Head Start

Talk about a stark contrast.  I went from a North Shore suburb into Chinatown in the city!  From a very serene, tranquil site while visiting Montessori into the hectic environment of the Head Start program!  The Head Start program is in Bridgeport and has 5 classrooms with children ages 3-5.  Each classroom has three teachers, one lead and at least is bilingual.  The children are 85% Asian and speak three different languages.  The first thing I noticed was the outstanding documentation of the children's learning!  And I also noticed how parent friendly the school was and that EVERYTHING was translated, including hand washing directions!

 This is a copy of the classroom newsletter and its translation, but literally everything posted on the walls was translated.  The school does two home visits and has three conferences with the parents, the parent support staff and the teachers.  There is a lot of communication and support going on.  One of the parent support staff was a male and has been making an effort to get male role models involved in the school.  What a great idea

The other thing I noticed through the documentation on the walls, was that there was emphasis on nutrition and there were several recipes indicating that their cooking revolved around their culture.  One of the classrooms was also looking at two different cultures and their foods.

My conversations with the Parent Support staff indicated that they do a lot of support for the parents working their way through the system.  Many of their families are new to the country and many do not speak English.  There were a great deal of parent workshops and activities scheduled throughout the year.  In their initial needs assessment, they are asked if they require referrals and the school has a list of possibilities for them.   

This center has also moved to Creative Curriculum because of the way it is aligned with Head Start, NAEYC and Illinois Early Learning Standards.  It allows them to keep assessments of the children online.  This is only the second year they've used the system so they are still working out the kinks.  A demonstration revealed how it also serves as a resource for curriculum ideas and serves as a planning tool for the classroom. 

In each classroom, in each center of the room, there was documentation describing what was happening there!  One of the classroom had questions in each area so that all the teachers would be asking children the same questions.  I liked that idea a lot. 

The Center, as most Head Start programs do, has several funding streams which always makes my head spin!  This was my second urban visit visit with rooftop play areas!  Although there is little nature available to the children - in both instances the children seem to really enjoy playing and running in the spaces.

I'm on my way this weekend to visit a Multiple Intelligence school in Vancouver, Washington.  I'm anxious to see a school that focuses on this curriculum.  I can't believe my sabbatical is half over!!  It's been so wonderful to really be able to delve into these curricula!