Sharing Web Resources Part 3: National Head Start Association
I chose to thoroughly search the center on advocacy portion of their site. Within the center on advocacy page, there are issues, key actions, coalitions and partners, and policy agenda's to research. Head Start aims to provide all vulnerable children with access to services, but in order to do that they had to make adjustments to policies (National Head Start Association, n.d.a). Some adjustments were made throughout 2013-2014 which included performance standards as well as recommendations for progress monitoring, which helps to ensure compliance and excellence. I also found the Investing in Impact Work Group, which was formed to "think critically about the role for Head Start in various early learning proposals, the means of measuring and demonstrating Head Start's impact, and how the program should evolve and grow in the context of a stronger national early learning system while remaining true to its core mission and values" (National Head Start Association, n.d.b). Through searching the advocacy section, and the connected pages, I realized that the National Head Start Association has many initiatives to attempt solving issues of inequity and to advocate for consistent and fair education.
Earlier in this course I was researching the issue of parent involvement in education. I do not receive the NHSA newsletter, but through searching parent involvement, I found a letter from 2016 from Yasmina Vinci, who is the Executive Director of the NHSA. Vinci (2016) addresses the importance of family engagement, and how families should be seen as partners of the program. The issue is that many families may not feel involved or part of the process, when they are a large component of the educational development. She stated that NHSA was working on a measurement tool for family engagement, since family engagement has a major impact on the outcome of a child's progress (Vinci, 2016). It was interesting to read a personal letter from the executive director herself, regarding the importance of family involvement and how they aimed to solve the issue.
The NHSA website contains information regarding equity and excellence in early childhood education, because those are their program goals. Their performance standards are geared towards providing quality and opportunity to children who may not have access to quality programs due to steep cost. These performance standards are assessed and reviewed, as I mentioned earlier, which demonstrates their ability to solve issues of inequity in programs (National Head Start Association (n.d.c). The NHSA also has an abundant amount of resources and research to support early childhood education and its importance. These resources from the NHSA provide me with a better understanding of equity and excellence in early childhood, because I see how many components there are to providing quality care. Family engagement, standards that are supported and reviewed, and groups who focus on diverse aspects of improving the association, are all factors in an equitable and successful foundation for early childhood programs.
Through exploring the website further, I was able to find more resources regarding issues and how they attempt to solve them. For example, the letter by Yasmina Vinci (2016) aimed to solve the issue of family engagement, and offered suggestions for improvement. I also found their Research Agenda from 2015, which discussed children living in poverty, and how the government, Head Start, and researchers and organizations can work together to improve the services that are offered to these diverse children and families (National Head Start Association, 2015). I've been enlightened by the efforts the National Head Start Association puts in towards solving issues of equity and excellence, because it seems they are always striving to improve and are continuously evolving. They take issues and make plans of reduction or elimination, because they value the quality of their programs and want to provide the best for children and families across the country.
Earlier in this course I was researching the issue of parent involvement in education. I do not receive the NHSA newsletter, but through searching parent involvement, I found a letter from 2016 from Yasmina Vinci, who is the Executive Director of the NHSA. Vinci (2016) addresses the importance of family engagement, and how families should be seen as partners of the program. The issue is that many families may not feel involved or part of the process, when they are a large component of the educational development. She stated that NHSA was working on a measurement tool for family engagement, since family engagement has a major impact on the outcome of a child's progress (Vinci, 2016). It was interesting to read a personal letter from the executive director herself, regarding the importance of family involvement and how they aimed to solve the issue.
The NHSA website contains information regarding equity and excellence in early childhood education, because those are their program goals. Their performance standards are geared towards providing quality and opportunity to children who may not have access to quality programs due to steep cost. These performance standards are assessed and reviewed, as I mentioned earlier, which demonstrates their ability to solve issues of inequity in programs (National Head Start Association (n.d.c). The NHSA also has an abundant amount of resources and research to support early childhood education and its importance. These resources from the NHSA provide me with a better understanding of equity and excellence in early childhood, because I see how many components there are to providing quality care. Family engagement, standards that are supported and reviewed, and groups who focus on diverse aspects of improving the association, are all factors in an equitable and successful foundation for early childhood programs.
Through exploring the website further, I was able to find more resources regarding issues and how they attempt to solve them. For example, the letter by Yasmina Vinci (2016) aimed to solve the issue of family engagement, and offered suggestions for improvement. I also found their Research Agenda from 2015, which discussed children living in poverty, and how the government, Head Start, and researchers and organizations can work together to improve the services that are offered to these diverse children and families (National Head Start Association, 2015). I've been enlightened by the efforts the National Head Start Association puts in towards solving issues of equity and excellence, because it seems they are always striving to improve and are continuously evolving. They take issues and make plans of reduction or elimination, because they value the quality of their programs and want to provide the best for children and families across the country.
References
Head Start ECLKC. (n.d.). Grantee details for associated catholic charities. Retrieved from https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/grantee-profiles/associated_catholic_charities_inc_md
National Head Start Association. (2015). 2015-2016 Head start research agenda. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/files/resources/headstartresearchagenda.pdf
National Head Start Association. (n.d.). Center on advocacy. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/knowledge-center/center-advocacy/top-issues
National Head Start Association. (n.d.). Investing in impact work group. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/content/investing-impact-working-group
National Head Start Association (n.d.). Center for policy, data, and research. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/new-head-start-program-performance-standards
Vinci, Y. (2016). NHSA response to policy statement on family engagement. National Head Start Association. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/files/resources/nhsa_response_to_policy_statement_on_family_engagment.pdf
National Head Start Association (n.d.). Center for policy, data, and research. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/new-head-start-program-performance-standards
Vinci, Y. (2016). NHSA response to policy statement on family engagement. National Head Start Association. Retrieved from https://www.nhsa.org/files/resources/nhsa_response_to_policy_statement_on_family_engagment.pdf
Tara,
ReplyDeleteAs always, I enjoyed learning more about Head Start and their commitment to quality. It was nice to hear that their executive director has her ear to the floor and plays an active role in advocating family partnerships. I would be curious as to how their performance standards relate to equity, specifically? Thank you for all your insight!