Management/Staff

Office of Head Start (OHS) recently announced an update which will delay compliance requirements for background checks and the Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) until September 30, 2019. Under the initial rule, programs were required to comply by September 2017, which was delayed until September 2018. The summary from the updated rule reads: “The…

We’ve reached the ninth and final installment of our blog series on the nine Relationship-Based Competencies, Foundation for Professional Growth. We hope you’ve enjoyed the series and learned a little bit too! (Click here to read all our blogs in the series ») Maintain Professionalism Professional growth is something that everyone should work towards continuously…

The eighth relationship-based competency in our blog series is Data-Driven Services and Continuous Improvement. Every Head Start and Early Head Start program should be collecting and analyzing data on a regular basis to find new solutions to challenges as part of an ongoing effort to continuously improve services for the community that they are working…

We’ve reached #7 in our series about the nine Head Start Relationship-Based Competencies: Coordinated, Integrated, Comprehensive Services. Assembling a Team Putting together a comprehensive service team for the families we work with is very important to their success in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Every person that works with the families should have…

This is the second blog post in our series about the nine relationship-based competencies. Read our first blog here: Positive, Goal-Oriented Relationships. As professionals working in Head Start and Early Head Start programs we get the opportunity to meet families that have very diverse backgrounds and come from different cultures. Building productive relationships with families…

For the first blog in our series about relationship-based competencies, we’re going to discuss positive, goal-oriented relationships. Creating positive relationships with the families that we serve is a key point in assisting them to become self-sufficient. From our first interaction with families to the last, the relationships that we build will stay with them for…

Over the next couple months, we will be doing a blog series on the nine Head Start Relationship-Based Competencies, focusing on a different competency each week. But before we can dive in on each individual competency, we’d first like to define the overall structure and purpose of the relationship-based competencies, and why they’re important for…

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs and executives have attributed their career success to strong bonds they shared with encouraging and inspiring teachers from their youth. A new study by NYU researcher Dr. Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng provides evidence that teachers have weak relationships with students of color and children of immigrants. The author further suggests…

“His face is blowing up!” “Call 911! There’s tons of blood!” “She’s fainting!” These situations are every early childhood director’s nightmare. Head Start staff, however, is prepared for this possibility. Medical emergencies can happen because of injuries, chronic health conditions, or unexpected major illness. No matter how bad the injury, keeping a clear head can…

A child with health problems, whether oral, mental or nutrition concerns, will have difficulty learning. That’s why it’s up to us, Head Start staff, to provide the high-quality health services, that will help each child grow. According to section 1302.40 (a) of Head Start Performance Standards: “A program must provide high-quality health, oral health, mental…