| Celebrating 7 Years of Opportunity | Achieving Excellence Awards | Vision 2020 | Research Developments | Early Learning Coalition | FAQ's |
HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION SIGNED BY PRESIDENT!
Celebrating Seven Years of Opportunity
On December 12, 2007 President Bush signed the Head Start Reauthorization bill which assures Head Start's reauthorization for the next five years. The Act possesess new challenges for Head Start and Early Head Start programs, but most importantly it's enactment signals a time for celebration in the Head Start community.
At the WHSA Winter Quarterly held in January, Dr. Tim Nolan, Executive Director of the National Centers for Learning Excellence, Inc., delivered "Seven Years of Opportunity to Excel--The Charge to Head Start Leaders and the Charge to WHSA" to the general assembly. Dr. Nolan stressed the importance of embracing the new challenges presented by Reauthorization.
To thrive over the coming years Head Start MUST:
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Provide leadership to the early childhood quality movement nationally and within each state,
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Deepen the strengths of each Head Start agency, and
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Achieve the changes that come from Head Start Reauthorization.
You can view Dr. Nolan's presentation and its accompanying powerpoint using the following link:
Seven Years of Opportunity to Excel
UPDATES: Since the taping of the presentation, the Office of Head Start revealed that Head Start's .15% funding cut (10.6 million) would be absorbed at the Federal level and NOT passed on to local programs. Additionally, OHS has provided guidance regarding the enrollment of children from families at 100-130% of the federal poverty income guideline in Information Memorandum HS-08-03. You can keep abreast of Head Start Reauthorization questions and answers at the ACF Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC).
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WHSA Parent Affiliate "Providing Opportunities for Parents" (POP) Scholarship Winners
ANNE KOLASCH - Rock-Walworth Comprehensive Family Services
Anne will attend classes this fall at Blackhawk Technical College where she will purse an Associates Degree in Nursing. Upon completion, Anne hopes to work as a Registered Nurse. Anne has worked for as an Emergency Medical Technician for 10 years and has been a Certified Nursing Assistant for 17 years. Anne’s “enthusiastic and diligent” involvement in her community also includes volunteer work caring for the elderly, leadership activities at her church, and six years of volunteer service at Head Start. It is clear that Anne’s commitment to helping others will be an asset to her nursing career! In the photo, Anne is showcasing her job as an EMT and providing safety and first aid information to kids at CFS Head Start during “Everyday Heroes.”
LINDA FREMOUW - CESA 11
Linda is working towards an Associates Degree in Health and Information Technology at Chippewa Valley Technical College in order to enter the medical records field. She has provided exemplary service to her local Head Start program as a Policy Council Representative, Parent Connection Secretary, and peer role-model. Linda also volunteers with the Boy Scouts and Special Olympics and is a leader for Brownie Girl Scouts and 4-H Cloverbuds. She is dedicated to furthering her own education and providing for her family.
WHSA Staff Affiliate Scholarship Winners
SHARON SCHMIDT - John Erickson Scholarship
UW-Oshkosh Head Start
Sharon is a Home Visitor/Teacher for 3-5 year olds. Her colleagues praise her professionalism, positive attitude, and great capacity to dedicate herself to the families with which she works—“whatever their need or goals.” Sharon will pursue a B.A. in Early Education at UW-Oshkosh and would like to continue her work with Head Start as an strong advocate for children and families, as she is devoted to helping others achieve their goals.
DEBRA CHRISTENSEN - "Corky" Mikus Scholarship
Rock-Walworth Comprehensive Family Services
Debra is a past Head Start parent and current Assistant Teacher. She would like to earn her B.A. in Early Childhood Special Education and become a Lead Teacher in a Head Start classroom. This fall, Debra will attend UW-Whitewater where she can foster her commitment to Professional Development, her “willingness to explore ideas for creating solutions” and her ability to eagerly take on challenges. Beyond her dedication to Head Start, Debra enhances her community through her involvement with PTA and Cub Scouts.
SUE LARSON - Joyce Wilcox Scholarship
UW-Oshkosh
Sue has been a Head Start Driver for 11 years and is a past Head Start parent. Her commitment to, passion for, and understanding of Head Start makes Sue the “go-to” person for her program. She has a keen ability to “relate to people in many different ways on many different levels.” This fall, Sue is attending the University of Phoenix in order to obtain a B.A. in Human Relations. Eventually, she would like to become a Head Start Center Director or Family Specialist.
SHARON
SANDERSON - Staff Affiliate ScholarshipIndianhead Community Action Agency
Sharon is the Ladysmith Center Head Start Manager. Her co-workers characterize her as a “natural teacher” who passionately believes and sees the good in people. Sharon’s attitude makes her a strong motivator in her Head Start and local communities, where she works as and Indianhead Technical College Instructor and is an active member of Boards and Councils. Sharon will go to UW-River Falls to work towards a Master’s in Science Education in Professional Development.
Community Partners Awards
Blair-Taylor Early Learning Center
Nominated by Western Dairyland EOC, Inc. Head Start Program
John Hart, Photographer, Watertown Daily Times
Nominated by Jefferson County/CESA #2 Head Start Program
Carrie Stempski, RDH
Nominated by the Green Bay Area Public Schools Head Start Program
To view a list of past Community, State, and Legislative Achieving Excellence Award recipients, [please click here.
VISION 2020: Campaign to End Child Poverty
A Perfect Vision for Wisconsin
For many of us, Wisconsin
provides a great environment in which to live and build healthy
families. Unfortunately, not all of our state's families share in
this economic prosperity. Poverty is the leading obstacle to
opportunity and in 2005 over 179,000 Wisconsin children lived below the
poverty line. That's a group of kids larger than the populations
of Green Bay and Appleton combined facing what are often insurmountable
barriers to successful futures. Clearly, we have ample room
to improve our commitments to children living in poverty and to
their unfulfilled futures. The Vision 2020 campaign, a
collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Head Start Association
(WHSA), the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF), and the
Wisconsin
Community Action Program Association (WISCAP), seeks to eliminate child poverty in Wisconsin by the year 2020.
We believe all families deserve living wages, safe and healthy communities in which to live and grow, and access to affordable and quality healthcare and education. It is necessary to meet these needs if we expect to provide healthy futures for Wisconsin kids, families, and communities. With the Vision 2020 campaign we aim to:
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increase awareness of child poverty and its adverse impacts on our communities;
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discuss, develop, and implement practical policy solutions that address root causes of child poverty in Wisconsin;
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encourage individuals, organizations, communities, and policymakers to take action to eliminate child poverty;
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and convince policymakers to make the eradication of child poverty their top legislative priority.
We hope you share our excitement about this visionary yet practical approach to ending child poverty in Wisconsin and that you will join with us as we embark on this new initiative! To learn more about Vision 2020, read the Vision 2020 Report Card: Moving All Wisconsin Families Forward, or to get involved, please visit our website at www.2020wi.org. We urge you to begin your commitment to end child poverty by filling out the Vision 2020 Pledge Card. We are all part of this campaign. Help us create solutions that will ensure that no one in Wisconsin is denied a healthy economic future.
The Vision 2020 Powerpoint from this year's Women and Poverty Conference is available for your viewing here. It will introduce you to the Campaign, demonstrate the need for a comprehensive Vision, address why YOU should care, and provide policy recommendations to make the elimination of child poverty a reality!
Vision 2020 in the News
"The Rise of Poverty and Opportunity," a July 2007 publication of the Center of Law and Social Policy (CLASP), lists Vision 2020 in its update on developing state and local poverty actions. Please click on the link to read the entire publication, "The Rise of Poverty and Opportunity."
"The Benefits and Cost of Head Start," a recent article by Jens Ludwig (U. of Chicago) and Deborah Phillips (Georgetown) published in the Society for Research in Child Development's Social Policy Report (2007 v. XXI, no. 3), examines the effectiveness of Head Start programs using benefit-cost analysis. The article aims to answer whether or not Head Start programs produce both short and long-term benefits in excess of their costs, making the paper especially relevant given pending Head Start Reauthorization. Ludwig and Phillips conclude that, yes, "there is an accumulating body of suggestive evidence that Head Start is capable of generating long-term benefits and passes a benefit-cost test" (p.16). According to the authors, the next step is to continue research seeking to determine where further investment in early childhood education and care should be made. The issue is not if investments should be made, but rather "how, how much, and how soon" (17) to invest.
To read the article in PDF, click on the link: "The Benefits and Costs of Head Start."
The Public Policy Forum, a Milwaukee-based organization seeking to "promote sound and innovative policy solutions," has initiated a project that aims "to establish the costs and benefits of high quality early childhood education in southeast Wisconsin." As part of the initiative, the Forum has created a comprehensive matrix of existing research on early childhood education. The matrix allows for easy comparison of findings on individual and societal benefits arising from early education. Generally, the existing research shows a connection between higher quality early childhood programs and long-term benefits including:
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improved school readiness
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improved social skills
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higher IQ scores
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higher standardized test scores
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decreased crime and delinquency
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and greater earning capacity.
To view the matrix of existing research, click on the link: "Research on Early Childhood Education Outcomes."
Wisconsin Early Learning Coalition
Stand Together for Quality Early Care and Education
Disability Rights Wisconsin · Milwaukee Child Care Alliance · Supporting Families Together Association · Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health · Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association · Wisconsin Council on Children and Families · Wisconsin Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Early Childhood · Wisconsin Early Childhood Association · Wisconsin Education Association Council · Wisconsin Family Child Care Association · Wisconsin Head Start Association
The members of the Early Learning Coalition (a broad-based and diverse alliance representing child care, Head Start, programs serving children with disabilities and special needs, and public schools) believe that high quality learning experiences are important for Wisconsin kids, parents, communities, and economies.
Our Ready, Set, Grow: Early Learning Matters statewide campaign seeks to promote public policies and public investments that make high quality early care and education a top priority in Wisconsin. Together, we collaborate on a legislative agenda and encourage our constituents to get involved in order to move this agenda through state government to affect positive change for children, families, and our profession. To learn more about the campaign and to get involved, please visit our website at http://www.readysetgrowwi.org/.
Early Learning Coalition 2009-11
Proposed Policy Agenda
1. GREAT START QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Wisconsin would
launch a bold new statewide initiative to ensure that children through age 5
have access to high quality early learning opportunities. The centerpiece of
the initiative would be a Great Start grant program that provides resources
directly to programs and parents to improve nurturing and early learning for
children.
2. WISCONSIN SHARES: GREAT START FOR CHILDREN AT RISK
The Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program would provide fiscal
incentives to improve the quality of child care received by children of
low-income working families. These children from low-income families are
precisely the children that research tells us are most at risk for school
failure.
3. ESTABLISH GREAT START EARLY LEARNING COUNCIL
Wisconsin would establish a state-level Great Start Early Learning Council
to examine ways to improve educational opportunities for children through
age 5. The Council would review data and trends in early care and education,
identify needs, coordinate policies across agencies, examine efficient use
of resources, and plan for a system of high quality services available to
families and their children.
4. TIE CHILD CARE TAX DEDUCTION TO QUALITY
Wisconsin’s child care tax deduction would be doubled when parents use a
high quality child care setting for children through age 5. For those who
have insufficient income to receive the tax deduction, a tax credit would be
available. The concept is to use the tax system to encourage parents to
place their children in higher quality child care settings.
Who should I contact to find out about:
the STATE SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT?
Jill Haglund, Early Childhood Consultant
Department of Public Instruction (DPI)
125 S. Webster St.
P.O. Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841
(p) 608-267-9625
(f) 608-267-3746
CHILD CARE LICENSING?
Anne Carmody, Child Care Program Specialist
Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS)
Division of Children & Family Services, Bureau of Regulation & Licensing (BRL)
1 W. Wilson St.
P.O. Box 8916
Madison, WI 53708-8916
(p) 608-266-9314
(f) 608-267-7252
the REGIONAL OFFICE?
William Sullivan, Region V (MN and WI) Team Administrator
(p) 312-886-4917
Where can I find information about Head Start:
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS and other REGULATIONS?
Note: As of March 25, 2008, Policy Clarifications are categorized as either "requirement" or "informal guidance."
"Requirement" is where an individual requests clarification of the meaning of requirements that exist in statute or regulation. Answers to all questions in this category will contain one or more statutory/regulatory citation(s) below the narrative under the statement "Requirement". "Requirements" may or may not allow for some discretion on the part of the grantee, however, compliance with the "requirement" is a condition to receive Head Start grant funds.
"Informal Guidance" is where an individual requests clarification concerning a particular issue not addressed in statute or regulation. Answers to questions in this category provide informal Office of Head Start guidance to the individual making the request. These answers are not binding and do not require any specific course of action be followed. Grantees have full discretion in this category. Answers to questions in this category will not contain statutory/regulatory citation(s) below the narrative.
Contact Us:
Wisconsin Head Start Association
122 E. Olin Avenue, Suite 110 · Madison, WI 53713
Phone: 608-442-6879 · Fax: 608-442-442-7672