Evening the Odds

Hopkins-Locke Center – Room 15
Mr. Mark Eichholz– BA-ECE, Hired 2014
Ms. Judy Broud – AA-ECE, Hired 1992


Mr. Mark and Head Start student Jaequan Edwards at the Wild About Learning Event

I was pleased to get back into a classroom this week. I picked a good one. Back in August, I stopped in the same classroom and the teaching team of Mr. Mark and Ms. Judy were on a mission to get the room exactly the way they wanted it. This time, the children were in small play groups using every bit of the space when I walked in. All that work done anticipating the arrival of children was still making a difference even as the school year winds down.

The hour and half I was in the room went very quickly. I played with Legos and Kinects, did yoga for Fun Fit Friday, had a Spanish lesson, completed a tornado drill, and sang some songs. Almost all of my time was spent with the children.

Before going to Fun Fit Friday, Mr. Mark asked the children to pair up. When they were done he asked if everyone had a partner. One young girl did not. Mr. Mark asked the children if this meant we had an odd or even number of children. Two children immediately called out, “odd.” The children are no way near being able to count by twos and yet they are already learning number theory from real life examples. Happily, I got to partner with the young girl. Sometimes when you are in the right place at the right time, you get to even up the odds.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MS. JUDY
In watching over the children, Ms. Judy took every opportunity she could find to have one-on-one time with them. She had a knack of interceding at just the right moments. She used the time to give individual care and individual encouragement to each child.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MR. MARK
Mr. Mark had a special way of talking to children. When they asked him questions, he tended to take a thoughtful pause before responding. As often as not, his reply came in the form of a leading question that helped the child figure out the answer on their own. There was one exchange with a child about classroom rules in which the child tried a Mr. Mark-approach on Mr. Mark in order to get permission to reclaim a toy. Turns out sharing rules are sharing rules no matter how the discussion goes.

MEMORABLE MOMENT
In explaining “yoga breathing” to the children Mr. Mark told the children it is like “sniffing a pizza and blowing out candles.” Admit it, you almost feel compelled to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

LINKING IT TOGETHER

Head Start, from its inception, has been about improving the odds for at-risk children. It has grown from a summer pilot in 1965 to a comprehensive early childhood education program being delivered by highly-credentialed and experienced staff in 2015.

Recruitment for next year kicked off a couple of months ago. I asked Mr. Mark if Room 15’s three year olds would be returning next year. He believed that every child not heading to Kindergarten planned to return. I consider that a testimonial. We know from our assessment data that the more services young children get the better their chances are of meeting expectations for children their age. Plainly speaking, Head Start has used the last 50 years to become exceptionally good at helping families overcome some pretty tough circumstances, and yet it feels like we have just gotten started.

Friday, May 1, I will be in Columbus for Community Service Block Grant training learning about new federal organizational performance standards for CSBG-funded agencies. CSBG funding is used in Lorain County for food pantry partnerships, winter coats for children, workforce development, computer training, the vehicle match program, and emergency home repair. I will be back in a classroom the following week.

Head Start Disability Services

Policy Council Meeting for April
at the Hopkins-Locke Center in Lorain

My visit to a center this week came after hours. I attended Policy Council on Thursday evening at Hopkins-Locke. Policy Council is made up of parents and community members. It has specific responsibilities for program oversight and is a formal part of our governance structure. It functions by consensus. Individuals bring their perspectives and knowledge. They ask questions and discuss topics before making group decisions on how to proceed. A majority vote is needed to take action.

Thursday, we discussed how our program serves children with disabilities. Head Start’s national performance standards require programs to allocate 10 percent of their funded slots for children with disabilities. Our overall enrollment is down slightly this year and, as such, so is our number of children with disabilities. In the course of discussing how we are working to boost enrollment for all children and fulfill requirements, Policy Council reviewed disabilities services.

Head Start programs must screen all children for potential disabilities within 30 days of enrollment. As in years past, we fully met this requirement.

The first step is a three-part screening done by our teachers:  cognitive skills are assessed to detect learning disabilities, social-emotional skills are assessed to detect behavioral disabilities and each child’s speech is evaluated for appropriate development. Each student is given either a pass or fail on these assessments. (I prefer “needs further evaluation” to fail, but the official documents are more blunt.)

All results are shared with parents. For concerned parents of children with passing results, further evaluation will still be done if requested. Teachers also use the screening results as appropriate to monitor children’s development and may make later referrals to one or both of our specialists as needed.

Children receiving further evaluation are seen by one or both of our program’s two contracted specialists:  a mental health professional and speech pathologist. After our specialists complete their evaluations, we make referrals – if needed -- to the appropriate school district as required.

In Ohio, local school districts determine and detail special education services for children aged 3 and older on a child-by-child basis. This applies whether a child attends public school or not. The schools create what are called Individual Education Plans (IEPs).  An IEP is what a parent needs to secure publically-provided special education services for their children.

It is not uncommon for parents and family members to deal with feelings of denial and uncertainty. For those families, there may be a delay while more information is gathered and agreement on how to proceed is privately reached. Our program works to support families during this time recognizing that early intervention is critical to a child’s development and growth.

Head Start staff do work with the school districts and provide our assessment results upon signed release. No two school districts in Lorain County have the same application and assessment process for special education services. Paperwork and additional assessments are typical.

Recently, our Practice Based Coach Samantha Testa transitioned into a new role as our Disabilities Manager. The position was expanded from a coordinator position based on current needs and budget. Ms. Testa has some great advice for parents who have disability-related concerns:

·       Let others help. Any Head Start staff member will gladly answer questions or help get needed answers.

·       Pay close attention to paperwork and requests for information. Make sure forms are completed, signed and submitted on time to avoid delays.

·       Be positive. A large number of children overcome their developmental delays, even those that require more intensive services or services for a longer duration, and most children do begin to meet expectations for children their age with the proper help.

Head Start performance standards do require every child to have an IEP before special education and related services begin. This ensures that information acted on is comprehensive and appropriate for each child. Our program has established relationships and interagency agreements across the county and districts which bring services right into our centers. Services may also be received at a provider’s location.

Most of the information above was at least touched on at the Policy Council meeting. In talking through our systems and related requirements, it became clear that getting a better idea of what has to happen, in what order, and why makes for good, productive discussion. The pivotal role parents’ play was especially evident. What I heard was a consensus that screening every child, helping parents navigate access to services, and being part of a child’s disabilities services team is one more way that Head Start’s comprehensive services get children and families well on the way to long-term school success.