We will celebrate 2015 as Head Start’s 50th year of creating opportunities for children and families, staff, volunteers and our communities. Did you know that 99 Head Start of Lane County (HSOLC) employees are current or past Head Start parents? That’s about 32 percent of our staff, which is the national average of HS parents working in Head Start programs.
We look forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary on March 13 at our spring All Staff. We will also have a community celebration this summer.
As 2014 comes to a close, I would like to reflect on changes that have taken place within our program since the summer and look at the political/social landscape that will influence us through 2015.
Future Funding: State Funding
Oregon faced a significant loss for early education last week when it learned it was not one of the 18 states awarded a federal Race to the Top preschool Development Grant. The 18 successful state grantees will have the opportunity to expand preschool to 4-year-olds from low and moderate income families and serve as national models for high quality state preschool expansion. This grant opportunity would have meant $60 million over four years to fund high-quality preschool for an additional 1,365 income-eligible children.
There is proposed funding ($30 million) in the Governor’s proposed budget for the development of a mixed-delivery preschool program that would add pre-K slots to Oregon Prekindergarten (OPK)/Head Start, and to school, home, community and center based pre-K. With this state investment HUBS will play a critical role in developing a preschool expansion plan for their communities in partnership with community based programs, schools and OPK/Head Start.
Full day kindergarten will be implemented state-wide in September 2015. We celebrate that Head Start students will move into a 25 hour a week program. Head Start leadership has been meeting with School Districts to build working relationships to ensure that transition from Head Start to kindergarten will be successful.
Federal
Details are slowly emerging about the funding level for Head Start and Early Head Start for the remainder of fiscal year 2015. As you know, we have been operating under a continuing resolution since October 1; the Federal budget passed December 15.
Head Start/Early Head Start were able to maintain the increased achieved in fiscal year 2014 – the funding level for basic operations remains the same, including the modest increase we received to help centers cope with the continuous rise in the cost of running high-quality programs. We have also been able to maintain funding for the Early Head Start expansion and childcare Partnership grants. We will circulate more specifics as they become available.
Program
HSOLC currently serves 1050 Head Start preschoolers and 70 Early Head Start families including Maternal Infant & Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) slots.
Teachers continue to learn the new TSgold online assessment system. This system requires a skill set different from what was needed for Galileo. I hear that next year it should be easier.
We opened a new classroom at Clear Lake Elementary for 36 Head Start students. New flooring was installed and a playground plan is in place with construction taking place early 2015.
The Marines listened during the September All Staff at the Armory. They were so impressed by the Head Start mission they volunteered to help us construct the playground at the Brattain Early Learning Center.
A fence to create safe boundaries for the Whiteaker Head Start students was installed in January. We appreciate the continuous efforts of the Facility Department to keep centers in great condition.
Watch for two brand new buses on the road in January. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to replace two high-mileage buses! The Transportation Department is using a new software program to support efficient routes and better communications with drivers and bus monitors.
The IT Department is in the process of replacing all of our servers to continue to provide excellent high speed internet and support to all of us.
Human Resources, with the new Director, Tim Rochholz on board, has been busy, busy, busy! Fifty-eight new employees, including 27 substitutes have been hired and trained this program year.
Negotiations included language and monetary issues. We ended with:
~ A one percent cost of living allowance (COLA) and a half step increase for 2014-2015;
~ Teachers with six or more continuous years of agency employment receiving an additional one percent increase, and
~ The agency paying $558.31, up from $529 towards employee health insurance.
As we continue the task of licensing all of our centers, as required by the Early Learning Division, the Oregon Register Online (ORO) process of documenting 15 hours of training, annually for all teachers has added a new data and documentation component to Human Resources.
Head Start children and families have been receiving excellent services. Each day, you all create environments, facilitate problem solving and brighten spirits with your smiles and kind words. The healthy food children receive nourishes the body and soul. Parents feel more competent as they learn from staff and participate in developing goals for their child and family.
Every one of you makes a difference in the lives of children. Thank you for making our community a kinder, more compassionate place to live!
Peace in the New Year!
Annie Soto
Executive Director
