strands I viewed were Head Start/Early Head Start, Day Nurseries, Special Education, Nursery School, Kindergarten Education/Primary Grades.

A majority of women with children, infants through age 13, work outside of the home, many due to economic necessity, and the childcare industry is viewed as an essential industry supporting the workforce within the United States. Despite the economics that have contributed to the need for both parents to work outside of the home, government economic support for childcare facilities in terms of tuition remains limited to populations that are living in poverty. Childcare, therefore, for the majority of American families is supported through private pay.

However there are federally funded and not for profit organizations who understand the importance of early childhood care and the need for quality services to meet the needs of children who are in low income and poverty stricken families. I hope that over the next five years public opinion will continue to improve and individuals will become more educated on how important early childhood development is and how a child’s physical Development, Social and Emotional development is important for the overall well being of the child.

Implications for young children is that if the government and society continued funds early childhood development programs and projects for the ongoing services for families who are in the most need in the future then maybe we may not have to spend as much of the tax payers money to build additional prisons to house individuals who did not get needed educational and other required services at a younger age and we will have more involved citizens that will build better communities throughout the world.

Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy

                                         

I choose this specialization because of my years of advocating for individuals even before entering the early childhood field. I believe that my many years working with low income families and people living in poverty, and coming from a single parent household for most of my childhood years, I realize the importance of advocating for people less fortunate and to be a voice for them. I hope to be able to continue to work, advocate and be a resource for children and families who are in the most need of assistance.

I believe that advocates are needed in the early childhood field due to the number of, families , who are not knowledgeable of services and resources that  their communities and the government  offer and they need a voice to speak up for them especially those  who don’t know where to turn to get the services they need in order to improve their circumstances in life. I believe that becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for early childhood professionals and for the field because we need to be a first line of reference for

families as well as a resource for them to become knowledgeable themselves so that they can advocate for their children and families.

I hope to learn how to work with families in a more effective manner , learn more strategies. Learn more about the law in reference to children with special needs and how I can advocate for them in order to get and maintain quality services for them and put a more user friendly resource guide together for parents that are specific to their individuals needs.

I have a  managers meeting  bi-weekly on Friday’s. It is compiled of Center Administrators from all 24 Head Start centers in my agency, Operation Support managers and the director and Assistant Directors of the program. It normally lasts anywhere from 2-3 hours depending on the information that is given. I also had staff meeting for the end of the school year with my staff of 6 individuals. The meeting that was hardest to leave was the staff meeting because they were anticipating relocation letters, wondering where we would go after the school closed after summer school was over ( we are located in a Houston district school) subject of vacations and raises, which is always lengthy. The rituals in my staff meeting is that they wait until after the meeting to ask any questions or make any comments because I have noticed that when I allow questions after each topic, then it sometimes tends to be lengthy comments and takes up more time. Opposed to our management meeting where if anyone has a question or concern time is taken at that time to ask or comment.

I imagine that the adjournment will be a sad one as although I have not meet anyone personally, I have come to feel a special place for some especially those I have had many classes with over the last 2 years. I hope that at the graduation I will have the opportunity to meet some of the individuals I have come to know through group communication, blog readings and general student lounge conversations. Adjournment is an essential stage of teamwork because it gives the opportunity to say what is important, ask any questions or post any comments we may have and take the opportunity to say thank you and give well wishes.

                     Resolving Conflict

This week I have been faced with a difficult situation at work , I have a staff who is constantly defying the rules even after she has just received a reprimand is still not getting it. I have tried to be patient with her as she is a great teacher, however she allows personal issues to cloud her judgment at work and does not think sometimes. I have thought about this the entire weekend and have decided to talk to her on tomorrow and ask her again what she needs from me as a supervisor. I will l isten without judgment of her past issues, will come open minded and be ready to give guidance from the employee handbook and hope all will go well. I will be reminded of the 3 r’s respectful ,reciprocal and responsive in my interaction with her.

This week the class assignment was to take a few assessments and see how we communicate also we were to ak others to take the same assessment of how they see us as communicators. I completed the assessments and was surprised in some areas on how it came out. I asked my granddaughter Javon ( in photo above) who is 18 to do the assessment . I explained to her what it was for and she was all to happy to assist! After seeing the excitement in her face, I reminded her that she did live with me and allowence time was approaching, just kidding there was no bribbing at all. After seeing the results I was also surprised that in the verbal aggression and the communication inventory it was almost the same in the scoring with somme small changes. I contributed this to her living with me at different times in her life and for the last 4 years she has been with me and we have become closer, and I do believe that makes a big difference. I asked my youngest daughter who is 35 to do the same thing and it was totally different in how the scores were from her viewpoint.

 I have realized that that is due to me not communicating with her the same as with Javon. I tend to allow the grandchild to get away with more that I ever allowed my daughter to get away with and back when my daughter was growing up, I was not a good communicator and did not know how to express myself the way I do now. This has really been an eye opener as to how I am percieved by myself and others and I will ensure that I do a better job at being mindful of how I verbalize, use gestures and tones.