Early Childhood The History of Head Start

							    Early Childhood
The History of Head Start
       Santiago, Chile
         July, 2006
             Propositions
1) To improve the well-being of all our
   children, we need to integrate
   educational, medical & public health
   approaches
2) We have models for doing this
3) What stands in our way are:
     - Inadequate political will
     - Incompletely developed social strategies
21 st
    Century Community
Factors that Affect Child
       Wellbeing
              Poverty
              Ethnicity
              Geography
              Environment
              Family
               configuration
              Parental occupation
              Stress
              Isolation
Outcomes
   Violence
   Child Abuse
   Homelessness
   Hunger
   Depression
   Suicide
   Drug/alcohol
   HIV/AIDS
Percentage of 6th-12th graders with high
  risk behaviors, by number of assets
       [from Benson, Leffert, Scales, & Blyth (n=99,462)]
100%
 90%
 80%
 70%
 60%                                         Alcohol
                                             Tobacco
 50%
                                             Illicit Drugs
 40%
                                             Driving and Alcohol
 30%
 20%                                            Source: Benson et al.
 10%
  0%
 0-10 Assets   11-20 Assets 21-30 Assets 31-40 Assets
            Richmond Model

                                   • Knowledge Base
KNOWLEDGE
                                      – Statistics
                       POLITICAL
   BASE
                         WILL         – Best Practices
            POLICY                 • Social Strategy
                                      – Macro
                                      – Micro
             SOCIAL
            STRATEGY               • Political Will
   FROM CRADLE TO
      CLASSROOM:
HEAD START & EARLY HEAD
        START


      Catherine Ayoub
       Santiago, Chile
         July, 2006
What is Head Start Now?
    Head Start (1964)
      3-6 year olds
     comprehensive
      center-based


  Early Head Start (1995)
    birth to 3 year olds
      comprehensive
home, center or mixed base
 Early Head Start & Head Start Are
Intensive, Two-Generation Programs
                               Child
Self-Sufficiency           Development
   & Healthy                & Learning
    Families




       Parenting
Facts About Early Head Start/Head Start
              Programs

   Head Start: Over 19,800 programs
     serving about 907,000 children

  Early Head Start: Over 650 programs
       serving about 62,000 children

        Children living in poverty

   12.5% of children in Head Start are
         children with disabilities
      Grants for Program Operation
for Early Head Start/Head Start Programs

     Federal                       Local



               Public Agencies

           Private Organizations

               Indian Tribes

               School Systems
Head Start Performance Standards:
        Four Cornerstones



 Child                  Parent




 Staff                Community
Implications for Programs From Head Start & the
    Early Head Start Research & Evaluation
         The Early Head Start Research
                   1995-2009

   17 Early Head Start programs
   3,001 children & families
   Evaluation at 14, 24, 36 months, 4.5 years, 5th grade.
   Used random assignment—program & control group
   National evaluator = Mathematica Policy Research
   Local researchers = 15 Universities
   Programs chose research partners
Early Head Start Research Sites
Positive Impacts: Multiple Dimensions of
         Children’s Development
 Health:
    More often have current immunizations
    Fewer emergency room visits for accidents and
     injuries

Cognitive:
    Smaller percent with Mental Development Index <
     85
    Higher Average Bayley Mental Development Index
     Positive Impacts: Multiple Dimensions
           of Children’s Development
    Language:
   Larger receptive vocabularies
   Smaller percent with language delay (PPVT < 85)

Social-emotional development:
   Lower levels of aggressive behavior
   Higher sustained attention with objects
   Greater engagement of parent with child
   Child shows less negativity toward parent
      Positive Impacts in Parenting

   Greater warmth and supportiveness
   Less detachment
   More parent-child play
   More stimulating home environments
   More support for language and learning
   More daily reading
   Less spanking by both mothers and fathers
    EHS Benefited Some Groups That
       Have Been Hard to Serve

   Teen parents

   Parents at risk for depression aat
    enrollment
Theory of Change for Head Start
         Professionals

Knowledge    Meaning      Skill



Training     Reflection   Action
    Skills for Teaching (FACES)
Child development knowledge

  Cognitive, Social, Emotional, Physical
   Normal & Atypical
  Parent child relationships

Solid curriculum & measurement of progress

Role models & support for learning

Perspective taking & reflective practice
Continuous Service Improvement
  Staff continuing education

  Curriculum standards & assessment

  Practical use of evaluation
   instruments

  Feedback to programs on strengths
   & obstacles to quality
           Develop a Program
Comprehensive
Two Generational
Whole child
Parent involvement
Uniform standards
Staff support & training
Tried curriculum
Community involvement
Evaluation (CPI)