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Wisconsin’s Head Start Collaboration Office

Wisconsin’s Head Start Collaboration Office (HSCO) is housed at the state Department of Public Instruction in its Division of Early Care and Education.  Ms. Linda Leonhart (contact information below) is Wisconsin’s HSCO Director.

In order to support the development of Head Start participation in multi-agency, public/private partnerships to benefit low-income children and families at the state and local levels the Wisconsin Head Start Collaboration Office and its partners broadly work to:

  • Build early childhood systems and widen access to comprehensive services and support for all low-income children;
  • Encourage widespread collaboration between Head Start and other appropriate programs, services, and initiatives;
  • Strengthen Head Start’s capacity to be a partner in State initiatives on behalf of children and their families;
  • Create partnerships agreements and initiatives between Head Start and state programs or agencies to benefit children and families; and,
  • Facilitate Head Start involvement in state policies, plans, processes, and decisions which affect the Head Start population and other low-income families.
Over the next five-year period, the Wisconsin HSCO will focus on the following four priorities:
  1. Developing collaborations with Institutions of Higher Education to promote professional development and acquisition of higher education credentials for Head Start and Early Head Start teachers through traditional and non-traditional programs to educate and credential the early childhood workforce in our state.  Higher education programs will include career lattices that take into account a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce.
  2. Improving Head Start’s coordination with state and local school entities to foster seamless transition of children and continuity of services between Head Start and elementary schools in order to better integrate Head Start into a continuum of services that will positively impact the school readiness and long term success of Head Start children.
  3. Promoting interoperability between the Head Start data system(s) and those of state preschool and K-12 systems that include the assignment of unique State Assigned Student Identifiers (SASIDs) that remain with students through their preK-12 public education, so that Head Start participants can be included in state data collection efforts, longitudinal studies, and tracking systems that demonstrate sustainable educational outcomes.
  4. Ensuring the Head Start program performance standards are included in YoungStar (Wisconsin’s childcare quality rating and improvement system or QRIS) standards to support state system building efforts and eliminate duplicative and burdensome requirements.

For more information about the HSCO and its activities, please contact:

Linda Leonhart
Head Start Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Director, Wisconsin Head Start Collaboration Office
125 South Webster Street, 4th Floor
Madison, WI 57707-7841

linda.leonhart@dpi.wi.gov
Phone:  608-261-2137
Fax:         608-266-1965