Head Start Family Engagement
The YCOE Early Childhood Education Department has been very successful with the Family Partnership process which is now aligned with the Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework. We administer the Family Engagement Survey each year to identify family strengths, goals, and areas in need of additional support.
In establishing goals during each program year, our families prioritized the areas of Family Engagement in Transitions, Family Well-Being, Families as Learners, Positive Parent-Child Relationships, and Families as Lifelong Educators.Families are also provided with opportunities to participate in the program’s planning process and ongoing operations. The YCOE Early Childhood Education programs are committed to an open-door policy. We support and encourage families to become involved in the programs. Family participation is viewed as an essential component in the shared collaboration of program operations.
Five areas of family participation include:
- Active participation as a classroom volunteer.
- Participation in activities specially designed for family education.
- Participation in the parent committee meetings.
- Representation on the Policy Council/Parent Advisory Council and Health Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) to provide input regarding decisions about the program’s services and operations.
Family Rights
- To be welcomed at all activities;
- To be treated with respect and dignity;
- To participate in a non-discriminatory program that values and promotes cultural differences;
- To have the opportunity to actively participate in my child’s development;
- To have my child participate in a program that provides a safe & nurturing environment in which to grow;
- To be informed about my child’s progress;
- To help develop and implement adult education, activities, and programs;
- To be informed about community resources concerning health, nutrition, and improvement of family life;
- To have the opportunity to learn and participate in employment opportunities;
- To take part in program design, decision-making, and implementation of policies for the program.
As part of our Family Engagement component, YCOE’s Head Start/Early Head Start Program offers numerous literacy events each year including parent workshops, the Raising a Reader program that bridges literacy from school to home environments, and Lending Library visits during monthly parent meetings during which parents can check out educational toys and/or books. We were also thrilled at the success of our Dr. Seuss Day, during which community dignitaries are invited to our Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms to read to our children. YCOE participates annually in Dr. Seuss Day in conjunction with the National Education Association’s “Read Across America Day”, an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of the famed children’s author Dr. Seuss.
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