Posts Tagged ‘covid-19’
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.…
Read MoreThe Gravely Group 2021 Year in Review
We’ll be honest. If you had asked us during our last Year in Review blog if we’d still be talking about COVID-19 affecting our day to day lives, we’d have said, “I sure hope not!” In December 2020 when we were writing it, the vaccines had just become available for those at highest risk and…
Read MoreHow to Recruit Head Start Staff During a Labor Shortage
Early childhood education programs across the country face unprecedented shortages in staff, a problem that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The child care industry employment rate is down more than 10 percent from pre-pandemic levels and child care staff hiring has become more challenging than ever, as the Office of Head Start (OHS)…
Read MoreHead Start Announces ‘Head Start Forward’ Campaign to Help Programs Get Back to Full In-Person Enrollment
This past June, we wrote a blog outlining Head Start’s expectations for programs in the 2021-2022 school year. In it, we explained how the Office of Head Start (OHS) is expecting all programs to work towards full in-person enrollment for this program year. We explained that while OHS had originally supported virtual and remote services…
Read MoreHow to Hire a Head Start Consultant: An Update for the Post-COVID era
Way back in 2013, we wrote a blog called “How to Hire a Head Start Consultant.” In it, we outlined some of the major reasons your program might consider hiring an outside consultant, including filling gaps in expertise amongst your staff, as well as the benefit of an outsider without preconceived notions that can help…
Read MorePutting together a COVID-19 vaccine policy for your Head Start program
As of the writing of this blog, approximately 44% of Americans 18 and over have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with one of the three approved vaccines, with an additional 20% say they plan on getting it soon. So what about the other 30-40%? For the past few weeks, vaccine rates have been slowing down.…
Read MoreAmerican Rescue Plan to Provide Additional Support for Head Start Programs, Families
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) was signed into law early last month by President Joe Biden, and will provide direct support and greater access to benefits for children and families struggling financially during the pandemic. Out of the $1.9 trillion passed through legislation, $1 billion will go to Head Start and Early Head Start programs…
Read MoreIs your ERSEA strategy ready for post-COVID?
Whether we like it or not, some parents will always consider Head Start free babysitting. We can educate parents on the history of Head Start, talk about its focus on the whole child, and espouse its many other benefits. But no matter what, there will always be some parents who are just looking for an…
Read MoreHow Head Start is Serving Essential Farmworkers during the Pandemic and Beyond
The Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Resilience Center is a program under the umbrella of the Atlantic Council, a international affairs think tank. The program focuses on issues of climate change, migration and security. In December, it published an article titled “Migration Matters: Serving Essential Farmworkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” They write that migrant farmworker communities across the…
Read MoreInterruptions in Early Education Can Affect Development and School Readiness
Although many of us will luckily never experience the symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, many more of us will bear the burden of its ancillary effects. Because of staff and student cut-backs, schools closing completely, lack of access to materials for remote learning, and the flaws in remote learning, children and teenagers of all ages…
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