Posted by Julie Stone on September 30, 2011 under News | 
OHSAI October Meeting
Thursday, October 13, 2011, 9:00am to 3:30pm
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, October 5th.
(Health/Disabilites/Education and Social Services Advisory Boards will meet Wednesday, October 12th)
This special one day meeting will provide participants a unique opportunity for agency teams to consider their role and the role of Head Start in providing a firm foundation for young children and their education within the context of our current culture and environment and the challenges and opportunities that face us. Afternoon Roundtable sessions will examine content specific issues and continue dialogue and networking opportunities.
The following sessions have been approved for SUTQ Specialized Training:
EARLY HEAD START ROUNDTABLE: Explore Ohio’s New Infant & Toddler Field Guide, Holly Schiebe, Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association
EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE: Promoting Young Children’s Vocabulary Growth with DAP and Intentional Teaching, Deborah Mickey, Early Literacy Specialist, SST Region 13 / Hamilton County ESC
Posted by Julie Stone on September 15, 2011 under News |
Article by Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, Director of the Office of Head Start, posted September 14, 2011 on Huff Post Education
It takes a lot more than the ABC’s and a working knowledge of colors to get ready for kindergarten. As 1 million low-income children head to Head Start programs across the country this month — we know that providing them and their families with a broad range of services will give them their best possible chance at success in school. That’s why, in 49,000 classrooms across the country, Head Start teachers and staff are not only providing critical education services, but also dental, nutritional, mental health and other services to the children and their families.
The children who attend Head Start come from families and communities facing enormous economic and social challenges. Head Start serves the highest need populations, including children who are in the child welfare system, are homeless, are just learning English, and who have disabilities. Often, families who faced barriers to critically needed services in other settings get access to the services they need through Head Start.
While we know through extensive research that Head Start helps prepare our most vulnerable children for kindergarten, we also know that we can do better. We want to ensure that more children benefit from quality Head Start programs, and that those benefits continue through their school years. That is why the Office of Head Start has launched a reform agenda that is bold, innovative, and built on the best evidence available. This reform is designed to ensure that all Head Start children are ready for success in kindergarten and that all Head Start programs are high quality and well managed.
We have sent a strong message to Head Start programs and the entire early education community that the bar for quality has been raised. If a program is not delivering the high-quality educational experience our children deserve, and if there is a more capable, better qualified entity to run Head Start in a community, we owe it to our kids to shift funding to the more capable entity. While we are holding programs more accountable for higher quality services, we are also providing them with additional training and technical assistance through our National Centers.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Julie Stone on September 13, 2011 under News |
In August the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education released the application and guidance for Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grants. Ohio has the opportunity to access $70 million over the next four years to advance high quality and comprehensive early childhood systems and services. This is a unique opportunity for states to strategically leverage this federal investment into practices and policies that can narrow the achievement gap for all children, but particularly those considered “high need” and participating in state or federally funded programs (including but not limited to preschools in district operated programs, for profit and non-profit center based child care, family child care programs, early intervention, home visiting, head start/early head start, etc). The executive summary and full application can be found at the U.S. Department of Education website at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/index.html.
Since the release of the final guidance the Governor’s Office, in partnership with state agencies and the Ohio Business Roundtable, has been leading the effort to develop the vision and priorities for the grant. The Ohio Department of Education will serve as the lead agency for the application. We expect that whether Ohio’s grant application is funded or not, this planning process will clearly define the outcomes and strategies that the Kasich Administration intends to focus on in the future.
The planning team, along with the Early Childhood Advisory Council, is interested in obtaining your thoughts and ideas about how to make Ohio’s reform agenda as successful as possible. Based on the guidance in the grant, please provide input via the on-line survey by following the link below or to the left.
The deadline for responses is September 16, 2011. If you are willing to be contacted for any follow-up, please be sure to complete the contact information fields.
Early Learning Challenge Grant Survey
Posted by Julie Stone on September 2, 2011 under News |
OHSAI October Meeting
Thursday, October 13, 2011, 9:00am to 3:30pm
Embassy Suites, 5100 Upper Metro Place, Dublin, OH 43017 (note location change)
(Health/Disabilites/Education and Social Services Advisory Boards will meet Wednesday, October 12th)
This special one day meeting will provide participants a unique opportunity to consider their role and the role of Head Start in providing a firm foundation for young children and their education within the context of our current culture and environment and the challenges and opportunities that face us. Afternoon Roundtable sessions will examine content specific issues and continue dialogue and networking opportunities.
Click here to access hotel reservation site.
