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Enhancing Safe Practices in Your Head Start Program

In September 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG), released the following report: ACF Should Improve Oversight of Head Start to Better Protect Children’s Safety. In this 40-page report, the Inspector General found that nearly one in four Head Start grantees received an adverse finding from the Administration…

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Head Start’s Commitment to School Readiness

It’s that time of year again. Like baby birds leaving the nest, approximately 320,000 Head Start preschoolers will fly away to start the next chapter in their young lives. As Head Start teachers and administrators, we can’t help but ask, “Are they ready?” “Did we do everything we could to prepare them?” “Is the school…

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What is Head Start’s New “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging” Initiative?

Mel Gravely, M.S. and Dr. Desiree Del-Zio, Ed.D, researched the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEI&B) initiative and monitored hundreds of program practices meant to achieve the D.E.I.&B federal expectations. The Gravely Group is now offering a day-long, in-depth and immersive learning experience to understand these federal expectations better. In this training, Head Start leaders…

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The Gravely Group 2022 Year in Review

If you only read one of The Gravely Group’s blogs each year, our annual Year in Review should be it. Each year, we do a recap of all the articles we put out throughout the year, as well as give a few other highlights from our trainings and travels. After nearly three years of uncertainty,…

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What are the Focus Area One and Focus Area Two Monitoring Reviews?

The Head Start Act section 641A outlines that the Secretary of Health and Human Services is responsible for promoting a comprehensive federal monitoring and oversight system. The system must assess program compliance with regulations applicable to Head Start programs. These regulations include regulatory requirements documented in the Head Start Program Performance Standards, the Head Start…

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Supporting the Mental Health of Head Start Staff

Earlier this past summer, the National Head Start Association (NHSA) announced a new initiative for supporting the mental health of the staff within its member programs. In a press release at the time, NHSA explained that the initiative is meant to address the “unique set of difficult and challenging stressors” that Head Start staff face.…

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