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OHS Announces Update to Designation Renewal System

Starting October 27, 2020, a new rule governing the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS) will go into effect. The Office of Head Start (OHS) states that the new rule will reduce the burden on high-performing grantees and focus on better identifying the lowest-performing grantees. The Designation Renewal System was first launched in late 2011,…

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New York Times: Recompetition is Helping to Increase Head Start Quality

The New York Times recently published a story called “Cleaner Classrooms and Rising Scores: With Tighter Oversight, Head Start Shows Gains,” in which it reports that Head Start has seen gains in program quality across the board “more than a decade after Congress imposed new standards” that required “a third of its partners… to compete…

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Lessons We’ve Learned from Recompetition, and NHSA’s Suggestions for Improvement

Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of the National Head Start Association (NHSA), recently penned a blog for The Huffington Post’s Education section, called “Head Start Designation Renewal System 2.0.” In it, Vinci discusses some of the lessons we’ve learned after three rounds of designation renewal, and talks about NHSA’s recommendations for improving the system. The entire…

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Preliminary Awardees Announced for Head Start Designation Renewal

The Office of Head Start announced the preliminary winners of the first round of recompetition. 125 agencies were originally selected in the first round of designation renewal back in December 2011. Of those, 80 will continue to receive federal funding, 25 will be replaced by new programs, and 14 will see their grants split up…

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