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U-234 enters agreement with Head Start
During a special noon board meeting Monday, the USD 234 Board of Education kicked off Week of the Young Child by entering into a one-year agreement with Head Start to provide coordinated services to children in the district's early childhood education classes.
The board's decision took place during the Week of the Young Child, which began April 19 and continues through Saturday, and is a national awareness campaign to raise understanding about early learning, according to The National Association for the Education of Young Children Web site, www.naeyc.org.
"The more we can do for them (early childhood education students) the better," USD 234 Superintendent Rick Werling said during Monday's board meeting. "We're trying to do what we can for these students before they go to kindergarten."
According to Werling, by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, the district's two early childhood education classes, which include the USD 234 Special Education Preschool and the USD 234 4-Year-Old Preschool, will be housed in the annex of the former middle school at the corner of Fourth and Judson streets along with the Head Start program. Although the three preschool classes will operate in separate rooms inside the new USD 234 Early Learning Center, they will all use the same classroom curriculum.
In order to help bring more services to the children who will attend early childhood classes next year, the local district will begin using the Creative Curriculum, which is the same curriculum Head Start is currently using. By following the same programs Head Start conforms to, the local district will have access to helpful services such as vision screenings and mental health services.
According to USD 234 Special Education Coordinator Pennie Province, the school district's preschools will follow Head Start's standards in addition to Kansas state standards. In fact, Province said, the 4-year-old preschool has already been using the Creative Curriculum in its classes. The special education preschool will be the only preschool that will need to make a change in curriculum with the partnership between Head Start and the local district, according to Province.
"We're really excited," Province said. "The things we gain are the wonderful services Head Start has to offer."
When asked if there are any negative aspects to the partnership, Province said the only negative she has encountered thus far has been in regards to holidays. Head Start does not celebrate holidays, Province said. However, Province added even this does not pose much of a problem as the district's preschool teachers can work around the holiday issue. For instance, instead of putting up a Christmas tree in December, the classrooms can put up winter trees, Province said.
USD 234 special education preschool teachers Janice Schlicting and Andrea Scott were present at the special meeting in support of the Head Start USD 234 partnership.
"It is such a win-win situation," Schlicting said. "I think it is going to be so great for our students and the staff."
Acting in the best interest of the students involved is one reason Head Start Deputy Director Linda Broyles was motivated to coordinate services with the local district.
"Pennie (Province) and I have been talking about this for a couple of years," Broyles said. "It's not because we want to be a demonstration site, but we want to do what's best for the kids."
According to the NAEYC Web site, quality early childhood programs are beneficial to the children who are able to take part in them.
"Research shows that high-quality early childhood programs help children -- especially those from families with low-incomes- -- develop the skills they need to succeed in school," the Web site said. "However, most programs in the United States are rated mediocre, and fewer than 10 percent meet national accreditation standards."
According to Broyles, the Creative Curriculum that all three preschools will follow next year is a well-known curriculum that is used nationally with good results. Teaching Strategies, Inc., the company who publishes the Creative Curriculum, said the teaching instruction guide was created to help provide quality early child-care programs for young children.
"Teaching Strategies, Inc. seeks to improve the quality of early childhood programs by designing easy-to-use curriculum and training materials," the Creative Curriculum book reads. "These materials reflect the accumulated wisdom of 20 years of research on what makes early childhood programs effective."