NACOG - Head Start

Monday, December 01, 2008

NACOG - Head Start

121 E. Aspen Ave.

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Phone: (520) 774-9504

Fax: (520) 774-0514

E-Mail:  headstart@nacog.org

Components

Education  |  Health  |  Special Needs  |  Parent Involvement

Nutrition  |  Social Services  |  Transportation  |  Purchasing

The education staff at NACOG Head Start provides children with activities that help them grow mentally, socially, emotionally and physically. The Head Start Education and Early Childhood Development Performance Standards are incorporated into all program options and settings. NACOG Head Start operates play-based, developmentally appropriate classrooms for infants, toddlers and pre-school children. We believe that children learn best by doing. The most important goal of our curriculum is to help children become enthusiastic learners. Our teachers encourage children to be active, inquisitive and creative.

NACOG Head Start uses The Creative Curriculum and The Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers. These resources were developed by Teaching Strategies, Inc. and offer quality early childhood curriculum materials for preschool children and for infants and toddlers. As required by Head Start Performance Standards, these resources are based on sound child development theories about how children grow and learn and are inclusive of children with disabilities.

Our curriculum is designed to give children a successful start in school by focusing on:

• The activities we plan for children

• The way we organize the environment

• The toys and equipment selected for children

• Attention to lesson planning and daily schedules

• The importance of conversations with children
   

For more information on Education and Early Childhood Development, please refer to section 1304.21 in the Head Start Performance Standards.
 

Head Start considers that parents are children’s first, and most important teachers.   The Head Start program is only as successful as parents help to make it, and it is with this thought in mind that parents and all family members are actively invited to participate in all aspects of the program.  Below are listed only a fraction of the opportunities that parents, grandparents & family members have to become involved in Head Start.

• NACDAB Parent Policy Council Member:  Every year parent representatives from all of the center & home base programs are elected to be part of this very important board.  The NACDAB board has the very important responsibilities of approving the hiring of program staff, as well as the approval of the program budgets for both our Head Start & Early Head Start programs. 

• Classroom volunteers and substitute staff

• Participation in children’s physical & dental exams

• Lesson Planning with the teaching staff

•  General help with maintenance & upkeep of facilities

• Participation in activities that can be worked on with the family at home (Home Tasks)

• Attendance at monthly parent meetings and trainings

• Participation as a Parent Mentor & helping to welcome and advocate for other parents in the program

• Development of a site newsletter for families

• Bus monitor volunteers for those sites with transportation

•  Recruiters of other families for Head & Early Head Start programs

 As part of NACOG Head Start’s ongoing commitment to career development, parents in the Head Start program are afforded many opportunities to further their own education.  We offer help for families who need to complete their General Education Development equivalency exam (GED), or for those who would like to further their skills in learning the English language (ESOL).  Through partnerships with many community colleges Head Start families can register for classes to receive their Child Development Associates credential (CDA) in Early Childhood Development.

For further information on Parent Involvement please refer to the Head Start Performance Standards.  All areas of the standards include general references to parent involvement.  For specific information, please refer to Section 1304.40.

NACOG Head Start’s Child Nutrition Services assist families in meeting each child’s nutrition needs while promoting the development of good eating habits. Certain standards and procedures have been implemented in the following areas to improve and maintain the health and nutritional status of infants, toddlers, and pre-school children.

• The identification of each child’s nutritional needs is determined by a nutritional assessment that is performed each year for all enrolled children. Nutrition assessment date include the hemoglobin/hematocrit results, height and weight as plotted on the growth charts, and information gathered from family eating patterns that include cultural preferences, special dietary requirements or feeding requirements.

• The NACOG Head Start Nutrition Program encompasses many nutritional services within the various communities to meet the nutritional needs and feeding requirements of each child. Nutrition Consultants are available to provide parent counseling regarding the nutritional status of their child and provide staff and parents with nutrition education as needed. They also provide technical assistance with menu planning, food budgeting, sanitation and special diets. Nutritional needs and requirements are met by contracting with food service providers through school districts or senior center settings. The quality of food served involves parents, community agencies and partners to ensure that meals meet cultural preferences and comply with USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal pattern requirements. Information about major community nutritional issues are identified through the Community Assessment and by the Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC). Other local partners, such as the Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are helpful in providing assistance.

• Family Style Meal Service is the method of meals service that NACOG Head Start practices. The many benefits of family style meals include: children learning how to serve themselves the right amounts of food in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, developing social skills by sharing a variety of foods that consider cultural and ethnic preferences, and developing language skills by participating in mealtime conversation.

• Parent nutrition education opportunities are offered through NACOG Head Start by qualified nutrition consultants who assist parents and staff in developing nutrition-related skills and food preparation skills. Parents are encouraged to select nutrition education activities such as Meal Planning for Pre-School Children, Healthy Snacks, Stretching Your Food Dollar, How to Read a Food Label, and Cooking With Your Child which are used to develop parent education trainings that are intended to extend nutritional skills into the home. Nutrition activities are required monthly for each center that provides an opportunity to involve children and parents with food-related activities that promote the preparation of foods that are high in nutrients and low in fat, sugar and salt.

• Food Safety and Sanitation permits are posted and kept on file to assure that all the center based programs provide evidence that food service and handling are in compliance to all state and local statutes, rules and ordinances. In addition, NACOG Head Start only contracts with food service providers that are licensed in accordance with state, and local laws.

The primary role of Social Services in Head Start is to provide support to families as they work to strengthen themselves.  All families need support systems at various times in life.   Through the Social Services component, we help to become a link between families, the Head Start program & the communities in which we serve.

Head Start staff is hired to provide families with information about the program and about support services that are available in the community; to assist families in locating & securing needed services; and to serve as advocates for Head Start & for the families we serve; to encourage families to continue to build on the many existing strengths that they already have.  Within NACOG Head Start this is approached in many different ways.

• Recruitment & Enrollment:  Through extensive recruitment efforts by staff & parents the program is able to locate & enroll qualified families that can benefit from the pre-school & child care services that are offered through the Head Start & Early Head Start programs.

•  Family Advocates & Family Advocate Aides:  Our Family Advocates & Family Advocate Aides are hired at sites specifically to work in developing partnerships with families, & to be resources for families who may be in need of support services.   They have extensive knowledge of community resources that can provide extra help, support, or enjoyment for families.

•  Home Visits:  In order to help staff & parents to develop stronger relationships families are asked to participate in Home Visits twice per year.  Home visits consist of teaching staff &/or Family Advocates traveling to a families home to learn more about how Head Start can be of the most help to them, as well as to answer any questions that a parent may have.   It is through these visits that everyone involved gains a better perspective of how we can work together, & share in the responsibility of providing the best possible education to your child and family.

For further information on Social Services in Head Start please read through Section 1304.40, Family & Community Partnerships, of the Head Start Performance Standards.

NACOG Head Start provides door-to-door school bus and contracted transportation in certain areas throughout Northern Arizona.

These are the areas scheduled to operate transportation services for the 2001-2002 school year: Flagstaff, Holbrook, Fredonia, Cottonwood, St. Johns, Springerville, Showlow, and Sedona.

How can I qualify? Demonstration of need is based on financial inability to self-transport and location of residence.

What do I need to take the bus? A car seat and subsequent training.

Ok, how much? It’s FREE!! But, we need volunteers for bus monitors, carpooling, lunch aids and teacher aids!

For more information on Head Start or for transportation, call (520) 774- 9504

Check these sites out for more information on Head Start, child safety restraint systems (CSRS) and bus transportation.

STN On-line |  NHTSA.org  |  NHSA.org