House Hearing, 109TH Congress - The Best of Head Start: Learning From Model Programs

THE BEST OF HEAD START:
LEARNING
FROM
MODEL
PROGRAMS
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM

OF THE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
April 14, 2005
Serial No. 109-7
Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
(
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house
or
Committee address: http://edworkforce.house.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON
20-629 PDF
2005
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 5121800; DC area (202) 5121800
Fax: (202) 5122250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 204020001
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 5011
Sfmt 5011
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio, Chairman
Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin, Vice Chairman
Howard P. Buck McKeon, California
Michael N. Castle, Delaware
Sam Johnson, Texas
Mark E. Souder, Indiana
Charlie Norwood, Georgia
Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
Judy Biggert, Illinois
Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania
Patrick J. Tiberi, Ohio
Ric Keller, Florida
Tom Osborne, Nebraska
Joe Wilson, South Carolina
Jon C. Porter, Nevada
John Kline, Minnesota
Marilyn N. Musgrave, Colorado
Bob Inglis, South Carolina
Cathy McMorris, Washington
Kenny Marchant, Texas
Tom Price, Georgia
Luis G. Fortuno, Puerto Rico
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana
Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Louisiana
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Thelma D. Drake, Virginia
John R. Randy Kuhl, Jr., New York
George Miller, California

Dale E. Kildee, Michigan
Major R. Owens, New York
Donald M. Payne, New Jersey
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey
Robert C. Scott, Virginia
Lynn C. Woolsey, California
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas
Carolyn McCarthy, New York
John F. Tierney, Massachusetts
Ron Kind, Wisconsin
Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio
David Wu, Oregon
Rush D. Holt, New Jersey
Susan A. Davis, California
Betty McCollum, Minnesota
Danny K. Davis, Illinois
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Chris Van Hollen, Maryland
Tim Ryan, Ohio
Timothy H. Bishop, New York
John Barrow, Georgia
Paula Nowakowski, Staff Director

John Lawrence, Minority Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM

MICHAEL N. CASTLE, Delaware, Chairman
Tom Osborne, Nebraska, Vice Chairman
Mark E. Souder, Indiana
Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
Judy Biggert, Illinois
Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania
Ric Keller, Florida
Joe Wilson, South Carolina
Marilyn N. Musgrave, Colorado
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana
John R. Randy Kuhl, Jr., New York
John A. Boehner, Ohio, ex officio
Lynn C. Woolsey, California

Danny K. Davis, Illinois
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey
Robert C. Bobby Scott, Virginia
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas
Ron Kind, Wisconsin
Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio
Susan A. Davis, California
George Miller, California, ex officio
(II)
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 5904
Sfmt 5904
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
C O N T E N T S
Page
Hearing held on April 14, 2005 2003 .....................................................................

Statement of Members:
Castle, Hon. Michael N., Chairman, Subcommittee on Education Reform,
Committee on Education and the Workforce ..............................................
Prepared statement of ...............................................................................
Woolsey, Hon. Lynn C., Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Education
Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce ...............................
Statement of Witnesses:
Cunningham, Gayle, Executive Director, Jefferson County Committee for
Economic Opportunity Child Development Services, Birmingham, AL ...
Daeschner, Dr. Stephen W., Ph.D., Superintendent, Jefferson County
Schools, Louisville, KY .................................................................................
Mainster, Barbara, Executive Director, Redlands Christian Migrant Association, Immokalee, FL .................................................................................
Marker, David, Chief Financial Officer, Miami Valley Child Development
Centers, Inc., Dayton, OH ............................................................................
Siegfried, Scott, Program Coordinator, Miami Valley Child Development
Centers, Inc., Dayton, OH ............................................................................
Additional materials supplied:
Field, Dr. Charles R., MD, MPH, FAAP, Mary Kaye McKinney and Patricia A. Price, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Department
of Pediatrics Head Start Program, Pulaski County, AK, Statement
submitted for the record ...............................................................................
Melmed, Matthew E., J.D., Executive Director, Zero to Three Policy Center, Washington, DC, Statement submitted for the record .......................
Nolan, Dr. Tim, Director, Head Start Program, Waukesha County, WI,
Statement submitted for the record ............................................................
Pagliaro, Ann, Head Start of Eastern Orange County, Newburgh, NY,
Statement submitted for the record ............................................................
2
3
4
4
29
31
7
8
21
23
14
15
18
19
49
53
57
62
(III)
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 5904
Sfmt 5904
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 5904
Sfmt 5904
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
THE BEST OF HEAD START: LEARNING FROM

MODEL PROGRAMS
Thursday, April 14, 2005
U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Education Reform
Committee on Education and the Workforce
Washington, DC
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:32 a.m., in

room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Michael Castle
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Castle, Osborne, Ehlers, Biggert, Woolsey, Grijalva, Scott, Hinojosa, Kind, Kucinich, and Davis of California.
Ex officio: Representative Boehner.
Staff present: Amanda Farris, Professional Staff Member; Kevin
Frank, Professional Staff Member; Jessica Gross, Legislative Assistant; Lucy House, Legislative Assistant; Kate Houston, Professional Staff Member; Sally Lovejoy, Director of Education and
Human Resources Policy; Alexa Marrero, Press Secretary; Deborah
L. Samantar, Committee Clerk/Intern Coordinator; Rich Stombres,
Assistant Director of Education and Human Resources Policy; Ruth
Friedman, Minority Legislative Associate/Education; Lloyd
Horwich, Minority Legislative Associate/Education; Ricardo Martinez, Minority Legislative Associate/Education; Alex Nock, Minority Legislative Associate/education, and Joe Novotny, Minority Legislative Assistant/Education.
Chairman CASTLE. The Subcommittee on Education Reform of
the Committee on Education and the Workforce will come to order.
We are meeting today to hear testimony on The Best of Head
Start: Learning from Model Programs. Under Committee Rule
12(b), opening statements are limited to the Chairman and the
Ranking Minority Member of the Subcommittee. Therefore, if other
Members have statements, they may be included in the record.
With that, I ask unanimous consent for the hearing record to remain open 14 days to allow Members statements and other extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be submitted in
the official hearing record. Without objection, so ordered.
(1)
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6633
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
2
STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE, CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for a hearing
on The Best of Head Start: Learning from Model Programs. As
Congress prepares to strengthen and reauthorize the Head Start
program, I think its vital that we listen to those who have been
successful so that we may learn from their experience.
For the better part of 2 years, this Committee has been making
the case that Head Start is a good program that can be made
stronger. Since 1965, the Head Start program has provided comprehensive health, developmental, and educational services to disadvantaged four- and 5-year-olds. Head Start involves parents and
communities in helping prepare needy children to succeed in school
and beyond.
Yet despite the many success stories in the program, and there
are many, we have also heard troubling stories about program
weaknesses. The GAO recently released a report that warned that
the financial control system in the Federal Head Start early childhood program is flawed and failing to prevent multi-million dollar
financial abuses that cheat poor children, taxpayers, and law-abiding Head Start operators.
The GAO made some helpful recommendations on how we can
strengthen the oversight structure to prevent abuses and protect
good grantees. It recommended that increased competition in the
program could help weed out poorly performing grantees and ensure high quality services are available to children and families.
This Committee has long supported competition as a way to foster
innovation and quality, and that is a recommendation we intend to
take seriously.
In addition to listening to the GAO, we are reaching out to the
public for insight and input on how we can make Head Start
stronger and ensure its continued success into the future. We
launched a website about 2 weeks ago, and already weve received
more than 200 responses from parents, teachers and other stakeholders in early children education with recommendations on how
the program can be made stronger. Were also seeking success stories about exemplary programs in local communities. We want to
know what works and what doesnt so that we can learn from the
experiences of those programs that are leading by example.
Today were going to hear from representatives of a few of the
many high quality programs participating in Head Start. Weve invited these witnesses to share their stories and help us to better
understand what factors can help a program to succeed.
Exemplary programs should demonstrate success in multiple facets of their program, including strong parent involvement; success
in improving child outcomes across all developmental domains; a
language-rich learning environment; well-qualified staff and administrators; an engaged board of directors; clean financial audits
and program reviews; and full program enrollment. Actually, it
sounds like something Congress should be doing.
Additionally, exemplary programs should secure community involvement and support, and when possible, integrate Head Start
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6633
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
3
with pre-kindergarten and other early learning programs within
the community.
Programs that exhibit these qualities should be the rule, not the
exception. Today I hope our witnesses will help us to define a gold
standard for Head Start so that this Committee can enact legislation that makes it easier for all programs to meet it.
I thank the witnesses for joining us today, and I look forward to
hearing your testimony.
I will now yield to the gentlelady from California, the Ranking
Minority Member of this Subcommittee, Ms. Woolsey, for her opening statement.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Castle follows:]
Statement of Hon. Michael N. Castle, Chairman, Subcommittee on
Education Reform, Committee on Education and the workforce
Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for a hearing on The Best of
Head Start: Learning from Model Programs. As Congress prepares to strengthen
and reauthorize the Head Start program, I think its vital that we listen to those
who have been successful so that we may learn from their experience.
For the better part of two years, this committee has been making the case that
Head Start is a good program that can be made stronger. Since 1965, the Head
Start program has provided comprehensive health, developmental, and educational
services to disadvantaged four and five-year olds. Head Start involves parents and
communities in helping prepare needy children to succeed in school and beyond.
Yet despite the many success stories in the programand there are manywe
have also heard troubling stories about program weaknesses. The GAO recently released a report that warned the financial control system in the federal Head Start
early childhood program is flawed and failing to prevent multi-million dollar financial abuses that cheat poor children, taxpayers, and law-abiding Head Start operators.
The GAO made some helpful recommendations on how we can strengthen the
oversight structure to prevent abuses and protect good grantees. It recommended
that increased competition in the program could help weed out poorly performing
grantees and ensure high quality services are available to children and families.
This committee has long supported competition as a way to foster innovation and
quality, and that is a recommendation we intend to take seriously.
In addition to listening to the GAO, we are reaching out to the public for insight
and input on how we can make Head Start stronger and ensure its continued success into the future. We launched a website about two weeks ago, and already weve
received more than 200 responses from parents, teachers, and other stakeholders in
early childhood education with recommendations on how the program can be made
stronger. Were also seeking success stories about exemplary programs in local
communities. We want to know what works and what doesnt so that we can learn
from the experiences of those programs that are leading by example.
Today, were going to hear from representatives of a few of the many high quality
programs participating in Head Start. Weve invited these witnesses to share their
stories and help us to better understand what factors can help a program to succeed.
Exemplary programs should demonstrate success in multiple facets of their program, including strong parent involvement; success in improving child outcomes
across all developmental domains; a language-rich learning environment; well-qualified staff and administrators; an engaged board of directors; clean financial audits
and program reviews; and, full program enrollment. Additionally, exemplary programs should secure community involvement and support, and when possible, integrate Head Start with pre-kindergarten and other early learning programs within
the community.
Programs that exhibit these qualities should be the rule, not the exception. Today,
I hope our witnesses will help us to define a gold standard for Head Start so that
this Committee can enact legislation that makes it easier for all programs to meet
it.
I thank the witnesses for joining us today, and I look forward to hearing your testimony. I will now yield to the gentle lady from California, the ranking minority
member of this subcommittee, Rep. Woolsey.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
4
STATEMENT OF HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY, RANKING MEMBER,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM, COMMITTEE ON
EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
Ms. WOOLSEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I, too, appreciate

your holding this hearing, because its a very important topic,
learning from model programs.
As we continue the reauthorization process that we began last
Congress, the 108th Congress, Im pleased that we have another
opportunity, and this one in particular, to hear directly from four
high-quality Head Start programs. We want your thoughts. We
want to know what makes your programs great and what you
think about reauthorization in general.
In any reauthorization, I think one of the most important steps
is to listen to the people who put the laws that we write into practice every day. We already know that the vast majority of Head
Start programs provide comprehensive, high quality services that
help children make academic and social gains so that they can
close much if not all of the achievement gap before they begin kindergarten.
Head Start also has strong standards, and we know that, and
monitoring and accountability measures built into the law to ensure high performance, although we need to make certain that
those measures are enforced.
I look forward, as I said, to hearing from our witnesses about
how those measures have helped them and if its improved the
quality of their programs, and if not, what we can do to improve.
Because all of us, most of all the people involved in the Head Start
programs around the country, who have dedicated themselves to
improving our most vulnerable childrens lives, all of us recognize
that standards and accountability are not about Democrats, not
about Republicans, theyre about our children.
And, of course, another way to improve those childrens lives is
to devote more resources to Head Start. In that way, more children
can benefit from the programs like the ones represented on this
panel. Unfortunately, this President and this Congress have not
done well in that area, so we need to hold ourselves accountable
as well.
But again, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to what I hope will be
a bipartisan reauthorization of Head Start and to hearing from the
experts on this panel.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Woolsey follows:]
Statement of Hon. Lynn C. Woolsey, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Education Reform, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate your holding this hearing today on this important topicLearning
From Model Programs.
As we continue the reauthorization process that we began last Congress, I am
pleased that we have an opportunity to hear directly from four high-quality Head
Start programs about what makes a great program and on reauthorization in general.
In any reauthorization, I think one of the most important steps is to listen to the
people who have to put the laws we write into practice every day.
We already know that the vast majority of Head Start programs provide comprehensive, high quality services that help children make academic and social gains
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
5
so that they can close much, if not all, of the achievement gap, before they begin
kindergarten.
Head Start also has strong standards, monitoring, and accountability measures
built into the law to ensure high performance, although we need to take care to see
that those measures are enforced.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about how those measures have
helped them improve the quality of their programs and what we can do to improve.
Because all of usmost of all, the people in Head Start programs around the
country, who have dedicated themselves to improving our most vulnerable childrens
livesrecognize that standards and accountability are not about Democrats or Republicans; theyre about those children.
Of course, another way to improve those childrens lives is to devote more resources to Head Start so that more children can benefit from programs like the ones
represented on this panel.
Unfortunately, this President and this Congress have not done well in that area,
and so we need to hold ourselves more accountable as well.
But again, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to what I hope will be a bipartisan reauthorization of Head Start, and to hearing from this panel.
Thank you.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Ms. Woolsey. And we do have a

very distinguished panel of witnesses today, and were going to go
through the introductions at this point. And well do it across the
order here.
But the first is Stephen W. Daeschner, Ph.D. Dr. Daeschner is
the Superintendent of the Jefferson County Public School District
in Louisville, Kentucky. JCPS is the 28th-largest district in the nation, serving 96,000 students from preschool through grade 12.
Since 1993, Dr. Daeschner has been responsible for the implementation of a systemic pre-kindergarten program for three- and 4year-olds using funding from Head Start and state level school
readiness initiatives. Dr. Daeschner is a board member for Greater
Louisville, Inc., the Metro Chamber of Commerce, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville. He holds a Ph.D. in
education administration from the University of Wisconsin.
And thank you. We appreciate having you here, Dr. Daeschner.
At this time I would like to welcome the Chairman of the Full
Committee, John Boehner, to the Subcommittee. A few of the witnesses joining us today are from the Chairmans district, and its
my pleasure to recognize him for the purpose of introducing these
witnesses.
Mr. BOEHNER. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Im pleased
to introduce David Marker. Mr. Marker is the Chief Financial Officer of the Miami Valley Child Development Centers, a single-purpose Head Start agency in Dayton, Ohio. Working for the agency
for over a decade, Mr. Marker was promoted to chief financial officer in 2002 and is responsible for assisting with the overall management of the organization.
Mr. Marker is a recognized expert in nonprofit management who
is dedicated to the agencys goal to maintain professional standards
of conduct in all aspects of fiscal and program management. And
before working with the Miami Valley program, Mr. Marker managed the Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority.
Hes joined with one of his colleagues, Scott Siegfried, who is
with the Miami Valley Child Development Centers, as well. He is
the agencys program director, responsible for supervising all education, staff, and activity since 1991. He oversees child assessment
activities to ensure that all children are making academic progress,
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
6
and maintains a successful track record in preparing their students
for kindergarten.
Mr. Siegfried is a member of the National and Dayton Associations for the Education of Young Children, as well as the Dayton
Public Schools Preschool Network. And he holds a masters degree
in early childhood education from Nova Southeastern University.
I might also add that they have with them their boss, Ms.
Sherrie Lookner, who is the president and CEO at Miami Valley.
Shes here today, and we want to thank her for coming. They together operate a top notch Head Start program, covering part of
my district and Mr. Hobsons district, as well, and I think she and
her staff deserve great credit for the successful program that they
have. And Ill say welcome.
Chairman CASTLE. Sherrie, could you raise your hand, please, so
we can know who you are. Sherrie Lookner, right there. We appreciate having you here, as well.
The next witness is Barbara Louise Mainster. Ms. Mainster is
the Executive Director of the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, a Head Start agency serving the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. Ms. Mainster has worked with RCMA for over
30 years in capacities including program director and education coordinator, and was a member of the State of Florida Universal Prekindergarten Advisory Council. Ms. Mainster holds a degree in social services from Michigan State University.
Welcome.
And Gayle Cunningham is with us. Ms. Cunningham is the Executive Director of the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity located in Birmingham, Alabama, and director of the
agencys Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
She is a research partner with the Georgia State University
Head Start Quality Research Center, where her Head Start program participated in a design effectiveness study for the 1998-1999
program year.
Ms. Cunningham was formerly an assistant professor of early
childhood education at Delgado Community College in New Orleans and a senior research associate for Bank Street College, where
she led the expansion of the Child Development Associate
Credentialing Program to include infant and toddler caregivers,
home visitors, and family daycare providers.
Ms. Cunningham received her M.S. in early childhood education,
supervision, and administration from Bank Street College of Education.
And before the witnesses begin, I would like to remind the Members here that we will be asking questions after the entire panel
has testified, for your information, as well. In addition, Committee
Rule 2 imposes a 5-minute limit on all questions. And you all have
the clock system in front of you. I think you understand it. You
have 4 minutes on green, one on yellow, and when you see the red,
youre supposed to start winding down, shall we say, or get wound
down. But we do want to hear from you, and we really do appreciate all of you being here. We always know theres some logistical
issues in getting here and being with us, so we do appreciate you
being here on time and ready to go.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
7
And with that, Dr. Daeschner, we look forward to your testimony.
STATEMENT OF STEPHEN W. DAESCHNER, PH.D., SUPERINTENDENT, JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS, LOUISVILLE,
KY
Dr. DAESCHNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Honorable Members of the Subcommittee. Our Head Start, Early Head Start programs, our State Preschool Program for students on subsidized
meals, and our Tuition-based Preschool currently serve more than
5,400 children ages 4 and under.
Our school districts Early Childhood Education Program is exemplary and unique in large part because we use an integrated,
seamless approach to provide programs and services. The Head
Start and State Preschool Programs are intentionally connected
through common leadership to provide a uniform, developmentally
appropriate curriculum.
Our program is outcome based, and assessment is the key. Every
three- and 4-year-old student receives frequent assessments and
also completes an end-of-year profile that measures mastery of the
physical, social and pre-academic skills.
Teachers certainly receive intensive monthly and summer training based on these skill sets that we assess quite frequently.
Teachers are supported, as an example, with a web-based Core
Content Guides that match the curriculum with calendar-based
timelines to ensure that every classroom is presenting the same instructional material with the same level of rigor.
Another exemplary strategy rests in our creative yet physically
sound management of financial resources. Our $35 million annual
preschool budget consists of 58 percent Head Start and other Federal programs like Title I, 22 percent state preschool funds, 16 percent from our district through local taxes, 3 percent from parents
that pay tuition, and 1 percent from local business donations. This
integrated funding allows all children to receive increased instructional and support services without regard to where their program
funding is generated.
Meaningful parent involvement is absolutely essential. Parents
are engaged through a home/school contract that includes daily
reading with their child and take-home activities. Since 76 percent
of our preschoolers are from single-parent households, our nationally recognized Fatherhood/Male Initiative ensures that more children are connected with a significant, positive male role model.
How do we know our efforts are working, is with our results and
our outcomes. Let me give you an example of the 2004 end-of-year
outcomes. With 91 percent mastery for the economically disadvantaged students funded by our state program, 96 percent mastery
for our middle and upper class students who pay tuition, and 97
percent mastery for children funded by Head Start. As you can see,
it makes a big difference.
What can you do to support our efforts? A quality Head Start
program integrated into or with a school district operation program
we think is very important. Creative implementation strategies are
required to effectively meet the regulations of both Head Start program and a state department of Educations preschool program.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
8
Without a doubt, we can do a better job for our children and families by operating under one set of guidelines.
We certainly ask your considerations to grant at least a handful
of large districts that are current Head Start grantees the authority to operate Head Start programs within state regulations while
maintaining the integrity of the standards provided by Head Start.
We would be most eager to serve as one of these pilot projects.
We support a proposal offered by Congresswoman Anne Northup
to enable states to allow some of their school districts and Head
Start programs to apply for the pilot programs.
Finally, I feel compelled to draw your attention to one very intrusive, as an example, regulation, that has recently sprung up from
Head Start, which is the requirement that all vehicles transporting
Head Start children have restraint. Our preschoolers in our district
are transported on buses that meet state standards, and Kentucky
has one of the toughest bus regulations in the nation. Purchasing
and installing child restraints would cost our district approximately
$5.8 million. The diversion of these funds would result in a reduced
number of children served by Head Start. Later I might give you
an example.
We appreciate Congresswoman Northups action to resolve this
issue for us and hope this reauthorization of Head Start can adopt
the language she has proposed for permanent enactment.
I would certainly encourage your review of my written comments
that expand on many of these verbal statements. I certainly appreciate and thank you for allowing me to share our successes and
some of the recommendations. We think Head Start is just an absolutely essential part of our program.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Daeschner follows:]
Statement of Stephen W. Daeschner, Ph.D., Superintendent, Jefferson
County Schools, Louisville, KY
Chairman Castle and Honorable Members of the Subcommittee on Education Reform, as you consider the reauthorization of Head Start, I appreciate your invitation
to address the issue of exemplary programs for our youngest students. My name is
Stephen Daeschner, and I am superintendent of the Jefferson County Public School
District in Louisville, Kentucky, the nations 28th largest school district, serving
more than 98,000 students from birth to grade 12. Our Head Start and Early Head
Start programs, our State Preschool Program for students on subsidized meals, and
our Tuition Preschool Program currently serve more than 5,400 children ages four
and under.
Our school districts Early Childhood Education Program is exemplary and unique
in large part because we use an integrated, seamless approach to providing programs and services. The Head Start and State Preschool Programs are intentionally
connected under common leadership to provide a uniform, developmentally appropriate curriculum. Because Kentucky uses high stakes accountability testing, our
District has much to gain by ensuring the early preparedness of all our preschoolers.
In addition to our common curriculum and services, there are other exemplary
strategies that contribute to our success. These strategies include assessment and
outcome standards, professional development, core content guides, interventions,
combined funding sources, and parent involvement.
Our program is outcome based and assessment is key. Every three- and four-yearold student receives frequent assessments and also completes an end-of-year profile
that measures mastery of physical, social, and pre-academic skills. Results from the
individual profiles also are used to monitor curriculum implementation districtwide
and to plan for teacher training in any curricular area that shows systemic weakness.
Teachers receive intensive monthly and summer training focused on core content
areas, math and literacy curriculum, intervention strategies, and summer skills re-
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
9
inforcement to ensure that all children are academically prepared for kindergarten,
regardless of family economic circumstances.. Weekly site meetings are held to discuss program issues and collaborate on student needs.
Teachers are supported with web-based Core Content Guides that match the curriculum with calendar-based timelines to ensure that every classroom is presenting
the same instructional material with the same level of intensity. Technology plays
a major role in student learning today, and our preschoolers get a jumpstart on computer learning, especially in the area of literacy, thanks to the provision of computers in every classroom.
Another exemplary strategy rests in our creative yet fiscally sound management
of financial resources. Our $35 million annual preschool budget consists of 58 percent federal Head Start funds, 22 percent state preschool funds, 16 percent from the
district in local tax funds, 3 percent from parents for tuition programs, and an additional 1 percent from local business donations. This integrated funding allows all
children to receive increased instructional and support services without regard to
where their program funding is generated.
Meaningful parent involvement is essential to our early childhood program. Parents are engaged through a home/school contract that includes daily reading with
their child and take-home activities. Since 76 percent of our preschoolers are from
single-parent households, our nationally recognized Fatherhood/Male Initiative
helps ensure that more children are connected with a significant, positive male role
model.
We also use a formal transition program to assist students and parents as they
move on to kindergarten, and we operate a Parent Assistance Center and Family
Resource Centers that help families with a variety of school programs and social
services. The intent is to remove any family barriers that would impede a childs
academic progress.
How do we know our efforts are working? The proof is in the data. First, over
a three-year period, our preschoolers mastery of skills deemed important for kindergarten success has increased from the level of 65 percent to 94 percent. Meanwhile, our Head Start students performance exceeds both state and National Reporting Systems averages. Additionally, results on the nationally-normed Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills show our third graders progressing from the 46th
percentile in 1999 to the 59th percentile in 2004. We attribute much of this gain
to the long-term effect of our strong Head Start/preschool program.
Second, community support and partnerships continue to grow, with Louisville
Metro businesses giving over $3 million for additional early childhood classrooms.
Third, by integrating our funds from multiple sources, we have increased the number of children served, the amount of instructional time each child receives, and the
social services provided. Finally, one of our most significant and unexpected outcomes is that we are now in the process of designing a more rigorous kindergarten
curriculum because our preschool/Head Start programs are sending children on to
kindergarten with a much higher level of skill mastery.
What can you do to support our efforts? A quality Head Start program integrated
into or with a school district-operated program is essential. This developmental education process and seamless transition are as important to schools today as the kindergarten program debate and implementation were in the 1960s and 70s.
Creative implementation strategies are required to effectively meet the regulations of the Health and Human Services Departments Head Start program, while
simultaneously operating a state Department of Education preschool program. Without doubt, we can do a better job for our children and families by operating under
one set of guidelines.
We understand that you are considering allowing a limited number of states or
localities to participate in State Demonstration programs. We ask your consideration to grant a handful of large districts, that are current Head Start grantees, the
authority to serve as local demonstration projects that would operate Head Start
programs within state regulations while maintaining the integrity of the health and
social services standards provided by Head Start. We would be most eager to serve
as one of those demonstration projects.
Many states face political pressure from other agencies operating Head Start programs. Some states may not be able to apply for school districts that are operating
as grantees. As an alternative, we support a proposal offered by Congresswoman
Anne Northup to enable states to allow some of their school districts and Head Start
programs to apply for the demonstration programs. Kentuckys program could be administered under the Secretary of Education and the Office of the Governor.
Finally, I feel compelled to call to your attention one very intrusive regulation
that has recently sprung from Head Start, which is the requirement for seat belts
on all vehicles transporting Head Start children. Our preschoolers are transported
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
10
on buses that meet state standards. Purchasing and installing seat belts would cost
over $3.6 million and require another $2.2 million annually for maintenance. Even
then, our insurance companies inform us the buses may not be insurable due to
changes in the vehicles structure. The diversion of these funds would result in a
reduced number of children served by Head Start. Additionally, there is no evidence
that seatbelts provide additional protection but, in fact, may actually create a safety
hazard. We appreciate Congresswoman Northups action to resolve this issue for us
and hope this reauthorization of Head Start can adopt the language she has proposed for permanent enactment.
Thank you for allowing me to share our successes and recommendations with this
Honorable body.
[Attachments to Dr. Daeschners statement follow:]
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.001
11
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.002
12
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.003
13
14
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Dr. Daeschner. We appreciate

your testimony a great deal, and well get back to you shortly here
with a few questions.
And now well turn to Mr. Marker and Mr. Siegfried, who are
going to do this jointly, as I understand it.
Mr. MARKER. Yes, sir.
STATEMENT OF DAVID F. MARKER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, MIAMI VALLEY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS, INC.,
DAYTON, OH
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.004
Mr. MARKER. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, Im

David Marker and this is Scott Siegfried to my left. We are both
pleased to be here this morning to discuss accountability and child
outcomes in the Head Start program.
This Committee has heard of luxury SUVs, exorbitant salaries,
credit card abuse and unallowable program expenses that have resulted in eligible children not being served. These headlines anger
me and the people I work with.
Since 1964, MVCDC has operated with oversight from concerned
community leaders on our board of trustees. Our corporate culture
is based on a core value of honesty, integrity and understanding
that we are stewards of tax dollars entrusted to our care. Desired
results require continual training, review of current law, and review of internal controls. In the absence of strong internal controls,
you will find fraud, waste and mismanagement.
15
High levels of integrity require hard work. We did not wait for
the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to filter down to 501(c)(3) organizations. We embraced the concept of executive-driven, internal
control management, and its now in effect.
Theres no magic formula to maintain strong financial and accounting practices. Success requires effort and a conscious desire to
operate a quality program in accordance with regulations.
Suggestions to protect funds and increase accountability, as an
example, OMB Circular A-133 requires audits to be submitted no
later than 9 months after the end of a fiscal year. I suggest a
change from 9 months to 6 months. Critical information can then
be in the hands of DHHS 3 months sooner.
Most grantees draw down Federal funds from the Division of
Payment Managements website. DPM is efficient, but grantee expenditures are not reconciled with funds received except at six and
12-month intervals with the standard Form 269 report. At a minimum, the report should be submitted on a quarterly or even a
monthly basis to allow for simple reconciliation.
Mismanagement of Federal funds requires swift intervention.
DHHS can terminate a grantees ability to draw down funds and
to change that grantee to funding on a reimbursement basis. This
action protects Federal funds by allowing the regional office to authorize payment only after documentation has been reviewed.
GAO has recommended allowing recompetition of grants. Grantees with consistent poor financial and programmatic performance
would be the ideal candidates for recompetition. DHHS should remove dysfunctional programs.
I want to thank the Chairman and Members of the Committee
on Education and the Workforce for providing me this opportunity
to summarize my written testimonial report.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Marker follows:]
Statement of David F. Marker, Chief Financial Officer, Miami Valley Child
Development Centers, Inc., Dayton, OH
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I am David Marker and this is Scott
Siegfried and we are both pleased to be here this morning to discuss accountability
and child outcomes in the nations Head Start program.
Operation of exemplary programs
From previous testimony, the committee has been apprised of apparent misfeasance or malfeasance in some Head Start programs across the country. These problems range from a luxury SUV and exorbitant salaries and credit card abuse, to unallowable program expenses that result in eligible children not being served. These
headlines anger me, the staff I work with, and the people at the majority of Head
Start programs where problems of this nature do not occur.
Miami Valley Child Development Centers, Inc. (MVCDC) was incorporated in
1964, at the time of the creation of the nations first experiment with Head Start.
Operating over the years with strong management, and oversight from concerned
community leaders participating on the Board of Trustees, MVCDC developed a corporate culture with core values of honesty, integrity, service to the community, and
an understanding that we are stewards of tax dollars entrusted to our care. During
our 40 year history, there have been problems and bumps in the road, but the culture of MVCDC has survived and enabled the agency to operate for more than 15
years without any audit findings related to financial management. Although
MVCDC may be considered an exemplary program within the Head Start community, a designation as exemplary today is no guarantee that the program will be exemplary tomorrow without continued hard work.
The culture of MVCDC dictates a professional approach to financial management
and accounting practices. To achieve the desired result requires continual training,
review of current laws and regulations, and a constant review of internal controls.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
16
In the absence of strong internal controls, you will find misuse of credit cards, unallowable expenses, waste, and possible fraud. It is important not only to maintain
strong internal controls but to sharpen the focus of all staff members to be alert
for the signs of waste, fraud, and mismanagement.
MVCDC has been successful in maintaining high levels of integrity through dedication and hard work. As an example, we did not wait for the effects of the SarbanesOxley Act to filter down to 501(c)(3) organizations. As a corporation, we embraced the basic concept of executive-driven internal control management. The
Board of Trustees adopted an extensive misconduct, dishonesty, and fraud policy
which was added to our Personnel Policies, and various staff have been involved in
implementing the policy. Additionally, staff are involved in a detailed risk assessment activity that is assessing all aspects of the corporation. Once completed, the
risk assessment will be presented to the Board of Trustees for their evaluation and
comment.
There is no magic formula to maintain strong finance and accounting practices.
Success requires dedication, hard work, and a conscious desire to operate a quality
program in accordance with the regulations. The people who operate programs in
this manner are easy to identify; they take no offense at being called a variety of
names, and they have thick skin because the job requires them to say no more
often than they say yes. The easy way to deal with difficult financial and accounting issues is to be lax and accommodating. Unfortunately, this type of management
will eventually result in violation of regulations and ultimately, serious financial
problems.
Again, I want to express my anger at the examples of program abuse that we
have all read in the newspapers. The vast majority of programs struggle everyday
to operate in accordance with the regulations to serve all of the children for which
they are funded. To protect tax dollars and ensure services are delivered to the atrisk population, however, accountability for program performance and fiscal management must be strengthened. From my perspective as a program operator, I believe that accountability can be vastly improved in the following ways.
Proper review and follow-up of audits
O. M. B. Circular No. A133, known as the Single Audit Act, contains the audit
requirements for recipients of federal awards. For those agencies with awards less
than $500,000, audits are still required under the Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS) CFR Title 45, Part 74. The potential problem I see under
A133 is that audits must be submitted no later than nine (9) months after the end
of the fiscal year. I believe that by changing the submission date from nine (9)
months to six (6) months, controls would be strengthened by putting the completed
audit in the hands of DHHS three (3) months sooner, and would not present an
undue hardship for programs.
Once the audit has been received by the DHHS national center, it is imperative
that the entire audit be reviewed for financial or programmatic irregularities. If
irregularities are found in the audit, this information must be provided to the appropriate Regional Office for immediate follow-up. Obviously, findings of questioned
costs or other serious fiscal problems, along with issues regarding the health and
safety of children must receive the highest priority for action by the Regional Office
staff. Swift follow-up action as early as possible is a key to limiting the loss of dollars and guiding the agency into compliance from a programmatic standpoint.
Although auditors only offer opinions on the financial statements and information
provided by management, I believe that it is important that all audits be reviewed
for their compliance with the audit requirements of Circular A133 and Government
Accounting Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Lack
of comments regarding performance of the activities required by the grant, qualified
opinions, or a statement that the audit was completed under some standard other
than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, should be cause to examine the
audit more closely.
Identifying potential financial and programmatic mismanagement
In addition to the annual financial and performance audit, financial mismanagement may be identified in other ways. One method is to reconcile the federal funds
drawn-down by a grantee to the amount that is spent throughout the year. Currently, most Head Start grantees draw-down their federal funds from the Division
of Payment Managements (DPM) website. All grant information is entered into
DPMs database, and grantees use the site to request funds. The regulations for
cash advances state, The timing and amount of cash advances shall be as close as
is administratively feasible to the actual disbursements by the recipient organization.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
17
The DPM system is very efficient for grantees to obtain funds, but it does not appear that DHHS or the Regional Offices attempt to reconcile grantee expenditures
except at six and 12 month intervals by utilizing the SF269 report. At a minimum,
the SF269 should be submitted on a quarterly or possibly a monthly basis. This
report could be developed as an on-line report which would make it simple for the
Regional Office to compare expenditures with the data from DPM. Reconciliation
would be straightforward to determine the amount of funds being requested by a
grantee and the amount that has been expended as reported on the SF269. As an
example, if, at the end of the first quarter of the grantees fiscal year they have already drawn-down 50 percent of their annual funding, it would seem reasonable to
think there may be a serious problem with that grantee. Making this change would
provide DHHS with the ability to identify potential problems early as a means of
preventing the financial mismanagement from worsening.
Fiscal and programmatic mismanagement may also be identified during the onsite monitoring visit with the Program Review Instrument for Systems Monitoring
(PRISM) every three years. The PRISM was described in previous testimony so
there is no need to provide you with the same information again. I will say that
since the Fiscal Checklist was modified in 2004, the instrument has a design which
will help to identify fiscal problems more effectively than the previous version. A
potential problem with the PRISM is the shear volume of data that is reviewed and
processed. The review team rates the grantee on about 670 performance indicators
during the one week visit. If the review is focused on critical indicators, both financial and programmatic, serious problems would be more readily discernable rather
than lost in the minutia that is collected.
An area of programmatic performance that may now be assessed is the data that
is submitted via the National Reporting System (NRS). These assessment data are
submitted in the fall and spring of each year for the four year old children who will
be attending kindergarten in the fall of the following school year. Although the NRS
was not designed to determine the performance of the Head Start program, the data
that is generated may raise questions regarding curriculum or teaching methods. As
an example, if the data indicates that children from one Head Start program are
consistently more than one deviation below the national average, it would seem reasonable to contact the program to find out if there are reasons for the lower scores.
Based on the response from the agency, along with other outcome data, it may be
determined that additional training and technical assistance are required, or it may
be determined that there is a more systemic problem that may require an on-site
visit by a Regional Office staff member.
Required follow-up for financial and programmatic mismanagement
I believe that it is reasonable to expect that Head Start grantees that mismanage
funds or fail to perform all the requirements of the grant will be sanctioned in some
manner. I am not describing actual accounting errors where something was posted
to the wrong account, and is later identified and corrected, I am describing serious
cases where money or assets have been wasted or used for personal gain. In almost
all cases involving money, the mismanagement can be clearly identified from the
records; an expenditure is allowable or it is not; money is either properly accounted
for, or it is not. In either event, the appropriate action should be taken as quickly
as possible. Failure to perform all the requirements of the grant can also be identified and must also be acted on as quickly as possible.
If the mismanagement of federal funds results from apparent malfeasance, then
serious intervention is required. Although action to de-fund a grantee may be difficult and time consuming, it may be possible to change the grantees payment status to protect federal funds. I believe that it is possible, with good reason, to terminate the grantees rights to draw-down funds through DPM and to fund them on
a reimbursement basis. That is, on a weekly or monthly basis, the grantee pays all
expenses and submits the appropriate documentation to the Regional Office for reimbursement. Under this scenario, if the grantee can fund the operation up-front,
the Regional Office will have ample time to review invoices and billing prior to providing reimbursement. The Regional Office will also have time to investigate the initial incident of malfeasance that came to their attention. If it is determined that
the grantee did nothing wrong, and that internal controls are sound, then DHHS
may reinstate the grantees ability to draw-down funds in advance.
Many of the programmatic problems that are identified have to do with nonhealth and safety issues. As described previously, with over 670 performance indicators in the PRISM instrument, it is not difficult to find areas of non-compliance. All
of these issues can be dealt with effectively under the current system by having the
grantee prepare a corrective action plan. The Regional Office can follow-up in writing with the grantee until the grantee ensures that the non-compliance have been
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
18
corrected. Depending on the number of non-compliances and the seriousness of the
issues, the Regional Office may send a staff person on site to verify that the noncompliances were corrected.
Increased competition for Head Start Grants
The independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that
the federal government take steps to allow the recompetition of grants awarded
to Head Start grantees. It has been suggested that all Head Start grants should go
out for open competition every third year of the grant cycle. In light of the many
problems identified in Head Start programs during the past year, I understand the
desire to fix the problem through competition.
I believe there is a relative agreement that the majority of Head Start programs
are operating within the regulations and are clearly documenting the progress children make during their stay in Head Start. Rather than re-compete every Head
Start grant at the end of their three year grant cycle, at great expense, I believe
that re-competition can be combined with de-funding activities to remove all of the
poorly performing grantees. Grantees with serious financial mismanagement issues
or serious health and safety violations should either undergo the de-funding process
or be placed on a reimbursement basis of funding as previously described. The key
is to act swiftly to ensure safety and to limit the loss of federal funds.
Head Start grantees that consistently have generally poor programmatic performance due to on-going deficiencies would be likely candidates for re-competition.
DHHS would be responsible to determine a ranking process that is based on audit
findings, PRISM findings, and any other financial and programmatic data the Regional Office may determine. Re-competition would provide DHHS with an additional tool that would remove those programs not operating in an efficient and effective manner.
I want to thank the Committee on Education and the Workforce for providing me
this opportunity to testify before you. As you consider legislation to re-authorize the
Head Start program, I hope you will consider some of the information I have provided in conjunction with testimony provided by others. I believe in the goals of
Head Start. I also believe that when operated in conformance with the laws and regulations, coupled with the infusion of new early education research, Head Start will
make progress in closing the readiness gap that exists between some Head Start
children and their peers, and all funding will reach the children it is meant to serve.
Chairman CASTLE. Good morning. Thank you very much, Mr.

Siegfried.
STATEMENT OF SCOTT SIEGFRIED, PROGRAM COORDINATOR,
MIAMI VALLEY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS, INC., DAYTON, OH
Mr. SIEGFRIED. The Miami Valley Child Development Centers

does not look through one lens to make one decision. Our system
of assessing child outcomes and program quality is comprehensive
in its approach. Just as a strong financial system requires checks
and balances, program quality and child outcomes must also have
such a system. Although we have a long history of collecting and
analyzing child outcome data, our approach has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years.
Our objective is to create a system where child outcome data can
be incorporated into our agencys continuous improvement plans.
Our model remains flexible to allow for adjustments as a result of
the relevant research in the field as well as the patterns and
trends we observe when analyzing our data. For example, Breakthrough to Literacy, a research project piloted with Abt Associates,
resulted from our endeavor to strengthen the language and literacy
skills of our children. This plan incorporates teacher and child directed activities that provide a balance of experiences in vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, word recognition and phonological
awareness.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
19
Some of our systems, such as National Reporting System, and
the mandated system through the state called Get it, Got it, Go,
require the use of a standardized instrument implemented in a uniform manner.
Other tools designed to measure child outcome such as High/
Scopes Child Observation Record, and individual portfolios, rely on
teacher observation, anecdotal notes, work sampling and photography. These ongoing methods of assessment produce observationbased data in a familiar setting to children.
The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale and the Infant
and Toddler Environmental Rating Scale provide holistic and quantifiable data and seven subscales related to space and furnishings,
personal care routines, language reasoning activities, interaction,
program structure and parents and staff. Action plans are developed and implemented after each data collection period. These
plans address professional development, resources and any curricular adjustments to ensure maximal child outcomes.
Parents and staff are partners in the care and education of children. Our system therefore supports, educates and guides parents
to provide meaningful experiences for the children at home. To
strengthen the role of families as the primary educator of their
children, we have developed a monthly checklist using materials
traditionally found in the homes that support the content of the
child observation record.
In addition, backpacks are sent home on a regular basis with materials, parental strategies and extensions that can support the development of critical concepts when that child is away from school.
By relying on multiple systems of child assessment, we are better
able to make informed decisions regarding curricular adjustments
at the agency, classroom and individual level. The complex nature
of measuring the outcomes of children in Head Start and their
progress demands our relentless commitment.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Siegfried follows:]
Statement of Scott Siegfried, Program Coordinator, Miami Valley Child
Development Centers, Inc., Dayton, OH
I am pleased to be here this morning to discuss child outcomes in the nations
Head Start program.
Changes in educational requirements and legislative mandates have resulted in
our development of an increasingly comprehensive child outcome measuring system.
Our agencys continuous improvement plans are adjusted according to our child outcome data. It is important that our system remain flexible to allow for adjustments
as a result of the relevant research in the field as well as the patterns and trends
we observe when analyzing our data.
By utilizing the Brigance tool to complete our developmental screening process,
we begin to understand the teaching strategies required to encourage childrens
learning. Results from this screen offer support for early intervention services where
applicable.
In November 2004, author and scientist Dr. Debbie Cryer provided training for
our support staff on the implementation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating
Scale (ECERS) and the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS). This nationally recognized evaluation system quantifies several items under the broad categories of Space and Furnishings, Personal Care Routine, LanguageReasoning, Activities, Interaction, Program Structure and Parents and Staff. As a result of classroom observations, action plans are developed to share findings with staff and to
support their professional growth.
To strengthen the role of families as the primary educator of their children, we
have developed a monthly checklist using materials traditionally found in the homes
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20
that support the content of the Child Observation Record (COR). In addition,
backpacks are sent home on a regular basis with materials, parental strategies and
extensions that can support the development of critical concepts when that child is
away from school.
We began a researched-based pilot project this school year when we initiated the
Breakthrough to Literacy model in five of our Head Start classrooms. This plan incorporates teacher and child directed activities that provide a balance of experiences
in vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, word recognition, and phonological awareness.
Components include small group reading and writing experiences, independent
reading and writing, daily writing, book of the week, take me home books, and a
software curriculum. A research team from Abt Associates is conducting the ongoing evaluation of the pilot project.
Although we realize that there are additional national accrediting bodies, we have
17 centers that are accredited through the National Association for the Education
of Young Children (NAEYC). There are an additional five centers that are in the
self-study process. In this design, we are able to document the relationship between
the quality that accreditation demands and positive child outcomes.
In our state funded classrooms, we conduct additional assessments of children
using the Get it, Got it, Go screening tool. This system, mandated through the Ohio
Department of Education (ODE), measures vocabulary, rhyming, and alliteration
through a series of picture cards presented to each child in a one-on-one setting.
In the fall of 2004, we completed almost 1,300 assessments using the National Reporting System (NRS). The results of this national effort allow us to review our
agencys progress compared to national averages in the domains of language, literacy, and math.
This school year, the Miami Valley Child Development Centers, Inc. has implemented High/Scopes Child Observation Record (COR) in all of our state and federal
classrooms including our Home Base option. The COR categories have been aligned
to the Federal Domains and Elements as well as the Early Learning Content Standards developed by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE). Teachers make ongoing observations using a paper version of the COR. This information is then
transposed into the CORPC software. COR data are collected on October 29, 2004,
February 25, 2005 and May 13, 2005. In addition, data are collected on June 30,
2005 in our year-round sites. The data are maintained in multiple databases that
allow us to filter information by county, program option, and age. Statistics are applied to the High/Scope software called the Outcomes Reporter. Reports indicating
progress in COR categories, Federal Domains and required elements are then made
available to stakeholders for further analysis and discussion.
Childrens progress is also evaluated by using an individual portfolio system.
Throughout the school year, childrens experiences with writing, alphabetic principles and counting are captured through anecdotal notes, work sampling and photography. Along with results from our more formal child assessment system, these
concrete images of progress are shared with parents during home visits and parent/
teacher conferences.
Miami Valley Child Development Centers does not look through one lens. Our system of assessing child outcomes and program quality is comprehensive in its approach. Just as a strong financial system requires checks and balances, program
quality and child outcomes must also have such a system.
[An attachment to Mr. Siegfrieds statement follows:]
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
21
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Mr. Marker, thank you, Mr. Siegfried. We appreciate your testimony.
Ms. Mainster, its your turn.
STATEMENT OF BARBARA MAINSTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
REDLANDS
CHRISTIAN
MIGRANT
ASSOCIATION,
IMMOKALEE, FL
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.009
Ms. MAINSTER. Thank you, Chairman Castle, Ranking Member

Woolsey, and others for having this hearing. We appreciate and are
all very honored to be part of this exemplary group.
I wrote testimony, submitted it. It would take me 16 minutes to
read, so Im not doing that. Im going to just cover some key points.
Im going to tell why there is a Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
program. Im going to tell you a little bit about the services. Im
going to tell you about the importance of collaboration, and Im
going to close with some resource issues.
First of all, my agency, the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, is a large agency. Weve got about a $47 million budget. We
serve 6,200 children. We have funding that is like quilting. Were
a Head Start grantee, but I am speaking to you today as a migrant
Head Start delegate agency under East Coast Migrant Head Start
Project.
The characteristics of our program I think that make us exemplary is that we have committed, well trained staff we hire from
the communities we serve. Our staff are bilingual. They can communicate with the parents well, which is critically important when
two-thirds of the children youre serving are infants and toddlers.
22
We have very strong parent involvement. We have a board that
understands its role and takes it seriously and is well informed,
and we have infrastructure that support the staff both fiscally and
programmatically. And we use technology appropriately. Since
were in rural counties, we really dont have much choice.
Let me just talk about Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. In
1969, you in Congress, those of you who might have been here
then, saw the wisdom of a programnobody up there is that old,
I knowsaw the wisdom of setting aside a separate bit of money
and recognizing that the migrant and seasonal kids were never
going to get served in regular Head Start programs for the simple
fact that they travel.
Florida, Texas, and California are home-based states. Thats
where the family spends six to 7 months of the year working in the
crops in those states. Then they travel and go up north. We gave
you a map with colors so you could see it, and I was happy to see
where most of you are from, because they go to your states. Our
families go to South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, New York, and many go Ohio and Michigan.
When theyre in Florida, theyre picking oranges, tomatoes,
strawberries, peppers, squash, cucumbers, et cetera. They do the
same things up north with the exception of the oranges, which become cherries and apples when you go north of the Mason-Dixon
line; and peaches.
If Congress had not set aside a special program for migrants,
they would never get served, because they go to rural areas, and
when they get to rural areas, the Head Start programs and child
care programs are full. They follow the weather.
The services that are different is that our centers are open from
six in the morning till six in the evening usually. We serveand
the dates vary, because depending upon the crops, you may have
to open earlier because the families are back, or you may open
later. You have to be a very flexible program to handle this money
and to handle the services properly.
We serve babies through 4-year-olds, and our parent involvement
has a lot of ESOL, teaching English as well as adult literacy in it.
I want to just tell you one quick story. One of our children, his
name is Rosember, came to us. His mom is from Guatemala. She
spoke Kanjoval in that country. Shes totally illiterate, but
Kanjoval is a dialect. She learned enough Spanish to get by. So
when Rosember came to us, staff thought he was a little delayed.
He wasnt delayed. He simply had Kanjoval and Spanish in his
head. Then he came to us and he also heard English. So his computer just needed some time to catch up in his brain.
And I want you to know that at the endwe also have charter
schools, so he had the good fortune to go from our migrant Head
Start program into our charter schools, passed his third grade
FCAT with a three, which is a very good score, and his mom is now
attending adult literacy at night and has learned to read and write,
and Rosember is her tutor.
So thats the kind of thing we get to do, which is why we love
our programs.
Our collaborations are critical. In rural areas, you either collaborate or die. We have wonderful collaborations with Agriculture.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
23
Most Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs do. We collaborate with our state child care. The quilting allows usour state
has set aside a pot of money actually for seasonal farm workers out
of their child care allocation, which I believe were the only state
to do that. And health services, of course, the Governors Literacy
Council and the Mexican consulate are all our partners.
The resource issue that I want you to look at is that we are only
serving about 19 percent of the children who are eligible. We are
funded out of a 13 percent set-aside in HHS. We would really appreciate it ifCongressman Grijalva, thank you for your work last
year. Also tell your colleague, Senor Hinojosa and Mr. Ehlers, we
appreciated their work. But we now need to tie down, and wed like
a 5 percent set-aside so that we can count on having some programs that dont have to worry about funding every year.
We also are concerned about some flexibility in standards, particularly for short-term programs up north in terms of getting everything done, if youre only running a 3-month program, youre
kind of asking people to fail.
I want to thank you, Congressman Castle, for going to our program last year. I understand you enjoyed seeing brain development
in action with those toddlers. We appreciate very much your time
in doing that, and we appreciate the Committees time in inviting
us here today.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Mainster follows:]
Statement of Barbara Mainster, Executive Director, Redlands Christian
Migrant Association, Immokalee, FL
Thank you Chairman Castle, Ranking Member Woolsey and honorable members
of the Education Reform Subcommittee for the opportunity to submit testimony and
contribute to this hearing on Head Start as you begin the reauthorization process.
While I administer a range of Head Start and education programsmy comments
this morning will focus on the unique challenges faced by Migrant and Seasonal
Head Start Programs and how we have overcome them in order to deliver critical
education and child development programs and services to some of the most vulnerable children in our countrychildren of migrant and seasonal farm workers.
Why Migrant Head Start?
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start was started in 1969 as a direct response to the
unique seasonal needs of migrant farm worker familiesto ensure that these families and their children can enjoy the same advantages made available to other low
income children through Head Start as they move across the country with their
families to pursue their work.
Most migrant workers stay in Florida, Texas or California, called home base
states, from October/November until May/June. Then they leave to find work moving north. When cold weather sets in there, they come back to their home base. A
map is attached which gives a view of the most common migrant streams.
To illustrate, one of our families, Daniel Jaime, works in the oranges in Florida,
then goes to Ohio to work in the cucumbers and on to Michigan to work in cherries,
before returning to Florida in October or November, depending on the weather and
availability of work in both states. His children are served in one of our Migrant
Head Start Centers in Polk County, and when he leaves us, he takes their records
containing their educational outcome data, and health data with him. When he arrives in Ohio, the Texas Migrant Council Center he attends there picks up where
we stopped and continues the services without unnecessary duplication. A web
based data transfer system is being piloted right now and will make even more data
available faster in the near future.
Ideally, MSHS programs would provide seamless Head Start services to eligible
families as they move from state to state to ensure that migrant children are given
the same advantages that children attending regular Head Start enjoy. This is what
MSHS programs strive for because we know that conventional child care is not
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
24
available to these families and for the most part regular Head Start is unable to
address the particular needs of these families.
In most states, local childcare resources are not available at the times when migrants come into a community, especially for infants and toddlers. Regular Head
Start centers recruit for the fall in the preceding spring and usually follow a school
calendar. Rural areas in our country all suffer from lack of resources and facilities,
and of course, the migrants all work in rural areas. When child care centers are
not available, parents have no choice, but to take the children to the fields where
they are exposed to pesticides, hazardous equipment, extreme heat and other health
dangers. This is not acceptable to agricultural businesses, or to child advocates. In
addition, the primary language spoken by most farm workers is Spanish, and programs need to have bilingual staff available in order to be able to communicate.
Services need to be available from 6 am until 6 pm, and sometimes on Saturdays,
in order to provide care for the hours both mom and dad are working. Like the immigrants before them, the migrant families believe in hard work and have strong
family values. They participate in opportunities to better their own education, learn
English and how to help their children be successful in our public schools.
MSHS programs respond effectively to these challenges. We are grateful Congress
recognized the need for a Migrant Program Branch in Washington to address the
mobility issues and other unique needs of this special population.
Background on RCMA
Since 1965 Redlands Christian Migrant Association has provided quality child
care for migrant and rural poor children throughout the State of Florida. RCMA
began in the Redlands area of Dade County where a group of Mennonites provided
care for farm worker children, so they would not be taken to the fields. Today we
serve over 6200 children in seventy programs including 1704 in the Migrant and
Seasonal Head Start Program, 343 in Early Head Start and 952 in Regional Head
Start. An enrollment report showing all the children served in our centers/schools
on February 5, 2005 is attached to this testimony. The information is broken down
by county and funding source and documents the waiting list of 2078 children in
need of services. You will note we serve children with many different funding
sources, rather like a patchwork quilt, designed to ensure that as many as possible
of the low income children who live in the communities can qualify for services.
RCMA grew as a result of needs expressed to us by migrant parents, by farmers,
by school districts, by church groups and by our State child welfare agency.
In addition to being an Early Head Start and Head Start Grantee, RCMA is a
delegate agency of East Coast Migrant Head Start. East Coast Migrant Head Start,
along with 25 other grantees, serve nearly 32,000 migrant children and 2,500 seasonal farm worker children annually, operating in 39 states in every region of the
country. As you may know, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs were the
first Head Start programs to serve infants and toddlers. Today, two-thirds of the
children in the program are infants and toddlers.
In Florida, we serve farm workers who spend the fall, winter and spring harvesting our nations citrus crops, strawberries, tomatoes, squash, peppers, cucumbers, corn, celery, radishes, melons, eggplant, cauliflower and many other vegetables. They leave us after the harvest and go to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, and
Indiana to do the same jobs, with apples, peaches and cherries substituting for oranges. It is hard work and requires special skills. Most farmworker families earn
less than $10,000/year and very few have health benefits, according to a study submitted to Congress in 2000 by the United States Department of Labor.
RCMA as a Collaboration Model in Community Partnerships
When a program operates in rural areas, collaboration is not only necessary, it
is expected. I would point to the partnerships that we have forged with governments, private industry and others to be at the core of our success.
RCMA has been extremely successful in forging a partnership with agriculture.
Long ago we realized that the agricultural employer and farm worker had more in
common than not. For example, both farmers and their workers agree on the need
for child care, health services, housing, and pesticide training. As a result, RCMA
has received support in the form of buildings for child care centers, land on which
to build, monetary support to draw down matching federal dollars, and advocacy
with the State Legislature, resulting in a State child care set aside for children of
farm workers. Other important partners include the school systems in the twenty
counties in which RCMA operates. We work together to prepare children for a successful kindergarten transition, help with the enrollment process and orientation of
parents, and jointly serve preschool children with disabilities. They, too, have sup-
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
25
plied facilities in which to operate our Head Start programs. Local health centers
and public health departments work with us to assure medical services and refer
children for our services. Of special importance are the 0 to three year olds, who
benefit tremendously from the early intervention we are able to provide. Therapies
are provided in our centers. In return, the agencies know they can count on our staff
to help translate or transport special cases for critical care. It is a win/win situation.
The local Early Learning Coalitions in our state are now working with us to ensure
that migrant children will be served in the Voluntary Pre K program beginning this
year. In order to meet the mandated number of UPK hours, our centers will adapt
our curriculum as needed. Funding received from the state for these four year olds
will allow us to serve more infants, toddlers and three year old children in our Head
Start centers. Churches are also active partners with us. They help provide the
emergency food needed when families arrive with little money, or when weather
does not permit families to work, such as during our recent hurricane season. The
Governors Family Literacy Initiative and the Mexican Consulate are very important
collaborators in helping us provide family literacy programs in our centers. Funding,
software, materials and guidance are all part of those relationships. In return, our
centers are available on weekends for programs or services the Consulates may wish
to bring to the rural communities.
RCMA as a Leader in the Field
I credit our high quality services and solid track record to our philosophy and
practice of bringing farmers and farm workers together on our Board, along with
experts in early childhood, health, business, banking, the law, and housing.
Included in RCMAs philosophy is that we hire from the communities served. Staff
who know what it is to stoop and pick crops, to travel in search of work, to start
school late each fall and leave early every springthose are the people in charge.
They ensure our programs are comprehensive in nature, prepare children to succeed
in school and meet the needs of the families we serve. RCMA provides on going
training and educational opportunities to help ensure their continued success. We
are committed to finding and maintaining the most qualified staff and in rural
areas, this is one of our most serious challenges. The length of the time they are
employed each year further exacerbates the problem. To compensate, we have
adapted a model with one early childhood professional per center, who then trains
the paraprofessional staff on an ongoing basis. In addition, our benefits structure
is designed to continue health insurance during the period of lay off, which can be
up to five months long each year. Collaborations with community colleges to bring
classes closer to the communities we serve is beginning to yield results. Of most importance are the outcomes we are achieving, in spite of the lack of degreed teachers.
Attached to this testimony is data on our results.
Former farm workers become leaders in their communities and strong role models
for families. Since they are trusted and respected by our families, they have the
ability to create and instill an awareness of the importance of education, both for
the children and for their parents. Head Start has long recognized that unless very
low income families were helped to change and develop new skills, and raise their
own literacy levels, that long term gains for the children would not be sustained.
The importance of reading to their children and for their own education is key. Children live in families, and unless parents are sold on the importance of being an advocate for their children as they go through school, expecting high achievement from
their youngsters, then many of the gains will be lost.
Former farm workers are found at all levels of our organization. They are paired
with professionals to form teams which have experience and expertise in early childhood, health, and social work. Each of RCMAs sixteen individual geographical areas
around the state is led by a former farm worker staff, some of whom have achieved
degrees.
In addition, we embrace high quality early childhood and expect all our centers
to become accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. At the present time, 76% of all our centers have attained that recognized seal
of excellence. High quality and comprehensive services with the involvement of parents is what RCMA believes Head Start is all about and that is what we continue
to practice.
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Challenges
Despite our best efforts to collaborate and stretch current resources, we still maintain waiting lists for services and hundreds of children in many parts of the country
go unserved.
In fact, families that leave our program in Florida and migrate up north to states
like North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana and Ohio often return in the fall and share
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
26
with me that their childrens names sat on a waiting list all summer. Based on a
2001 Head Start Study, (Descriptive Study of Seasonal Farmworker FamiliesSeptember 2001) which was requested as part of the last Head Start Reauthorization
bill (Coats Human Services Amendments of 1998 P.L. 105285), only 19% of the eligible migrant and seasonal children in our country were being served.
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs are funded along with Indian Head
Start, children with disabilities, technical assistance, program review, and research
demonstration out of a 13 percent statutory set-aside from the annual Head Start
Appropriation.
Existing MSHS programs maintain significant wait lists and, in many areas of
the country, there are no MSHS programs in operation to provide services to migrant farm worker children when they move into a state. Despite the documented
unmet needs of this population, funding for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start as
a percentage of the overall Head Start appropriation has not grownin fact, according to our calculations, it has been reduced slightly since 2003. I have attached a
chart to my testimony which shows MSHS funding as a percentage of the overall
Head Start appropriation.
We urge the Committee to look at ways by which additional resources can be directed to meet the needs of migrant and seasonal children that are currently unable
to move off wait lists and access services to keep them out of the field and give them
the important step up that Head Start can provide.
The National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association, of which I am a
member, put forward what we thought was a modest proposal during the last reauthorization debatethat a funding floor of not less than 5% of the total annual
Head Start appropriation be set-aside for MSHS. According to the calculations used
in the 2001 HHS study, this would enable us to serve about 25% of the eligible migrant and seasonal children.
While I want to thank several members of this Committee for their work to bring
more attention to this issue- particularly Congressmen Hinojosa, Grijalva and
Ehlerswe still find ourselves well short of the resources needed to properly serve
these children.
I urge this Committee to address this resource issue again as you consider reauthorizing the underlying Head Start Statute and I request you put in place a funding mechanism whereby we can be assured that additional resources will be directed
to address the documented needs of MSHS programs. I would be happy to work
with you and your staff in this effort.
Closing
Id like to close by sharing just one success story as a way to illustrate how our
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs impact the lives of children and parents
served. Many of our former parents and children are now staff. One is a woman who
came to us as a migrant farm worker, high school dropout, married and the mother
of three rambunctious children. She was active in the Centers activities, served on
the Policy Committee and Council, and then, when her children went on to school,
joined our staff. While working full time and raising three children, she attained
a GED, and then her two year and four year degrees. She and her husband own
a nice home, and her three children are all in college at this time. She is now
RCMAs Migrant Head Start Manager, responsible for ensuring all the contractual
and performance standards are met for the 1704 migrant children entrusted to our
care.
I understand, Chairman Castle, that you visited a Migrant Head Start Center last
year and have experienced first hand how clear brain development becomes when
observing a happy toddler. Thank you for taking that time and for the opportunity
all of you have provided for us to be here today.
[Attachments to Ms. Mainsters statement follow:]
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.007
27
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.008
28
29
Chairman CASTLE. Well, thank you. And we appreciate you being
here, Ms. Mainster, and your testimony here today.
Ms. Cunningham?
STATEMENT OF GAYLE CUNNINGHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, BIRMINGHAM, AL
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Good morning. Chairman Castle, Congresswoman Woolsey, and distinguished Members of the Committee, it
is an honor to be here. And I thank you for this opportunity to
share about our program. We serve 1,431 Head Start children and
148 pregnant women, infants, and toddlers in Early Head Start.
Head Start is more than a Federal program. Its more than the
best thing that this nation does for its neediest children. For many
children and families, Head Start is a lifeline. Sadly, we have a
650-child waiting list for our Early Head Start program, and more
than 1,900 children are on the waiting list for our Head Start program.
In addition to these Head Start-eligible children, more affluent
parents regularly ask us if they can pay for their child to participate in our great Head Start program.
We promote excellence by meeting and exceeding Head Start performance standards and using the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework to guide our teaching and other services, by providing
staff with continuing educational and career development opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills, and by creating collaborations with many agencies to address the wide range of needs
faced by our Head Start families and children.
The Head Start performance standards, together with the Child
Outcomes Framework, assure that our program staff attend to each
area of childrens development, support family development and
provide optimal program management and accountability.
Our planning and quality improvement process uses the Head
Start performance standards as its base. The Child Outcomes
Framework helps us to use the most appropriate observation and
assessment procedures and instruments. The data from these assessments helps us to make adjustments in our curriculum and
daily schedule, to plan in-service teacher training, and to make
purchase decisions for classroom curriculum resources. The framework has helped us to make our teaching and other work with children more intentional to better achieve Head Starts child outcome
goals.
We are committed to career development for our staff. Eightyfour percent of our teachers have associate degrees or higher. As
staff members have obtained higher credentials, we could pay for
their training, increase compensation and maintain the teaching
staff that we have invested in, with the Head Start quality dollars
that sadly no longer come to us.
Degrees are important, but ongoing professional development is
also key. Based on the large body of research on effective teaching
practices and curricula, we have developed a unique system of supports for classrooms and teachers that includes education specialists assigned to each cluster of centers to provide day-to-day staff
development and assistance with planning; a program-wide, theme-
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
30
based curriculum with accompanying theme boxes of resource materials; a resource center where staff can obtain and prepare materials for their classrooms, for teaching and for their college
coursework; and a cadre of mentor teachers who provide peer
support.
Ensuring that children receive services and not just referrals is
another key to school readiness. Each child is assisted to have a
medical home, a provider that they can go to regularly for checkups
and illnesses. We help parents to take care of any health needs
their children may have while theyre in Head Start, and we also
provide dental and visual screening and help children get dental
services or glasses.
We also identify mental health problems and provide assistance
to parents and teachers to address them. We have extensive collaborations with a wide range of medical, dental, psychological and
social services providers. And we have assistance from the local
school systems to provide special services to children with disabilities and their families.
We help parents to learn parenting skills to better support their
childrens learning and development, to learn more about resources
in their communities, and to participate as advocates for their children, families and neighborhoods. For eleven years, we have provided special programming for fathers, encouraging them to play a
strong role in their childrens lives both at home and at our centers.
A growing number of grandparents are raising our children. Several years ago we began a support group for them that provides
monthly sessions on a range of topics, occasional outings and individual assistance. Because most of our parents work, we provide
before and after school care, and Head Start quality enhancement
funding enabled us several years ago to add Summer Head Start
for those children.
We collaborate with public schools to ensure that children are
ready for kindergarten and that they and their families experience
smooth transitions into Head Start. And weve worked with those
schools to determine their expectations for kindergarten and to arrange our curriculum and in-service training for teachers so that
children are better prepared for later schooling.
Thirteen of our Head Start classrooms are located in public
schools in seven different public school systems, and most of our
classrooms are located in buildings donated by either school systems or Catholic parishes.
All of the services Ive described are also provided to Early Head
Start infants, toddlers and pregnant women, but we have six children waiting for every slot that we have in Early Head Start.
So how do we know that were successful? The data we collect as
we assess our children tells us that our children are making huge
strides. Kindergarten teachers who receive our Head Start children
tell us that they are better prepared for school than almost any
others in their classes. Principals and superintendents ask us to
add classrooms to their schools and systems. And we regularly hear
from parents that their Head Start graduate children are on honor
rolls, winning awards, graduating from high school, going to college
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
31
and to graduate school and contributing to our communities and to
society.
A local Birmingham bank vice president is a Head Start graduate, as are two local city councilmen. Head Start truly is our national child development laboratory, and it deserves far more credit
for all that it has contributed to the large field of early childhood
education. We at JCCEO take that title seriously, and we seek in
all that we do to find the most effective ways to serve each child
who comes to our program and each family that brings them.
Head Start truly is our nations best gift to our neediest families.
Our goal is to make sure that it is a gift that works well and one
that lasts.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Cunningham follows:]
Statment of Gayle Cunningham, Executive Director, Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity Child Development Services, Birmingham, AL
Mr. Chairman Castle, Congresswoman Woolsey, and distinguished members of
the committee. Head Start is very, very special. For many of the children and families that I have worked with in Head Start, it is more than a federal program, more
than the best thing this nation does for its neediest children: for many children and
families it is a lifeline.
Let me share with you an email that I received just last Sunday.
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Melissa Johnson, my son is Christian Tyler Johnson. He attends Tarrant Head Start center. I am writing to let you at the main office
know of the OUTSTANDING and WONDERFUL teachers and staff you
have. Not only has my son enjoyed his two years at Head Start but he is
excited and most of all ready for Kindergarten. Everyday he comes home
with something new that he has learned.
Not only has my child grown and matured from the program but so have
I. I had him when I was sixteen so I thought the teachers would teach him.
They have done a great deal but they showed me that the learning has to
start from the home.
I apologize for the lengthy letter I just love the Head Start program, and
I wanted to THANK everyone involved. I know you have lots of work to do
so thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Melissa J. Johnson
We know there are many similar stories in every one of your districts, in every
Head Start and Early Head Start program across this country.
My name is Gayle Cunningham and I appreciate and am honored to have this
opportunity to testify before you today. It was my privilege to be the director of the
Head Start program at JCCEO in Jefferson County, Alabama, where the largest city
is Birmingham, for eighteen years, from 1986 until 2004. Since 1990, I have also
served as Executive Director of JCCEO, the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity, the Community Action Agency for our county. Our Head Start
Early Head Start program serves 1431 preschoolers, and 148 pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.
To meet our goal of providing the best possible Head Start for the children and
families that we serve, we have worked on every aspect of the program, and our
efforts, a true collaboration between our agency Board, our staff, our parents, our
community, and the Region IV and Bureau Head Start staff, have resulted in a
highly functioning program that seeks higher and higher levels of quality programming for children and for families.
Excellence is our goal. Excellence in supporting and promoting childrens development and learning; excellence in our staff and our services; and excellence in supporting families to be successful. So how do we strive for excellence?
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
32
Meeting Standards:
The Head Start Performance Standards have been our foundation and they were
critical to improving our program. The Head Start Performance Standards are comprehensive and therefore ensure that we look at all of the conditions that support
childrens learning, their social, emotional and physical development, and family
success.
Our internal, yearly, quality improvement and planning process uses the Head
Start Program Standards as its base. The Standards are used for a program-wide
self-assessment at the beginning of each calendar year. The findings from this assessment are submitted to Program Quality Improvement Workgroups that include staff, policy council members and other parents, board members, and community representatives. Each workgroup focuses on a different program service area,
and reviews all program documentation related to that area. The workgroups recommendations for improvements then go to the management team for deliberation,
and the accepted recommendations are implemented during the next program year.
Tri-annually there is an in-depth review of our program, and every Head Start
program, by a Federal monitoring team, using an instrument based on the Head
Start Performance Standards. We believe that these reviews, in combination with
our yearly self-evaluations, are an important factor in maintaining ongoing program
quality.
Head Starts Child Outcomes Framework has proven an invaluable tool for improving the quality of our classroom services to children. It is comprehensive, multidimensional, and appropriate for young children, focusing on the whole child. It has
provided the framework for a multitude of decisions that have improved our program for children. We used it to help us determine, and create, the most appropriate
observation and assessment procedures and instruments for our children. The data
from these assessments have been used to help us make adjustments in our curriculum and daily schedule, plan in-service teacher training, and make purchase decisions for curriculum enhancements for our classrooms, such as additional math
materials. The Framework has helped us to make our teaching and other work with
children more intentional, so that we can better achieve Head Starts child outcomes
goals.
Staff and Teacher Quality:
We know that the knowledge and skills of our directors, service area managers,
teachers, and all of our staff are critical to our success. That is why we are committed to career development for all of our staff, finding and providing opportunities
for both education and in-service training, with a special commitment to teachers
and teaching after all, that is where our children are.
In 1986, we had nine Child Development Associate credentialed staff, mostly in
management, and no other appropriate credentials among our teaching staff. Today,
84.62% of our teachers (66) have an Associates degree or higher. Most began with
us with no credentials and, through Head Start, were able to earn their CDA credential, and then we assisted them to build upon it to earn their Associates degree.
Six more of our teachers will have earned their Associates degrees by August, 2005.
Eight-nine (89) of our teacher aides have Child Development Associate credentials, which we consider the basic credential for working in the classroom and the
first step towards the Associates and Bachelors degrees. We expect a teacher aide
to begin working on qualifying for the Child Development Associate as soon as possible after beginning employment. Six teacher aides have Associates degrees. As
staff members obtain higher credentials, increased compensation is provided to reward and acknowledge achievement and increased skills, and to maintain the teaching staff that we have invested in, again, thanks to funding from Head Start.
How did we accomplish these career development goals? Primarily, it was the receipt of Head Start quality enhancement funds over the years that made it possible.
With those funds, we could provide tuition and book scholarships, provide release
time and substitute teachers to cover classrooms while teaching staff were in school,
and increase compensation once credentials were earned. On average, it has taken
our teachers six years to obtain their Associates degree. Because we know that better child outcomes are associated with higher degrees, we have worked with others
in the state, including the Alabama Head Start Collaboration Office, to develop articulation arrangements to move our teaching staff from the Associates to the Bachelors degree, and we learned last week that such an opportunity will soon be available to us with a local university. We dont, however, know how we will provide the
scholarships and other supports that will be needed to assist our staff to earn Bachelors degrees, or how we will adequately compensate them once they have earned
the BA. This is a worthy goal, but it would require new, additional Head Start resources for teachers to go back to school, for programs to provide release time and
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
33
substitutes, and for compensation increases that are at least comparable to those
of kindergarten teachers with similar degrees and experience so that our teachers
remain with us in Head Start.
Effective Teaching Support:
We believe that teachers need more support on a regular basis, in addition to credentials and degrees. Ongoing quality professional development is key. Based on the
large body of research on effective teaching practices and curricula, we have developed a unique system of supports for classrooms and teachers that includes: Education Specialists assigned to each cluster of centers to provide day-to-day staff development and assistance with planning for teaching staff in a role that is completely separate from supervision; A program-wide theme-based curriculum with
supporting theme boxes of materials that rotate to provide an array of teaching resources to classrooms; A resource center where staff can obtain and prepare materials for their classrooms, for teaching, and for their college coursework; and a cadre
of mentor teachers who provide peer support to other teachers. These mentor
teachers were selected because they were effective in their own classrooms, and they
also demonstrated the capacity to work well with and support other adults. They
each attended an eight session course on mentoring, participate in monthly mentor
teacher training sessions and meetings, work with a protege teacher, assist with
program-wide teacher training, and receive a monthly stipend for these additional
responsibilities.
Again, the importance of the comprehensive Head Start Program Performance
Standards and the Child Outcomes Framework must be emphasized. These assure
that in our service delivery and in our training and support of staff, we attend to
each area of a childs developmentbecause learning to read, and to count, do not
occur in isolation from a childs other areas of development, or in isolation from
their families.
A Community Program:
Head Start is unique because it provides an opportunity to lift entire families and
communities to better economic, educational, and personal lives. We collaborate
with a large network of public, private, and faith-based community resource providers to help us meet the needs of our participants. To improve our work with families, we used Head Start Quality Enhancement funding to lower family services
worker caseloads to two-to-three classrooms each. This enables us to give each family more attention and to help them with the wide range of issues and needs that
confront low-income families, especially when there is a crisis. We have helped families get better and safer housing, in several instances helping them to purchase
homes through Habitat for Humanity; we have helped families that have been evicted or burned out, helping them to find temporary and then permanent housing; we
have helped families when they or their children have medical emergencies; and
much, much more.
We help families to assess their current situations, set goals, and take concrete
steps to achieve them, be they more schooling, job training, better jobs, better housing, or more food in the house. Self-sufficiency is our goal for every family that we
work with. School readiness, especially for the low-income children in Head Start,
is about letters and numbers and colors and shapes, but it also includes so much
more. We assure that each child has a medical homea provider that they go to regularly for check-ups and for illnesses, and we assist parents to take care of any
health or medical needs they might have while they are in Head Start. We provide
dental and visual screening and then assist parents to obtain any needed dental
services or glasses. We identify mental health problems and provide assistance to
help parents and teachers address them. Our extensive collaborations with a wide
range of medical, dental, psychological, and social services providers enable us to
address these needs. And, with assistance from local school systems, we provide special services to children with disabilities and their families, making at least ten percent of our enrollment opportunities available to them.
We also assist parents to learn parenting skills, to better support their childrens
learning, to learn more about resources available in their communities, and to participate in their communities as citizens and advocates for their children, families,
and neighborhoods. We provide special programming for our childrens fathers, encouraging them to play a strong and effective role in their childrens lives, both at
home and as volunteers in our classrooms and centers. We call our father involvement project CHIEFS and it is now in its eleventh year.
In response to the growing number of grandparents raising young children in our
program, we began a support group for grandparents several years ago, named
GEMS, that provides monthly sessions on a wide range of useful topics, occasional
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
34
field trips, and individual assistance when needed. Grandparents raising young children are a growing phenomena in our communities, and their needs are unique and
sometimes difficult to address through regular Head Start resources.
Most of our parents work, and it is sometimes a challenge to make arrangements
to bring their children to our centers after 7:30 a.m., or pick to them up when our
program day ends at three. So we assist them by providing before and/or after program care for approximately 200 children through a collaboration for vouchers with
our local childcare (block grant) subsidy provider, along with private payments by
parents not able to obtain vouchers. (The waiting list for vouchers in Jefferson
County is 3000 children long.) Several years ago Head Start quality enhancement
funding enabled us to add Summer Head Start for the children who participate
in after school care to our program, so this group continues with us until August,
receiving a full day of learning and care while their parents work.
Public schools are an important part of our families communities, and we collaborate with them in a variety of ways to assure that our children are ready for kindergarten and that they and their families experience a smooth transition from Head
Start. We have worked with public school systems to determine their expectations
for children entering kindergarten and arranged our curriculum and in-service
training for teachers to both prepare children for kindergarten and beyond, and to
provide appropriate pre-school education. Thirteen of our Head Start classrooms are
located in public schools in seven different school systems. Most of our other classrooms are located in school buildings no longer in use by the systems or by Catholic
parishes, and provided to our program at no cost. We have a special partnership
with the Birmingham Public School System, equally sharing three pre-k classrooms
for a Head StartPreK partnership. Most of our disabilities screenings and services
are provided by our partner school systems. And each participates in a variety of
transition activities for children and parents as the end of the program year approaches.
All of the services that I have described are also provided to our Early Head Start
infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and their families, with particular attention to
the special needs of pregnant women and babies. The need for infant-toddler care
and learning opportunities in our community is acute, and our small program, serving about 100 babies and toddlers, meets only a fraction of the need. There are more
than six children on our waiting list for every Early Head Start slot that we are
funded to provide.
How Do We Know We are Successful?
So how do we know that all of this works? There are many ways. The demand
for our program is enormous. In addition to the more than 650 child waiting list
for Early Head Start, there are more than 1900 children on our waiting list for
Head Start. In addition to these Head Start eligible children, more affluent parents
regularly ask us if they can pay for their child to participate in our Head Start program.
Kindergarten teachers who receive our Head Start children tell us that they are
better prepared for school than most others in their classes, and principals and superintendents ask us to add classrooms to their schools and systems. We have had
a classroom in one local system for two years and the superintendent recently met
with our Head Start director to tell her what a difference the school staff sees in
the children who have attended Head Start. He wants another classroom.
We regularly hear from parents that their children are on honor rolls, winning
awards, graduating from high school, going to college, going to graduate school, and
contributing to our communities and to society. A local bank vice president is a
Head Start graduate. Two local city councilmen are, too. And another graduate of
our program has earned his Ph.D. and is the director of a local Head Start program
and the childcare subsidy program that serves our area.
The data that we collect as we assess our children at the beginning, middle, and
end of each program year also tells us that we are successful. Our children make
huge strides while they are with us, and our Child Outcomes data documents and
verifies this, as do our own observations when we visit our wonderful classrooms.
Our program has participated in a number of local and national research and
evaluation projects, always seeking to both benefit by learning more about our programs effectiveness and to contribute to the body of knowledge about what works
best for Head Start, young children, and their families. With every measurement
we learn that our program is making a significant difference as we work with our
Head Start children and families, the children and their families in Birmingham
and Jefferson County, Alabama, who are most in need.
Head Start truly is our National Child Development Laboratory, and the program
deserves much more credit for all that it has contributed to the larger field of early
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
35
care and education. We at JCCEO take that title seriously, and seek in all that we
do to find the most effective ways to serve each child who comes to our program,
and each family that brings that child to us. Head Start truly is our nations best
gift to our neediest families. Our goal is to make sure that it is a gift that works
well, and one that lasts.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you very much, Ms. Cunningham. Before we go forward, I dont know if theres any Member herewere
going to have a motion to adjourn on the floor. Were all going to
have to go vote in seven or eight or 9 minutes. Is there anyone here
who wont be able to come back, would like to ask their questions
now? Or do you want me just to go ahead and start?
Ill go ahead and start, then. But if somebody needs to finish before I leave, let me know.
Actually, my questions are too general for everybody to answer
everything. So youre going to have to sort of limit yourself here,
if you will, because I want to get in a few things.
Im worried about what were doing here at the Federal level. Let
me congratulate each and every one of you, first of all, you know,
for running exemplary programs. You wouldnt have been here if
you hadnt been doing that. And youre doing it within the framework of the law and the regulations in dealing with HHS as far as
this is concerned. A couple of you used the expression quilting,
I think, meaning youre running a variety of programs, and thats
generally true of Head Start providers, which is fine.
But I want to sort of look at it from that point of view; how we
can run exemplary programs, and what is it in the law or in the
regulations that may in some cases restrict you or perhaps allow
some of the other problems which exist out there that perhaps we
could address as we take up our new legislation, which is what
were doing.
So let me just start with that. As you know, we have the basic
law here. You probably deal mostly with the regulations, if I had
to guess, the administration of children and families and the Head
Start Bureau, and theres a series of performance standards and
forms you have to fill out and that kind of thing, some of which
and frankly, we had an analysis of this, and some of it was critical.
And so I want to see how it is out in the field.
So my question to you is, in doing what youre trying to doand
youre doing everything from migrant programs to combining it
with school programs. Youre doing a lot of things in your different
areas. My question is, is there anything in the law or the restrictions thatand you can answer this generally. You dont have to
cite statute numbers or whateverthat you think is a block to continuing progress in terms of what you are doing? I know thats a
very general question, and Im looking for specific answers, but Im
interested in that.
Any volunteers? Dr. Daeschner.
Dr. DAESCHNER. First of all, thank you. I think that is an essential question. Im different in that I run a district, and I have like
these 5,400 early childhood. And I satisfy lots of different standards.
As an example, and most you just allude to it, theres almost
1,700 standards connected with Head Start. And theyre very specific. Im not too sure theyre not specific for a reason.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
36
Our state has some like that, but theyre somewhat different. So
when you work in a district, youre faced with not necessarily competing, but how do you fit one and the other and satisfy all those?
Let me give you one good example, and I alluded to it earlier.
These child restraints. A great example is I run all these buses. I
have 850 buses that I run on a three-tiered system. And they pick
up my high school kids, its our elementary and then our preschool.
And you can imagine we have to use all the buses to do all that.
Its almost prohibitive to put these seat restraints on, because it
reduces my numbers. The buses are absolutely safe. I have to follow the Kentucky bus regulations. And I will give you one particular example. We had a month ago a car run into a back of a
bus. The car caught fire. By the way, the driver took off. The front
of the car caught fire underneath the bus. The bus was consumed
in about a minute and a half with smoke and fire. Now, the good
news is that there were high school kids on that bus. But if Id
have had child restraint hooked up in harnesses on that bus with
preschool, Im here to tell you, at least half of those children would
have died, because we couldnt have got them out.
Chairman CASTLE. But in a more general sense. I dont know if
my question was too long or your answer is too long, but between
us, weve taken up almost all my time.
Dr. DAESCHNER. Im sorry. That was my fault.
Chairman CASTLE. But Id just like to follow up in way to cut you
off a little bit.
Dr. DAESCHNER. OK, sure.
Chairman CASTLE. I mean, but is that something that we can address? I mean, thats one specific thing.
Dr. DAESCHNER. That is.
Chairman CASTLE. Youre saying maybe we shouldnt have those
particular things. But in a more general sense
Dr. DAESCHNER. Yes.
Chairman CASTLE [continuing]. Are you hindered by all these
various performance standards you have to live with, or do you
think they should be changed in some way or another, a whole
management model from the Federal Government?
Dr. DAESCHNER. I can answer that very quickly. Its a management style. I believe we ought to, policy-wise, ought to be adjusted
to the most exemplary classrooms you have and not to the lowest
classrooms that we have. I as a manager need to drive up my lowest classrooms that arent performing well to the highest standards.
All standards, for example in Head Start, are geared so that you
just take one step forward, two steps left, one step right. Theres
certainly a lot of those, now, to go in there and give you specifics.
But I would rather have policies that adhere with the general so
that all my preschool kids can serve.
Chairman CASTLE. How about those of you who are working in
the so-called quilting effect in terms of your running multiple programs? Ms. Cunningham obviously mentioned that, and Ms.
Mainster may have mentioned it, too. But I see that when I go to
my Head Start programs in Delaware. Theyre running a variety
of things, if you will.
What are we doing in Head Start that is either positive or negative in the middle of that quilt in terms of what you are doing that
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00040
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
37
in some way inhibits us from developing these kids as fully as we
possibly could?
Ms. MAINSTER. If I may, I would just say that we use the Head
Start standards because were one of your quilters, as those that
we try to get to with all our programs. The biggest difference in
our state child care, for example, in Head Start, is that theres not
funding there nor is there mandate for the parent involvement and
the comprehensive services in terms of health and social services.
I would not want to see those reduced.
I think the idea of the specificityin other words, we go out and
we look for United Way money, for example, to add to our state
child care money so that we can bring them to the Head Start
standard. When youre dealing with low income kids, and Head
Start founders recognized that this program is as much for families
as it is for children. Children live in families. And so thats not a
standard I want to see changed.
I do think that you have some language proposed about shorter
term programs need to have some flexibility in terms of how they
meet the standards. I think we need to look at outcomes, and if a
program is meeting the outcomes, be less concerned aboutspecifically Im talking about degrees in terms of rural short-term programs, its next to impossible, and were going to keep struggling
with that. But if the outcomes are being attained, I think that
ought to be adequate.
Chairman CASTLE. OK. Thank you.
Ms. Cunningham?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. I would argue against lots of changes in the
performance standards. They in fact have been an example for
other standard systems, licensing systems, accreditation systems
across the nation.
Chairman CASTLE. And you think theyre positive, basically?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Oh, yes.
Ms. MAINSTER. I do, too.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Head Starts standards are looked up to, and
actually, efforts are made to find ways to help other child care and
pre-K systems begin to meet Head Start standards. We really
should continue to hold them up as the highest standards, national
standards available.
Chairman CASTLE. But the criticismand I probably dont have
this quite rightbut the criticism has sort of been that while the
standards are fine, theyre sort of, I dont know, self-dependent in
terms of responding to the standards or whatever, and that we
dont getwe, the government who funds thisdoesnt get all the
information that it needs in order to monitor fiscally and perhaps
programmatically correctly.
In other words, theres been some criticism of that from the point
of view of what the management team gets back, if you will. You
may not beyoure running a program, so you may not be the one
to answer that question. But we want to make this as secure and
as positive as possible, but we want to make sure that were eliminating things which are not essential and overwork or whatever it
may be.
Ms. MAINSTER. I just want to say, youre just now getting the results of the NRS testing and so forth. I would hesitate to say, until
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
38
youve really had a chance to look at some of those, youre finally
getting some of the stuff you were alluding to wanting.
Chairman CASTLE. Right. Good.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. I think most of the information that you reference is available. Its very available. It may not have been looked
at as critically in the past, as carefully in the past, but its there.
And perhaps a stronger system of interaction between regional offices and Head Start programs could strengthen that system.
Chairman CASTLE. But to the extent that Im criticizing, I may
be criticizing, whats happening at the regulatory end of it, not at
the Head Start end of it, as much or more than the Head Start end
of it, because I think there has been some justifiable criticism. Im
just trying to see if theres problems we can straighten out.
Let me yield to Mr. Grijalva.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me join with
you in thanking our witnesses. Its very important and very helpful
information and testimony.
For the sake of time and to some extent my interest, let me focus
my questions to Ms. Mainster, if I could. Youre running an Early
Start, Head Start, and a Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. Briefly,
what are the biggest differences and to some extent challenges in
coordinatingnot only coordinating between these programs?
Ms. MAINSTER. Thank you, Congressman. The biggest difference
I would say is the population, because obviously our Migrant Head
Start has to has flexible opening dates, so our staff are frequently
laid off for 5 months a year. So holding onto that staff is always
a challenge. But of course when you quilt, you find ways to help
them work in other programs if you need to.
The clientele actually are easier. People dont realize that. The
migrant Head Start families are the easiest to work with. Mom and
dad both work, but mom and dad have hope, soI know this is not
the kind of thing you may be asking, but those are the families
that are the true immigrants that are looking at the American
Dream, and theyll do anything they need to get there.
So many of our early Head Start and Head Start families have
very little hope left, so we have to work with them in a different
way. I dont think standards-wise, obviously, if youre only operating a short-term program, and again, were lucky in Florida. We
operate about seven to 8 months. But the short-term programs are
being killed by trying to fit in, for example, all of the various
trainings that one must have or all the various sessions parents
must complete.
Mr. GRIJALVA. It goes to your point of flexibility.
Ms. MAINSTER. Thats the point. And I believe theres some language being looked at for some flexibility for short-term programs.
I would still want the outcomes, yes, sir.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Let me just follow up, because Inot just because
of the migrant and seasonal component and your good work in that
area, but you serve predominantly Spanish-speaking families.
Ms. MAINSTER. Yes.
Mr. GRIJALVA. And just for the sake of the record and others,
what advice would you give to other Head Start centers regardless
of whether theyre serving migrant and seasonal families who face
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
39
both the challenge, and quite frankly, the reality of large populations of non-English-speaking kids and families?
Ms. MAINSTER. Well, the very, very first piece of advice is they
must hire people from that community. They must hire Spanishspeaking staff, Spanish-speaking staff who know the cultures of the
kids that are coming in and who will have the respect of the families. That is critical.
Mr. GRIJALVA. And I think the last, aside from your point in your
testimony about the funding and the 19, were only serving 19 percent in migrant.
Ms. MAINSTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIJALVA. And I think thats a very important point that this
Committee has dealt with and I hope deals with again during the
reauthorization. But both as it relates to general and migrant and
seasonal workers, what other kinds of recommendations would you
have aside from funding for this Committee as we go through this
reauthorization process?
Ms. MAINSTER. One of the things I think that we could improve
programs with is if each program had a seasonal-based funding so
that they could operate for the seasonals the year round, then they
could use key staff from that to operate their migrant programs.
That would have to be worked on to make sure that the migrants
dont ever lose the services. That would be
Mr. GRIJALVA. I think that transition is very important, and I
last point and question. How do you coordinate as you followas
the family leaves to follow their work?
Ms. MAINSTER. OK. Were actually piloting the promise, which is
the data web-based system, but the parents are still the most important. The parents get a record with all their childrens scores in
it on their assessments. They also get the health data, and we let
them know where the programs are. Those that go to Ohio know
exactly where theyre going. Those that go to Delaware, they know
where their centers are. They go in. The center can then pick up
where we left off and keep going. Thats the idea.
The problems of course come where there is no room when they
get to where theyre going. But right now the parents are hand-carrying that record. The coordination is countingis really dependent upon the parent making it happen. The programs of course all
know each other and talk. Theres only 25 grantees, so that helps.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you very much.
Ms. MAINSTER. Thank you.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Mr. Grijalva. Mrs. Biggert is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I apologize for coming
in late, but I have to say that I have had a connection with Head
Start and the fact that I volunteered the first year that it had
opened in Chicago at Hull House and spent a summer with the
children there. So its always been very dear to my heart.
And I can rememberyou were just mentioning about how people have to be Spanish-speaking. And this of course was a Spanish
neighborhood and I spoke French and Latin poorly, but still, it was
something thatso I used to run home and turn on Sesame Street
to watch to see if I could pick up the language in a very short time,
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
40
which of course by the end of the summer, there was quite a bit
of communication.
But I remember then, and the thing about the culture was that
the lunches that were served were American food, and these children didnt know what it was. And they used to just not eat it. And
finally I said, well, why dont we just, you know, do something and
bring in some food that they will eat, that is their own, and that
worked well.
But what Id like to know is how many children are unable to
get into the Head Start program because there arent enough and
where do they go in your areas?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. In our county, we have a 1,900 child wait list
for our 1,431 child Head Start program, and another 658 children
on our Early Head Start wait list. We have 148 slots total 100 or
so in centers. We have a huge wait list in Alabama.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Has there ever been any movement to expand it?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Weve taken advantage of every expansion opportunity thats come available. There have not been any recently,
but we actually have grown from serving 630 children in 1986 to
1,431 now.
Mrs. BIGGERT. And you wouldnt say that its diluted the program at all?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. What now?
Mrs. BIGGERT. It has not diluted the program?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Not at all, not at all, because with those additional funds over the years have come the opportunities to expand
supports, expand space and provide everything that we need for
each child.
Ms. MAINSTER. I think the other answer is where are they, those
that are not in centers? Theyre with babysitters in not very good
settings. Our waiting listand this was in our packet, but just a
snapshot on February 5th, we had 2,078 children on waiting lists,
and we also had our data from last year to this year. So we went
last year we were 5,837 kids that we served, this year 6,242. So
were like, I think all the exemplary programs must be very good
at seeking out funds, because we know that the kids need the services.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Marker?
Mr. MARKER. In our program, we operate an Early Head Start
program and Head Start program, and obviously, since we only
have 110 slots for Early Head Start in a three-county area, thats
where our largest demand is right now. And we do maintain a
rather lengthy waiting list on that. Im not aware of the current
number of it.
Head Start is a little bit different in Ohio. Until 4 years ago, we
had a very strong state Head Start program that had adopted the
Head Start program performance standards, which made everything very fluid. We could work very easily. But through budget
problems, thats gone away, so those children now are going to private child care, which is a good thing in some cases. A larger and
larger number every day are going to the more unregulated care
thats present in Ohio, and theres no regulation, and its really
very scary.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00044
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
41
And I think asif we ever get to the point where we can expand
Head Start, that will make our three-county area much better because there will be more opportunities to get those children into a
good environment that is safe.
Dr. DAESCHNER. Were rather unique in thatIm going to talk
about a district we had in Head Start. But we basically, Im going
to talk about children that qualify for free lunch. What we serve
is Head Start. When I run out of that, I go to preschool. When I
run of that, I got tuition-based. When I run out of that, we have
90 percent of all the 4-year-olds that we serve in Jefferson County
in an all day, every day 4-year-old program. Ive got only about 30
percent of the 3-year-olds. That translates into about 500 children
that could take advantage of these services. I have actually 300 on
a qualified waiting list, so.
But the way you do that is you combine all the funds that I mentioned earlier into a program like we operate, so we can do quite
a bit with all that funding in a streamless situation.
Mrs. BIGGERT. Thank you for all that you do. I yield back.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Ms. Biggert. Mr. Kind is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. KIND. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I want to
first of all thank you for holding this very important hearing. I
know of your great interest and concern about reauthorization of
the Head Start program, and if and when we start moving forward
on a Committee basis, once again well look forward to working
with you in a bipartisan fashion to try to produce a good reauthorized bill.
And I want to thank all the witnesses for being here and bringing your particular expertise to the subject. This is an incredibly
important program for many of us, and I think you all appreciate
the significance of the Head Start program.
I mean, its the most reviewed program at the Federal level it
seems, and yet its also the most popular program when you talk
to the constituents and the families that it services. I think the
surveys that come back show a high 90 percent satisfaction and approval rating from the parents who have children in Head Start
programs. So I think it really speaks volumes in regard to the success the program has had in preparing these children to close the
achievement gap when its time for them to walk through that kindergarten door for the very first time.
And thats why many of us are concerned in regard to some of
the more radical proposals being thrown out there by the Administration in regards to block granting and the impact thats going to
have on access, on the quality of the programming, on the accountability and the oversight of that program too. And hopefully with
your help, we can work through that, because thats been one of
the major stumbling blocks as far as reauthorizing this program in
the last session and perhaps in this session as well. Theres a difference of opinion.
But from my perspective, one of the areas that Ive been concerned about is in regards to this rush for more testing of children
at an early age and the impact thats going to have on them. In
fact, I had offered an amendment in the reauthorized bill last year
that would allow that the National Research Council of the Na-
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00045
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
42
tional Academy of Sciences to do a comprehensive study in regards
to what would be the appropriate measurements for children at
this age so we dont end up doing more harm than good just for
the sake of testing.
And I think its very important as we move forward with the reauthorized bill that we do pay attention to the impact of what new
measurements and tests that were going to be requiring these children to undergo and whether its the most effective and scientifically based standards that we can hope for. And I notice the Administration, even though we didnt reauthorize the bill, nevertheless through an administrative rule, went forward on a new National Reporting System thats putting in place this new testing regime even before the National Academy has had a chance to complete the work they want to do in reviewing the different standards
and measurements that we can take.
Id be curious to hear your opinion in regards to this new National Reporting System, the impact its having, whether you think
it makes sense or whether theres another approach that we can
take in working with the Administration so we get this aspect of
the Head Start program done right and not wrong, which I think
is very important in regards to the performance of these kids and
where theyre going to go from there. And Id just open it up to anyone on the panel, quite frankly, whos interested in touching that
rail.
Mr. SIEGFRIED. Thank you. Although I appreciate the objectivity
of the data available through the National Reporting System, it
only allows me, the user, to see this information at one level, at
the agency level. Users have no ability to filter out information at
the center or classroom level and certainly cant then therefore impact individual teaching, because that report is not available, nor
can I provide any information back to a parent in that regard.
It also measures three developmental domains, and we know
that our holistic service would appreciate eight domains, and that
certainly is our approach as comprehensive services. We prefer to
look at child outcomes really through many different lenses. Certainly our Brigance screening done initially within 45 days of enrollment gives us some initial information.
Also the Child Observation Record, the COR, High/Scopes COR,
that we do implement then throughout the school year provides information that is directly aligned to the Federal performance
standards, certainly the domains and elements and also the ODE
Early Learning Contents standards.
We collect data three times a school year, four in our year round
programs, and then we can filter that information out by county,
by program option. We can sort that in different ways really to determine the patterns and trends that we see. So that information
is very useful to us.
We can also take that information and we can then apply it to
High/Scopes Outcomes Reporter software, which then allows us to
see how the information that we are determining as growth comparatively on the COR six scales then translates to the eight Federal domains as well as the required elements within the framework.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00046
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
43
In addition, we use less formal methods of assessment, including
portfolio systems that parents find very friendly because theres oftentimes photographs and anecdotal notes that accompany of
course more formal reports available through some of these other
observation pieces.
Last, the piece that we have recently adopted, the ECERS and
the ITERS, the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale,
again, its a very comprehensive measure certainly. It measures the
environment, it measures everything really from how deep the
mulch is on the playground to how wide the doors in your classroom. And certainly it measures then the adult-child interaction,
the ability of staff to relate appropriately to children to extend
ideas, to relate it to concepts, and to really deepen that knowledge.
Mr. KIND. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I see my time has expired,
but if any of the other panelists have something to add, I would
encourage you to maybe forward some information or get directly
in touch with my office so we can work with you on this very important matter, I feel.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Mr. Kind. Mr. Osborne is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. OSBORNE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for
being here today. First of all, just a rather quick specific question.
Mrs. Mainster, I think you mentioned that you have a budget of
$47 million and you serve 6,000 children, and I think that would
translate to about $7,800 per student.
Ms. MAINSTER. Yes.
Mr. OSBORNE. It seems a little high, but maybe I dont understand. And I wonder if you could comment on that as to what the
average cost for a Head Start student is and how you justify those
costs.
Ms. MAINSTER. Sorry I gave you the numbers, but Ill try. Actually, we also have two charter schools in those numbers. That is,
those are not all Head Start children. And in the Head Start arena,
we servetwo-thirds of the children we serve are infants and toddlers. Infants and toddlers require a one-to-four staff/child ratio. It
is much, much more expensive, no question. I dont actually think
we do it on $7,800. Its more than that, sir.
Mr. OSBORNE. Yes.
Ms. MAINSTER. I would yield if I could, because I would have to
play with some numbers to get you the actual cost in Head Start,
in Migrant Head Start and in Early Head Start and in child care.
I could do that. But when you lump it all together, its an average,
and it doesnt include the two charter schools.
Mr. OSBORNE. Well, let me throw out a broader question, and
that is that every group we have come before us is ecstatic about
how important Head Start is, how good it is, how much theyre
doing. And I agree that its a very important program, and I think
its obviously something that we need to support as much as we
can. Do you have any ways of quantifying what youre getting
done? In other words, at some point somebodys going to ask some
questions and say, well, you know, everybody feels good about it.
The kids are happier. Theres more socialization. But what evidence do we have? You know, becausedo you have any control
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
44
studies where you have a set number of people with similar backgrounds and skills, one of which has gone to Head Start, one which
has not, and where they are 2 years, 6 years, 8 years, 10 years
later?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Theres a Head Start impact study going on
right now in its third year I believe collecting exactly that kind of
data. Were expecting a report soon. Its a national study in lots of
communities across the nation, and it has a control group of children and a group who went to Head Start that its comparing over
several years.
There are lots of small studies that have also looked at Head
Start children compared to children not in Head Start. We did a
small one in our program, and were seeking an opportunity to find
those children now that theyre in about fourth grade to see what
a difference having been in Head Start made.
So there are lots of folks looking at how Head Start children
have done compared to other children across the nation.
Ms. MAINSTER. And I would just, we triedwe actually contracted with the university to do such a study, and then theand
I dont want to say it wrong, but I think its HIPPAbut it was
another where confidentiality was etched up a notch, and they
backed out. They said the school district wasnt allowed to release
that data.
Now possibly within a school district they could do it themselves,
but not for a school district to release the data to the university
for us. So we did try, because we recognize what youre saying. We
have lots and lots of good stories we can prove individuals, but I
cant give you the numbers that I think you need.
Mr. OSBORNE. OK. Go ahead.
Dr. DAESCHNER. Our programs, Early Childhood has been in
place about 7 years. That would make the kids about fourth graders if you look at three- and 4-year-olds. And we matched kids
going into this six or 7 years ago, and we matched it against free
lunch that got Early Childhood programs and ones that did not.
At the end of the fourth grade, were looking at about an 8 percent difference in standardized reading and similar to that with
about a variance of two points on either side of that in terms of
math.
Where it really begins to also make a significant different is in
special education. The kids that we can get in special education at
a preschool, three- and 4-year-old and look at that comparative
group, we have a lot less that qualify for special education at that
fourth grade level if it occurs at the three and 4-year-old level. So
weve got real clear data. Id be happy to give you all those stats.
Weve tracked that. Weve flagged the kids. We watched them, and
we have all that data from almost 6 years.
Mr. OSBORNE. Well, I think in reauthorization of Head Start
which we went through last year and will go through again this
year, one of the main concerns was that really when you look at
enhanced academic performance, there wasnt maybe as much as
we had hoped would be there, and therefore we put in some stipulations that required a little bit more academic rigor, and thats
kind of a tough term to use when youre dealing with three- and
4-year-olds, but at least ability to know the alphabet and to write
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00048
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
45
your name and, you know, the nuts and bolts and some of the basics.
So the desire is to maybe enhance the academic performance. I
think what youre saying is right. Theres a lot of overidentification
in the special education issue, and it could very well be that Head
Start does cut down some of that overidentification or
misidentification. And so anyway, but the more data we can get our
hands on, you know, the better we can do. And its a little sketchy
right now, so. Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Mr. Osborne. Mrs. Davis is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. DAVIS. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you
all for being here. Im sorry that I had to be at another hearing,
but I wanted to just express to you, as others have, I mean, we all
feel that the program has certainly made a difference for many,
many children. It is interesting that perhaps the gap has closed a
little bit between those who do not have the advantage of Head
Start and those who do. But that may be because of other factors,
as well.
Im amazed by how much young children are exposed to today,
but the real critical issue is that there are children who are exposed to many, many things and those who are exposed to a little
bit, and we need to try and balance that.
I wanted to go to Ms. Cunningham for a second, because I know
that we speak about the number of children that are on waiting
lists. And were also concerned about funding. If you had more
funding, however, would you have the capacity to have the teachers
that you need, the infrastructure, the facilities, all the things that
are needed to make the program work?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. It would take time, but we could do it. It
takes training teachers. It takes the money to pay them. It takes
funds to help us find facilities and bring them up to licensing
standards. But all of that can be done. Weve done that for years.
As long as theres not the expectation that it will be done tomorrow, we can serve more children over time.
Mrs. DAVIS. OK. Thank you. One other question, and I think you
probably addressed nutrition earlier, but we are very concerned
about obesity in young children today. Do you see that Head Start
is working to address this more? And particularly in the area of
parent education. Because I think it really starts in the home. And
kind of tough. I saw that the Cookie Monster is actually going to
be eating more vegetables, and I was really glad to see that.
But I wonder if you could talk a little bit about that and what
plans are being done to really focus particularly on the parent education piece of that, because thats important.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. In our program we did a study of childrens
and parents activity to begin to see what the problem in terms of
activityintake versus activity was. And we really determine that
our children are not getting out and playing enough, not having
enough physical activity, and that our parents are not serving
them fruits and vegetables enough to provide the kind of healthy
intake wed like.
So we use our parent involvement component as a vehicle for
more training and demonstrations to parents about healthy eating.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
46
We participate in a study with the university, the University of
Alabama, trying to find a way to encourage more low income families, more low income children, more low income parents to provide
fruits and vegetables for their children.
I just came from a conversation at the Kellogg Foundation about
what they can do to begin to help parents of young children provide
more healthy meals and provide more activity for them. So theres
a real interest in Head Start.
Mrs. DAVIS. Thats great. Thank you. I appreciate that. And it is
a combination of factors and it applies to all parents, not just parents in Head Start, but we certainly can accentuate that perhaps
more.
One other quick question on assessments, because I think that
is terribly important. We always are telling people, tell us your
story, but we need to have data, too. Its not just anecdotal. You
seem toyou alluded, I think, to the importance of children being
in programs. I think my colleague mentioned the food thats presented so that theres sort of a cultural identity with that.
When were assessing, are we trying to minimize the cultural dissonance with children so that what it is they bring from the home
actually is carried through and were evaluating partly their
progress in relating to that which they know as well as that which
is new to them? But is there consistency with that? Do you think
that theres enough emphasis on that?
Ms. MAINSTER. Theres a difference between assessment and testing. In our assessment tools, I think all of us are very cognizant
and aware of that, and I did include our outcomes in my testimony,
which your staff might want to wade through.
But the testing, there were a lot of concerns about that very
issue in terms of children having to learn what a vase was and
what a swamp was. Kids are amazing, though. And the teachers
are also amazing. So were teaching more about vases and swamps
these days.
Mrs. DAVIS. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Mrs. Davis. Im going to recognizeactually, Im going to recognize Mr. Scott and Mr. Hinojosa
together. Let me explain why. We are in the middle of a vote.
Weve got about 10 minutes to go on the vote, and weve got to
leave in about five or 6 minutes to go vote, and its a series of
votes, so its going to be 30 or 40 minutes. And rather than bring
everybody back, I think Im going to try to finish the panel up.
I had a few extra questions that Ill submit in writing, particular
to you, Dr. Daeschner, that I want to get some answers to. But I
want to make sure they have their opportunity. So, gentlemen, you
take whatever time we can allow until we have to go vote in five
or 6 minutes.
Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Congressman Scott, for allowing me to ask at least one question before
we rush off to vote.
It was last year that three different caucuses, the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus, sent a letter to the Secretary of HHS detailing our concerns about the technical quality of
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
47
the assessment and the appropriate use of such assessment of
Head Start students. Nonetheless, HHS has moved forward with
this assessment without ensuring that the assessment meets the
highest quality technical and professional standards, and this is especially true for the test given in Spanish. More seriously, HHS
has proceeded with this national assessment without clearly defining the purpose nor how the results will be used.
I would like to ask Ms. Gayle Cunningham, the executive director from the Alabama program, to share with us your view of the
appropriateness of this assessment for the children that they serve
and to comment on their understanding of the purpose of such assessment.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. The children we serve in Birmingham are predominately black, so we did not have as many of the issues around
very different cultures. Our concern is about the addition of this
test to all the other assessment which we developed or made
choices about which we believe to be appropriate and to fit into our
program; the amount of time that it has taken for our staff to learn
this new test and administer this new test; the fact that the feedback that we receive has not yet been useful to us. Its general. Its
about the whole program. Its not about individual children, individual classes, or even individual centers.
Mr. HINOJOSA. Youve made a good point. Can you tell us how
you and the other members of this panel can help us draft what
would be the ideal way to do it and how to use that assessment?
Maybe pass the buck over to the lady to your right. How do we pronounce your name, Mainster?
Ms. MAINSTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you.
Ms. MAINSTER. Please dont pass the buck to me.
[Laughter.]
Ms. MAINSTER. I would say in our Migrant and Seasonal Head
Start program this year, they didnt have their act together to get
the NRS out to us. In our regular Head Start, we serve about onethird Hispanic, one-third African-American, and one-third Anglos.
And those Hispanic kids, of course, are the more seasonal settled
out. Their English is better. And so its hard for us. They did take
it in the two languages.
I guess maybeIm writing down that you want information, you
want to know how to fix it. There are experts here that could do
that much better than I. I will just tell you that we roll with the
punches. Im notwere going to do what we have to do. Were
going to keep on doing a good program. I would just wait. If anybody every tried to hit us over the head with it, I would come back
with my ammunition at that point.
Mr. HINOJOSA. Well, we
Chairman CASTLE. Mr. Hinojosa, weve got to go, Mr. Scott, or
were never going to get to him.
Mr. SCOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me just make a couple of comments. We talk about these studies and the longitudinal
studies I hope were considering not just the educational aspects
but the other aspects, reduction in crime, behavior, drug use, teen
pregnancy and everything else that happens long term.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00051
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
48
Theres a reason why this program is in Health and Human
Services and not in Education, because you have the immunizations, the nutrition, and all the other things that are as much social service as well as anything else, and theres a strong belief that
it is in the right department.
I have the same concern that Mr. Hinojosa had about the high
stakes test. We dont want to punish children who fail a test because they were in a bad program, but we do want to make the
assessments, because the programssome programs are better
than others. And if youre assessing the program, thats one thing.
If youre punishing the children and failing to promote and that
kind of thing, that is not as useful. The tests obviously have to be
validated for the purpose for which they are being used.
Also, as were doing these assessments, I would hope they would
be useful in improving the program. Some programs are better
than others. If a program is not doing well, the assessment ought
to be able to show exactly what we can do to improve it.
So with all of those on assessments and the social aspects of it,
Mr. Chairman, Id just express those concerns. I assume were
going to be having other hearings. And I appreciate the opportunity
for you to kind of squeeze us in at the end.
Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Mr. Scott. What Mr. Scott is referring to in the other hearing is were having another hearing on
this subject next week at which point we can continue to develop
some of these issues, and I appreciate his helping with the time situation that we have.
Yes, Ms. Cunningham? Youve got to be brief, but wed love to
hear from you.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Just quickly, in response to your first question
about regulations, theres a much greater need for managers to
have more training and support in using and following regulations.
Chairman CASTLE. Federal managers?
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. No. Head Start managers.
Chairman CASTLE. Head Start managers.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM. Theres no system for bringing Head Start directors on, Head Start fiscal staff on, and helping them
Chairman CASTLE. Training for them.
Ms. CUNNINGHAM [continuing]. Quickly learn the regulations and
how to assure that they are working in their programs. Each of us
has had to figure it out for ourselves. And if there were a system
of supports for management and administration of Head Start programs, I think that would be a path that would yield greater benefits than one of seeking out what regulations could be changed or
dismissed.
Chairman CASTLE. That has the ring of a sound suggestion. You
know, we do have the various regional agencies and that kind of
thing, so hopefully we could do it.
Let me close this down, unfortunately rather rapidly, because we
have to run and vote. Let me thank all of you very much for being
here. Because we didnt quite have a chance to do all the questioning we would like to do, we may have some follow-up questions.
I know in particular I have some questions for Dr. Daeschner. Well
get in touch with you by mail if thats the case.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00052
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
49
But, again, I wanted to thank you all very much for being here.
As you know, were working on this legislation. Hopefully, well
have a piece of legislation that will benefit all the kids in the country.
But thank you very much.
Ms. MAINSTER. Thank you.
Chairman CASTLE. We stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:53 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
[Additional material submitted for the record follows:]
Statement of Charles R. Field MD, MPH, FAAP, Mary Kaye McKinney and
Patricia A. Price, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Department of Pediatrics Head Start Program, Pulaski County, AR, Submitted
for the Record
Since 1998, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), a teaching
university, has had the opportunity to administer the Head Start program in Pulaski County, Arkansas. The UAMS Department of Pediatrics became the grantee
for the Pulaski County Head Start program in November of that year and today enrolls approximately 1000 Head Start and Early Head Start children and serves the
interests of many more in the community.
The primary purpose of the national Head Start and Early Head Start programsto increase the school readiness of low-income childrenis a perfect match
for the three missions of UAMS: to teach, to search, and to serve. UAMS accomplishes both by offering more than the traditional Head Start services. The UAMS
Head Start program is highly successful at helping our students prepare for school.
Attached is graphical information about the success our program has had in educating students and preparing them for elementary school. We are very proud of our
accomplishments in this area.
We are pleased today, however, to tell you about two areas of services we provide
which set us apart from others in the Head Start community. Because of our education mission, we endeavor to promote educational opportunities beyond our students and because we are a medical education institution, we use our Head Start
program to promote the health of our students, families, and community.
Educating the Community. In addition to educating children, the UAMS Head
Start program provides educational opportunities to many others. The program provides service-learning opportunities to students enrolled in the UAMS Colleges of
Nursing, Medicine, Health Related Professions and Public Health. These graduate
level students work with our Head Start children and as a result gain valuable experience in dealing with children. Their involvement provides hands on experience
and prepares them for the challenges they may face in their medical practice. We
also provide tuition discounts to help our Head Start employees (and their family
members) continue their education at UAMS affiliated higher education institutions.
Ensuring a Health Community. The thing that truly sets the Head Start program
at UAMS apart from others is our commitment to using the Head Start program
to promote the health and welfare of our community. Children enrolled in our program and their parents have access to health, nutrition, dental and mental health
services from UAMS and other sources. The services, provided by our students and
faculty, range from basic medical screening services to consultations with medical
specialists.
Since its inception, UAMS has provided free medical services to hundreds of students and families. UAMS staff has performed more than 100 health care screenings
on students without access to primary care; 719 children without dental insurance
have received dental checkups from UAMS dentists; and more than 100 children
have been referred to UAMS physicians for comprehensive specialty pediatric services. In all these cases, the services provided would not have otherwise been available to the students because of gaps in, or lack of, health insurance. Two recent
cases provide concrete examples of the success UAMS has had in promoting health
among students:
A Head Start mother with a substance abuse problem sought assistance from
Head Start personnel. The UAMS Head Start personnel referred the mother to
the UAMS Arkansas Center on Addiction Research Education and Service
(CARES). The mother continues to receive treatment and job skills training as
a result of the referral. Most importantly, the services were provided without
separation from her family and her preschool children continued to receive inte-
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00053
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
50
grated early childhood education including therapy services to deal with the
mothers addiction.
Just last month, Head Start personnel noted a four-year old student with balance difficulty and a propensity to drool. Medical personnel on site at the Head
Start facility monitored the student and reviewed her medical records. Based
on these observations the student was referred to UAMS medical specialists.
UAMS specialists discovered a brain tumor. The child is now undergoing treatment by UAMS Neurosurgeons and Pediatric Specialists.
Head Start students and families also participate in research programs conducted
by UAMS. Students and families receive health care services and the information
derived through the research helps UAMS find ways to improve the condition of the
students, families, and the community. For example, UAMS Head Start has participated in the following research initiatives:
Asthma ProjectAn initiative, funded by the Agency for Health Care Research
and Quality, to find better outcomes for children with Asthma. UAMS researchers showed children with Asthma proved better outcomes for children with
Asthma using the Head Start program by educating parents and staff on Asthma.
Obesity ProjectThe UAMS Department of Clinical Nutrition provides interns
twice a year to compile data on the height, weight and body mass index profile
of the UAMS Head Start Children. UAMS uses this information to chart childhood obesity and researchers utilize the data to educate parents and the public
on ways to address childhood obesity. Information compiled by UAMS supported
statewide efforts to develop comprehensive nutritional programs and an educational/physical curriculum to help reduce obesity in our children.
Health Screening DataUAMS medical professionals use information derived
through the health screenings provided to Head Start students and families to
better understand and promote child development.
We are very proud of the accomplishments of the children, their parents and our
staff in our Head Start program. As the attached information shows, we have had
a great deal of success in educating our students and preparing them for elementary
school. But in addition to educating the students, the integration between our Head
Start program and the facilities and personnel of UAMS allow us to offer services
and accomplish things for our students and families, that sets us apart. We know
the UAMS Head Start program is laying a foundation for a better tomorrow for
thousands of families in the state.
[Attachments to this statement follow:]
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00054
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00055
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.005
51
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6602
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
20629.006
52
53
Statement of Matthew E. Melmed, J.D., Executive Director, Zero to Three
Policy Center, Washington, DC, Submitted for the Record
Chairman Castle and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to submit the following testimony on the reauthorization of Head
Start on behalf of ZERO TO THREE. I am Matthew Melmed, Executive Director
of ZERO TO THREE. ZERO TO THREE is a national non-profit organization that
has worked to advance the healthy development of Americas babies and toddlers
for over twenty-five years. I would like to start by thanking the Subcommittee for
all of their work to ensure that our nations at-risk infants and toddlers have access
to positive early learning experiences.
We know from the science of early childhood development that infancy and
toddlerhood are times of intense intellectual engagement.1 During this timea remarkable 36 monthsthe brain undergoes its most dramatic development, and children acquire the ability to think, speak, learn, and reason. All babies and toddlers
need positive early learning experiences to foster their intellectual, social, and emotional development and to lay the foundation for later school success. Babies and
toddlers living in high-risk environments need additional supports to promote their
healthy growth and development. Disparities in childrens cognitive and social abilities become evident well before they enter Head Start or PreKindergarten programs at age four. Early Head Start was created to help minimize these disparities
and ensure that children enter school ready to learn.
The Success of Early Head Start
The Congressionally mandated National Evaluation of Early Head Starta rigorous, large-scale, random-assignment evaluationconcluded that Early Head Start
is making a positive difference in areas associated with childrens success in school,
family self-sufficiency, and parental support of child development. What is most
compelling about the Early Head Start data is that they reflect a broad set of indicators, all of which show positive impactpatterns of impacts varied in meaningful
ways for different subgroups of families. The reauthorization provides an opportunity to focus on what can be done to achieve even greater impacts for infants, toddlers and families in Early Head Start. Highlights of the study include:
Intellectual, Social and Emotional Development
Early Head Start Moves Children Further Along the Path that Could Lead to
Greater School Readiness if the Early Head Start Gains are Maintained By
GoodQuality Preschool Programs. Early Head Start produced statistically significant, positive impacts on standardized measures of childrens cognitive and
language development.2 A smaller percentage of Early Head Start children
(27.3 percent versus 32.0 percent) scored in the at-risk range of developmental
functioning (although still below the mean of national norms). By keeping children from entering the lowest-functioning group, Early Head Start may be reducing the risk of later poor cognitive, language, and school outcomes.3
Early Head Start Children Had MorePositive Interactions With Their Parents
than control group children. Positive and secure parent-child relationships may
reduce a young childs fear in novel or challenging situations and enable the
child to explore with confidence.4
Early Head Start Children Were More Attentive To Objects During Play than
control group children. Play is important because being attentive to and engaged in play activities is how children begin to learn important cognitive and
social skills needed for later school and life success.
Parenting and Families
Early Head Start Parents Were More Involved and Provided More Support for
Learning. Early Head Start programs have significant favorable impacts on a
range of parenting outcomes. Early Head Start parents were observed to be
more emotionally supportive and less detached than control-group parents.
They also provided significantly more support for language and learning than
control-group parents.
Early Head Start Helped Parents Move Toward SelfSufficiency. Early Head
Start significantly facilitated parents progress toward self-sufficiency. Although
there were not significant increases in income, there was increased parental
participation in education and job-training activities.
Early Head Start Programs Had A Substantial Impact on African American
Families and A Notable Impact on Hispanic Families. Early Head Start programs were especially effective in improving child development and parenting
outcomes of African American children and parents. The Early Head Start pro-
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
54
grams also had a favorable pattern of impacts on Hispanic children and parents.
Early Head Start Had Positive Impact for Parents at Risk of Depression. Early
Head Start parents who had been at risk for depression when they enrolled in
the program reported significantly less depression than control-group parents
reported when their child reached age three. Early Head Start also demonstrated a favorable pattern of impact on childrens social-emotional development and parenting outcomes among these families.
Early Head Start Had Favorable Impact on ChildFather Interactions. Early
Head Start significantly improved how fathers interacted and related to their
children. Early Head Start children were observed to be more able to engage
their fathers and to be more attentive during play than control group children.
Early Head Start fathers were observed to be less intrusive in interacting with
their children than control group fathers. The emotional quality of the fatherchild relationship appears to be extremely important to childrens adjustment
and well-being.5
Early Head Start Participation resulted in Fewer Subsequent Births. Early
Head Start low-income mothers were less likely to have subsequent births within the two years following enrollment in Early Head Start.
Children Served by Early Head Start
Early Head Start began with 68 new programs in 1995. Now more than 700 programs serve over 71,000 low-income families with infants and toddlers. However, we
know that Early Head Start could benefit many more at-risk children. Currently,
only 5 percent of the children eligible for Early Head Start are served. Thousands
of eligible children nationwide remain on waiting lists. And waiting lists can be significant. For example, one program has reported a waiting list of over 400 children
for only 92 slots. A program in Wheeling, West Virginia reports that they have a
waiting list of 216 children for 48 slots. And a program in Asheville, North Carolina
reports that they receive phone calls on a daily basis from desperate parents needing a quality early education program. The program rarely has vacancies and has
a waiting list of over 100 children for only 40 slots. In short, by every measure of
capacity, we clearly must do more to serve eligible babies and their families, delivering the proven benefits of Early Head Start to those who are in greatest need.
There are very few high quality alternatives for at-risk babies. Child care for this
population is abysmal and there is not much going on in states. Early Head Start
has really become a Beacon of Hope for at risk infants, toddlers and their families
Funding
Currently, 10 percent of the overall Head Start budget is used to serve 71,000
low-income families with infants and toddlers through Early Head Startonly 5
percent of all eligible children. We strongly encourage the Subcommittee to increase
the Early Head Start portion of the program to 20 percent of the overall Head Start
budget. Additional funds will enable us to protect and continue to build on the firm
foundation that currently exists and to ensure that more eligible babies and families
are able to benefit from the services of Early Head Start.
The Head Start Program Performance Standards
Key to Early Head Starts success is its emphasis on the implementation of the
Head Start Program Performance Standardsresearch from the National Evaluation of Early Head Start demonstrates that programs that fully implement the Performance Standards early on have a greater impact on child and family outcomes
than those that do not.6 This finding indicates that the success of the program is
largely dependent on the preservation of these performance standards. The first set
of Head Start Performance Standards, published more than 20 years ago, focused
only on the provision of services to preschool children. The revised Standards cover
the provision of services for pregnant women and children from birth to five years
of age. We urge the Subcommittee to protect the Performance Standards as they are
key to Early Head Starts success.
The Performance Standards ensure that Early Head Start programs pay close attention to the unique needs of infants and toddlers by: supporting responsive, consistent, nurturing caregiving; promoting social and emotional growth, physical development, and sensory and motor development; and encouraging language development. The Performance Standards pay particular attention to the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers by focusing on their relationship with
their teachers and ensuring that center-based and home-based teachers are consistent and nurturing, well-trained, and that they understand the childs family culture. The Performance Standards are different for infants and toddlers. Examples
include:
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
55
A Higher Ratio Requirement: Agencies must ensure that each teacher that
works exclusively with infants and toddlers in a center-based setting has responsibility for no more than four infants and toddlers and that no more than
eight infants and toddlers are placed in a group. This ratio is maintained until
Early Head Start children are 36 months. For programs serving 3, 4 and 5-year
old children, the ratio requirements are quite different. Each Head Start class
must be staffed by a teacher and an aide or two teachers. Three year-olds have
an average of 1517 children per class, with no more than 17 children enrolled
in any class. 4 and 5 year-olds have a class average of 1720 children, with no
more than 20 children enrolled per class.
More Staff Intensive: Early Head Start program staff working with infants and
toddlers who are counted in the ratio must be qualified as an infant/toddler
teacher which means that the individual must have a minimum of a CDA credential for Infant and Toddler Caregivers or an equivalent credential at the
time of hire or within one year of hire. Thus, the teachers aide concept that
is so common in Head Start preschool programs has no currency in EHS. Unlike
Head Start teachers, EHS teachers must also have knowledge of infant and toddler development, safety issues in infant and toddler care, and methods for communicating effectively with infants and toddlers, their parents, and other staff
members.
Special Nutritional Requirements: Staff and families must work together to
identify each childs nutritional needs. For infants and toddlers, current feeding
schedules and amounts and types of food provided, including whether breast
milk or formula and baby food is used, meal patterns, new foods introduced,
food intolerances and preferences; voiding patterns; and observations related to
developmental changes in feeding and nutrition. In addition, infants and toddlers who need it must be fed on demand. Head Start children do not have
these special nutritional requirements. The Performance Standards do note that
the feeding experiences for preschoolers should occur at scheduled times, and
be flexible enough to deal with the individual needs of children.
Services to Pregnant Women Enrolled in Early Head Start: Early Head Start
grantees must assist pregnant women to access comprehensive prenatal and
postpartum care through referralsimmediately after enrollment in the program. This care must include: early and continuing risk assessments which include an assessment of nutritional status as well as nutrition counseling and
food assistance; health promotion and treatment including medical and dental
examinations on a schedule deemed appropriate by the attending health care
providers as early in the pregnancy as possible; and mental health interventions
and follow-up including substance abuse prevention and treatment services as
needed. Requirements for services to pregnant women do not apply for Head
Start as only Early Head Start serves pregnant women.
Training and Technical Assistance
From the beginning, Early Head Starts implementation was assisted by a dedicated national and regional training and technical assistance network with specialized knowledge of the needs of infants, toddlers and their families. Given the recent
changes in the overall Head Start training and technical assistance system, the
small size of the Early Head Start program, and the positive child and family outcomes that the program is yielding, we are concerned about the maintenance of the
national and regional Early Head Start training and technical assistance system. In
order to sustain the positive outcomes generated by the program, Early Head Start
programs and staff need to continue to receive the ongoing training opportunities
and technical assistance from organizations with specialized expertise relating to infants, toddlers and families and the demonstrated capacity needed to provide direction and support to the national and regional training and technical assistance system.
Early Head Starts Comprehensive Approach
Research demonstrates that comprehensive services, such as education, health
and family support services have a positive impact on Early Head Start families.
We urge the Subcommittee to protect Early Head Starts comprehensive approach
to serving children and families. Comprehensive services include:
Education: In providing services to infants and toddlers, Early Head Start programs must support the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development of each child. Early Head Start programs are to encourage the development of secure relationships for infants and toddlers by having a limited
number of consistent teachers over an extended period of time and are to encourage responsiveness to infants individual cues and developmental changes.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00059
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
56
Teachers in both center-based and home-based settings should understand the
childs family culture and speak the childs language whenever possible. Staff
must support the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers by
promoting an environment that will encourage the development of self awareness, autonomy, and self expression and support the emerging communication
skills of infants and toddlers by providing daily opportunities for each child to
interact with others and to express him/herself freely. Staff must also support
the physical development of infants and toddlers by supporting the development
of physical skills of infants and toddlers including motor skills such as grasping,
pulling, crawling, walking and climbing and creating opportunities for fine
motor development that encourage control and coordination of small specialized
motions using the eyes, mouth, hands and feet. Ongoing assessment of each
childs skills and behaviors plays a key role in developing a curriculum that is
age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and tailored to meet his or her specific
needs. As previously mentioned, the National Evaluation found that Early Head
Start produced statistically significant, positive impacts on standardized measures of childrens cognitive and language development.7
Family Support: Early Head Start programs are required to involve families in
every aspect of the program and provide them with added services, such as
adult education and employment training. Programs are to work with families
to set goals for themselves and their children and should ensure families access
to community resources and services. Programs use community partnerships as
a key vehicle for increasing families access to quality child care, prenatal services, housing, employment, and maternal and child health care. The National
Evaluation found that Early Head Start helped parents move toward self-sufficiency. Early Head Start significantly facilitated parents progress toward selfsufficiency. Although there were not significant increases in income, there was
increased parental participation in education and job-training activities.
Health: Early Head Start provides comprehensive health services to infants,
toddlers and families through prevention and the early identification of health
and developmental concerns, and through links to community health services.
Early Head Start programs provide health and developmental screenings when
children enroll and periodically throughout childrens participation in the program. If a health or developmental concern is identified that indicates a disability or other developmental delay, children are promptly referred to local
Part C programs for further evaluation and if eligible, early intervention services are provided. The National Evaluation found that few effects on family
health emerged due to very few overall differences between program and control
groups in the receipt of health servicesnearly all program and control group
families reported receiving basic health services.8
Conclusion
During the first three years of life, children rapidly develop foundational capabilitiescognitive, social and emotionalon which subsequent development builds.
These years are even more important for at-risk infants and toddlers. Early Head
Start can serve as a protective buffer against the multiple adverse influences that
may hinder their development in all domains.
We know based on research from the National Evaluation that Early Head Start
is working! Key to the programs success is its emphasis on the implementation of
the Head Start Program Performance Standards, which ensure the highest quality
care for babies and families and its comprehensive approach to serving children and
families. We must protect and continue to build on the firm foundation that currently exists and ensure that our nations at-risk babies are able to enter school
ready to learn.
Endnotes
1 Shonkoff J., and Phillips, D. (Eds.) (2000). National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
(2002). Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families: The Impacts of Early Head Start. Washington, DC.
3 Ibid
4 Shonkoff J., and Phillips, D. (Eds.) (2000). National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
5 Ibid
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00060
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
57
ZERO TO THREE Policy Center (2003). The national evaluation of Early Head
Start: Early Head Start works. Washington, DC: Author.
(2001). Building Their Futures: How Early Head Start Programs are Enhancing the Lives of
Infants and Toddlers in LowIncome Families, Summary Report. Washington, DC.
Statement of Dr. Tim Nolan, Director, Head Start Program, Waukesha

County, WI, Submitted for the Record
Chairman Castle, Congresswoman Woolsey and distinguished members of the
committee, I thank you for inviting my testimony regarding exemplary Head Start
programs. It has been my honor to serve as the director of the Head Start program
in Waukesha County, Wisconsin since 1968. I have also served during this period
as executive director of our agency, operating as Child and Family Centers of Excellence which provides Head Start, Early Head Start, full day child care services and
a variety of other services for children and families in our community. I am also
executive director of the newly created Early Childhood Excellence Network with
members from across the U.S. As president of Innovative Outcomes, Inc. since 1973,
I have been a consultant to organizations on issues of organizational effectiveness,
strategic planning and transformational change. I am the author or co-author of 34
books on these and related topics. It is upon this diverse and rich background that
I draw as I approach the topic of exemplary Head Start programs. I believe that
excellent Head Start programs are an untapped asset that can be used to help make
every Head Start the best that it can be.
Every Head Start Grantee is Expected to Meet High Minimum Standards:
The Head Start Performance Standards are the highest minimum standards in
the field of early childhood development. These standards are comprehensive in nature and reflect the need to deal with a child across all of his or her developmental
dimensions. All agencies are expected to meet or exceed these minimum standards.
Meeting the Performance Standards does NOT equate to excellence.
Exemplary Head Start Agencies:
Exemplary Head Start agencies see the Performance Standards for what they
areminimum standards of performance. For agencies pursuing excellence in their
operations, the Performance Standards are a foundation, and a reminder of all the
dimensions necessary to achieve success. Exemplary agencies dont work to meet
minimums, they work to shape the standard of excellence through constant innovation.
Excellent Head Start agencies surpass the minimum standards in measurable
ways, and are innovative in ways that help to shape the field itself and to improve
the performance of others. Excellent agencies have staff members who write books,
act as community leaders, train others and provide support and technical assistance
to others.
We at Child and Family Centers of Excellence see ourselves as a direct services,
demonstration, information services organization. We are the largest publisher of
professional development materials for Head Start other than the federal government itself. As a point of reference, when I relate our experience as an agency,
please keep in mind that what we are accomplishing is done with the same level
of Head Start funding as other agenciesour federal investment per child is approximately at the national average. We are proud to say that our administrative
costs are below the allowable level of 15%, and are closer to 10%. Finally, the staffing levels, degree levels of staff and other variables that we discuss have been our
pattern for many years, with a constant effort to extend and upgrade quality seeking to reach excellence in all that we do. We are never satisfied. Our organizational
culture is focused on always being able to affirmatively answer the question Is this
the best we can do for this child or family?
Human Resource and Human Resource Development
The key assets of a Head Start program are its human resources. Exemplary
Head Start grantees recognize this and focus inordinate efforts at recruiting, developing and retaining the top quality people available to do this work, which is the
most demanding early childhood developmental work one can be asked to do, due
to the depth of problems and challenges that enrolled families are experiencing. Excellent agencies have every staff member adhere to a constant professional development effort.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00061
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
58
At Child and Family Centers of Excellence, our human resource development
(HRD) program is headed up by an associate director who holds a masters degree.
As executive director, one of my two masters degrees is also in human resource development, since I take a special interest in this aspect of our work. We not only
focus on maximizing the quality of our own staff, but provide training and technical
assistance to other early childhood and family service organizations on these issues,
both inside and outside of our target area. We are partners with both Viterbo University and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Our work as a Governors
Center of Early Childhood Excellence makes us a training and technical assistance
resource to other Head Start and early childhood programs. We operate a leadership
institute in Missouri and are in the tenth year of providing an early childhood leadership laboratory in Colorado.
Teachers
While the Head Start Performance Standards specify a minimum of associate degrees for classroom teachers, exemplary Head Start programs are more likely to
have bachelors degreed teachers, in many cases certified or licensed for early childhood.
All of the teachers at Child and Family Centers of Excellence, Inc., have bachelors degrees and are certified in early childhood education with two years of additional training that we provide. Our teachers, who bear the title Child and Family
Specialists, receive training in real world child development, learning to apply
their skills in real early childhood settings with children with relatively deep needs.
Their training further includes achieving a family services credential (9 graduate
credits) to prepare them to serve as the primary family service resource to parents,
making referrals where the needs surpass their capabilities. They also receive training as supervisors since every lead person in a preschool classroom supervises other
adults, both employees and volunteers. Few colleges prepare even degreed teachers
for this work as a supervisor. Finally, woven into their child and family specialist
training process is an ongoing series of personal growth experiences to ensure that
they are prepared to handle the rigors of working in our complex, demanding environment. They are provided support from internal mental health service personnel
to support their own mental health while working with demanding child and family
needs. Other early childhood staff members working under the direction of our Child
and Family Specialists are hired with as much background and formal training as
possible. While they may even hold associate or bachelors degrees when they join
us, they are immediately placed into a developmental track to move their skills forward to meet current and future needs of this agency.
Family Service Personnel
While the Performance Standards are very light in specifying academic standards
for family services staff, excellent Head Start agencies develop their own high standards. Excellent agencies seek degreed individuals and tend to seek a variety of backgrounds as they build a diverse interdependent family services team.
In our agency, this program is lead by an individual with a masters degree and
years of experience in working with young children and their families. The Child
and Family Specialists working here are all carefully selected for their mix of skills
and training. 90% have college degrees. All are given family service credential training. Our senior staff are approved by our university partners to deliver this training
for credit.
Administrators
Excellent agencies seek the most highly qualified individuals for management and
place them into an ongoing professional developmental program.
Our agency management team has a high degree of stability, with 106 years of
experience with this agency among the top four senior administrators. These four
individuals hold a total of nine degreesfour bachelors, four masters and a doctorate among them, all relevant to their work. In addition, we have four others currently working on masters degrees. Our administrators lead from out front, doing
whatever needs to be done, working at those things that will make the biggest difference for the children and families, reducing their pay first when dollars are tight.
Excellence is About Having Higher Expectations Throughout. . .Think About a Kaleidoscope
Excellence in Head Start is looking at how to improveto do a better jobto better respond to the needs of the children and families we serve. One can best think
of excellence using a kaleidoscope as a frame of reference. When one turns a kaleidoscope, the eye is treated to one beautiful picture followed by yet another beautiful
picture. This is the case as you explore the top performing agencies in Head Start.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
59
They do NOT fit a single mold, but express their excellence in a variety of ways.
Their excellence is defined by their vision of what the ideal program must do to best
serve the childrento get the best possible outcomes for their work.
Using our agency as a further example, here are a few of the dimensions that I
would pull to express this:
Our child nutrition program was very good, certainly the best in our target area.
Yet as childhood obesity and incredibly poor eating patterns in young children have
become a more critical national problem, we were not satisfied that our food services
program met and exceeded the Head Start Performance Standards or the USDA
Child Nutrition Standards. We went out and recruited a chef. We hired a young chef
with over a decade of experience in the top restaurants in Milwaukee to lead our
food program, to develop the most healthy yet economical food program possible
with low fat stocks made in our own world class kitchen and flavor that doesnt
come only from fat and salt. As a center of excellence, what we learn will be shared
with other Head Start and early childhood through providing training, training materials and a handbook for child nutrition. And we are doing this at the same dollar
cost as any other agency.
Our health services program was very good, but we knew it could be better. We
added a second part-time RN to our staff to ensure strong parent support on health
issues and more horsepower to seeking health services for our enrolled children and
their families. We deepened our partnership with the County Health Department
by letting them offer a community health clinic at our site once per month. We deepened our already deep level of mental health services by developing a contract with
the Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin. Not only does this give us on-site support of
a child psychologist on a regularly scheduled basis, a requirement for Head Start,
but it provides ready access to the largest array of child mental and medical health
services in Wisconsin. Weve had a long term relationship with Lutheran Social
Services, which is the largest human services private provider in our state, and is
the birth through 3 provider in our county. Due to our prominence in the community, they purchased land next to our new world class facility in order to create a
showcase intergenerational program in partnership with us. A fringe benefit to this
deepened partnership is the fact that their full staff, including mental health professionals and a full array of child services specialistsdozens of skilled child specialistswill be housed on our expanding campus, a huge benefit to our staff and parents.
Our community partnerships have been very good and are deepening. Two of our
staff over the years have been president of the Waukesha County Human Services
Council. We have created a loosely organized group, Partners in Community Service, that arrays itself as the needs evolve in our community. Due to our outreach
capabilities with low income families in our community, other early childhood family
service organizations seek us out. We are a strong referral source to others seeking
to meet the needs of low income families.
Since Wisconsin was the national poster child for rapid welfare reform nationally, we were forced to create new approaches to recruiting and enrolling the neediest young children in our countywho suddenly were very difficult to find and identifywe went from 1,670 families on AFDC to 14 families on full public assistance
in less than 24 months! Through our leadership into the wonderful world of marketing, we not only achieve full enrollment each year, but have a waiting list of
nearly 100 children. Excellent programs adapt. Finding 350 eligible children in a
sea of 350,000 relatively affluent citizens of our county is not easy, but excellent
programs adapt and succeed tied to fulfilling their vision for themselves. We wrote
a handbook on the topic and have trained hundreds in how marketing can assist
the transformational change necessary in recruitment and retention of eligible children.
Weve always served a somewhat diverse population of families even though our
target area is low in full ethnic diversity. As the Hispanic population has grown,
we have adapted. Weve recruited top quality Spanish speaking staff. We also are
committed to the notion that not only is language important, but so is culture. Our
staff members who were recruited to serve our expanding Hispanic clientele are not
only bilingual but bi-cultural. As we found these rare and talented staff members,
including one individual who holds a masters degree in psychology, weve found
that more families see us as a welcoming place for them to bring their precious and
so needy young children. It is our countys experience with hire them and they will
come !
Financial controls are a hallmark of a truly excellent Head Start agency. When
one is trying to do as much as possible with very limited financial resources, careful
stewardship of dollars is absolutely critical. We have a proud track record of 38
years of absolutely clean audits. As age impacts us, one of our senior staff, our chief
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
60
financial officer, nears retirement, closing out her 35 years with this agency. We
went out and recruited a new finance person with a bachelors degree in business
and an accounting major. The transition spanned nearly 18 months of orderly development. The discussion upon hiring this new finance person has been will she pursue her CPA or her MBA first ? Assuming that she spends the next decade or two
with us, a fair expectation given our track record, she will achieve both.
Curriculum, what it is that we do with young children and their families to
achieve the targeted outcomes that identify success, is critical to excellence. There
is no published curriculum that fully meets the shifting needs of those we serve,
so, of course, we developed our own, formalizing it nearly 20 years ago. It is a curriculum based on achieving outcomes, which has been its hallmark since its inception, long before outcomes became the national discussion. Our Child Development
Profile has always been outcomes achievement based, and undergoes a periodic review by our highly trained and educated staff to determine what is working best
in our efforts to prepare children for public school and life. We work hard to have
a knowledge building organization, learning constantly from our practices, a form
of action research which is most relevant to practitioners.
We are partners with each of the school districts from whose area we recruit Head
Start children. The depth of partnership varies with both the number of children
we feed into their district and the relationships that have been developed over time.
The most potent partnerships function best at the levels closest to child service delivery. These relationships, formed on behalf of an individual child and family, are
most effective and most removed from the politics of systems. We continue to explore common ground with one of our prime school districts which is exploring going
into 4-year-old kindergarten because it is profitable. Those closest to the children
are clear that quality services that will really make a difference in the life of a
young child at risk are major investments, and that the profit that a district might
experience can come only at the cost of accepting mediocrity and shortfall.
Excellence is about people and about vision, but it is greatly enhanced by providing the stage for people to express their very best. Facilities are a key to creating
this platform from which excellence can take flight. We have created the ideal early
childhood facility. Child development spaces are designed to fully support the efforts
of the incredibly talented corps of child and family specialists. Every classroom is
seamlessly connected with an outdoor area since many of our young children have
little access to play areas in their lives away from us. We have a world class kitchen
so that the food services staff can create wonderful, nutritious meals. We have professional training space so that we might constantly develop our own staff and provide the training and professional development so needed by other child and family
service people from our target area, our state and our region. Our facilities subtly
serve four critically important goals:
A. Recruitment and retention of the children and families that we seek to serve.
B. Recruitment and retention of the staff that are the key to our success. Our
staff members come to us and stay with us for much of their careers because
we treat them with professionalism and respect. This starts with providing
them with the tools for excellence. It involves creating a culture of excellence.
C. Positioning us as a leader in the community. By creating a welcoming environment, we have community partners seeking us out. We transmit the professionalism that leads to being treated with respect. The payoff is increasingly
impactful services for the children and families that we serve.
D. Attracting families who are not low income or at high risk. By being able to
achieve a full socioeconomic mix of families served, we achieve much more
progress with children who are served by Head Start. We have offered full day
services year around since we were created in 1966, not because regulations
required it, but because our families needed it.
State Efforts. . .The Governors Center for Early Childhood Excellence
Our state, under the administration of Gov. Tommy Thompson, decided to invest
in excellence for our youngest children. The result was a program entitled The Governors Centers for Early Childhood Excellence. An effort to explore how to achieve
excellence in early childhood services, in a world of mediocrity in early childhood
programs was about learning more about how to define excellence, to move good
agencies toward excellence, to make investments and to research the results. As in
any good investment, there was an immediate commitment to research, in this case
by the University of Wisconsin. The findings? Deeper investments result in better
quality programs and better qualified staff.
Child and Family Centers of Excellence competed for such a grant and were
pleased to be selected. Given our high level of internal service delivery quality,
where some Governors Excellence Centers grantees directed most of their resources
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
61
to internal quality improvement (while meeting the requirement of investing 25%
of the grant each year into training other early childhood program staff and parents), we directed over 65% to training others. We have leveraged this state investment into a number of highly creative, impactful professional development experiences and have helped others improve their quality of service to children and families.
Excellence is About Shaping the Future. . .One Child and One Family at a Time
Excellence is about making a difference in the lives of young children and their
families. It is about removing barriers to success for the young child that is served
directly. It is about helping parents learn how to support the learning of their child,
even when their own school experiences may not have been wonderful. It is about
capacity building in families so that they can succeed long after they leave their
early childhood program.
Early Childhood Excellence CANNOT flourish without involving parents. We believe that the success of Head Start is about the creation of what we have labeled
as Compassionate Partnerships between Head Start staff and the parents of enrolled children on behalf of the young child. When this partnership gets established,
trust follows. With this trust, open honest communication occurs and the parents
ability to support learning at home goes up. Parents may choose to work on their
own lives and thus improve the environment in which they are raising their child.
When we partner with them, we help them identify resources which facilitate overcoming the barriers to success in their lives and the lives of their children.
One key belief that we have is that any program which seeks to make a difference
in the lives of young children, especially those with high risk factors, MUST seek
to involve the parent in meaningful ways. We are passionate advocates for this as
schools seek to serve younger and younger children. Parent support is a key to success!
We would ask that Congress provide high expectations surrounding any program
that you fund that the parent be an important part of the work with young children.
Excellence is About Shaping the Future. . .One Organization at a Time
Excellence is about shaping the environment as well as adapting to the changes
in it. Excellent Head Start agencies provide leaders to other organizations and associations. They lead early childhood associations. They provide leadership in community efforts. They challenge others to be the best that they can be. They encourage
excellence in others by their model, their voice and their sharing.
At Child and Family Centers of Excellence, Inc. a number of us have taken leadership roles in groups and associations. My own dual commitment not only to Head
Start but to all early childhood programs in our state began nearly a third of a century ago, when I was elected the first president of the Wisconsin Early Childhood
Association (WECA), which would become the state affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). We sit on the Boards of R&Rs,
Technical College early childhood programs and others.
Weve provided ongoing strategic planning consultation services for WECA, the
Wisconsin Head Start Association, The Registry, the Milwaukee R&R, and another
27 associations across the U.S. Over 450 Head Start programs nationwide have used
our strategic planning materials and model. We help others develop their passionate
vision of their ideal future and work to make that future a reality for children, parents and staff.
Unique But Not Alone
We are unique but we are not alone, across the United States there are agencies
like ours and unlike ours. They are like us in that they are driven by the passion
of a vision of excellence. They accept nothing as being good enough if a better solution might break through to a higher quality of service to children and families,
achieving better outcomes. They are like us because they reach out to community
partners, to child development professionals, to family service workers to help them
improve. They are like us because their locus of control is on achieving their own
super demanding standards, not on meeting someone elses minimums.
They are not like us in that their approach to the future is different. Their look
through their kaleidoscope is shaped by the needs of the children and families they
serve, and is shaped by the resources present, and the resources absent in their
community. Their vision has power because it is their vision.
Excellence in all of Head Start Should Be Our Aspiration
One of the opportunities that Head Start Reauthorization offers is to focus not
only on remediating or replacing poorly performing agencies, but on building on the
strengths of our best agencies. We must recognize and reward those who excel. We
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
62
should develop a monitoring system that gives grades of A and B as well as C,
D and F. We must require regional offices of ACF to ensure the improvement of all
Head Start grantees with which they have been entrusted. As was done in last
years Senate bill, we should make an investment in having the best among the
Head Start grantees contribute to the improvement of other Head Start programs,
early childhood programs and public schools serving young children. Excellence is
a virus we want everyone to catch!
The opportunity for excellence is ours. We ask that Congress join with us to use
our nations excellent Head Start programs as an asset to help all Head Start programs become the best that they can be.
Statement of Ann Pagliaro, Executive Director, Head Start of Eastern
Orange County, Newburgh, NY, Submitted for the Record
On behalf of the children, families, and staff of Head Start of Eastern Orange
County, I am extremely pleased to be able to submit this testimony about our efforts
at becoming a model Head Start program. We are a relatively new grantee, now in
our third year of providing high quality services to children and families here in
Newburgh, NY. Currently we serve 227 children and families, in a range of different
program options, including some full-day, full-year services. We have a wonderful
school building and office space, purchased in part with federal funds, well-qualified
teachers (all of our lead teachers have at least a bachelors degree), and caring staff.
Our program is fully enrolled, with a long waitlist, and our child outcome and family outcome data shows children and families make incredible progress through their
participation in Head Start. We have an active and engaged board of directors and
policy council, both of whom help ensure we provide high quality services to children
and families.
Our path to this point has been a long and winding one. Just five years ago, most
of our current staff was part of a larger agency that had not filed an audit in several
years, and where the executive leadership was unable to clearly account for all Head
Start funds. At the program level, our staff did the best possible job they could considering the circumstances, but we labored in poor facilities, often without the funds
we needed to fully equip and outfit the classrooms. Through the federal review process, the previous agency was identified as deficient, and, under extreme pressure,
voted to relinquish the Head Start grant for Newburgh.
In that dark moment our new agency was born. The programmatic leadership
staff, parents, and community leaders created Head Start of Eastern Orange County
to submit the required Head Start RFP to become the replacement grantee. We
formed new partnerships, worked closely with the community, recruited a diversely
talented board and were eventually awarded the grant. In short order, we were able
negotiate a lease for a beautiful new facility that actually provided much better
classrooms for less cost than we were previously paying. We brought in certified
trainers to help us implement our research-based curriculum, and we went about
installing and using a child information system and on-line child outcome tracking
system so we could electronically manage all aspects of our program. We were able
to expand our programming to offer summer and after-school services for eligible
families for the first time.
As important as these programming changes have been, we are most proud of the
cultural change we have created throughout our new agency. We have succeeded in
building a culture focused on performance, feedback, and continuous improvement.
All staff has clear performance indicators in their job descriptions, are regularly
evaluated, and are compensated based on their success. Staff also has many opportunities to give management feedback, in terms of upward evaluations of their supervisor, and ideas for how we can improve every aspect of our program. Each year,
we develop a Balanced Score Card for our program identifying clear targets for improving the quality of services delivered. We work incredibly hard to track all information in our child and family database, and then use this data, in the classroom,
with family advocates, and with staff, to help us make important and informed program decisions.
One example of our use of data and focus on management has been home reading
by parents. This past year, based on our Head Start self-assessment and child outcomes data, we identified increasing reading at home as a key goal for the year.
We set the goal of working with families to ensure at least 50% read nightly with
their children and another 30% read at least weekly. We then devised a system to
monitor this information on our family information database. Our monthly Manage
By Information report shows that we have now met our goal for night and weekly
reading. Best of all, our Spring child outcome data shows the results of our work:
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00066
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6621
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON
63
reading was the item that showed one of the largest gains from the Fall, with more
than a 20% increase. In short, our focus on management, patterning with parents,
and using data to make decisions, has led to higher quality services, and, ultimately, changed lives.
One key way we have been able to reach our goals is through a partnership we
formed from the first days of our new agency with Acelero Learning. Acelero provides on-site coaching and feedback, technology and tools, and network support for
all our managers and leaders. Our Acelero partner is an experienced manager and
has led our efforts at implementing a child information and child outcome system,
helped devise our performance evaluation system, and helps all our managers develop as effective leaders. Each of our coordinators knows their individual content
area, where they have worked for years. Acelero has built on that capacity by helping us all develop our skills as effective managers that use data to make decisions
and work to build a culture of feedback and performance improvement. Our partnership works because it is intensive, focused and on going. The work of managing a
Head Start program never takes a break, and neither does our partnership with
Acelero. As partners, we have worked through all of the challenges that we have
faced on a daily and weekly basis. I know we would not be where we are today with
out them.
Our entire program believes deeply in the comprehensive nature of the Head
Start program and its power to change lives. We have seen the power of the Head
Start performance standards as a guide and beacon for providing high quality services. We have seen them work in practice, every day, in Newburgh. That is why it
is so difficult for us to have 100 children and families on a waitlist, and more who
are interested, who we cannot serve. To that end, any effort to make more funds
available to programs that have a waitlist, and are providing high quality services,
would be appreciated. I assure you, these funds would be used, immediately, to help
more children and families get a Head Start on school, and in life. Thank you.
VerDate 0ct 09 2002
11:01 Jul 20, 2005
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00067
Fmt 6633
Sfmt 6011
H:\DOCS\20629
EDU1
PsN: NNIXON

House Hearing, 109TH Congress - The Best of Head Start: Learning From Model Programs

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

House Hearing, 109TH Congress - The Best of Head Start: Learning From Model Programs

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

THE BEST OF HEAD START:

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM

April 14, 2005

Serial No. 109-7

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

George Miller, California

Paula Nowakowski, Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION REFORM

Lynn C. Woolsey, California

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

Hearing held on April 14, 2005 2003 .....................................................................

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

THE BEST OF HEAD START: LEARNING FROM

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:32 a.m., in

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

Ms. WOOLSEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I, too, appreciate

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Ms. Woolsey. And we do have a

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

[Attachments to Dr. Daeschners statement follow:]

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

Chairman CASTLE. Thank you, Dr. Daeschner. We appreciate

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

Mr. MARKER. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, Im

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

VerDate 0ct 09 2002

11:01 Jul 20, 2005

Chairman CASTLE. Good morning. Thank you very much, Mr.