HEAD START PROGRAM FOCUSING ON

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Chautauqua County Head Start, a program of Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. has recently implemented the concept of Workforce Development with the children of the program. By exposing the children firsthand to possible career paths, the Head Start Staff believe that children are becoming educated as to what they future may have to offer them in terms of a career. Head Start is promoting knowledge about the world of work by exploring and promoting future success in the workplace.

The Head Start Program is currently following the “High / Scope” curriculum. This particular curriculum works well with the workforce development philosophy for two specific reasons. The first being that with this curriculum, children’s play is seen as their “work”. Early childhood educators have been stating for years that children learn many concepts through everyday play. The teaching staff of Head Start believe in this concept and have learned to be key observers of children’s play. Through these observations, the classroom staff follow what the children’s interests are and what skills each child possesses. Secondly, this curriculum works well with the workforce development concept because the children are considered “decision makers”. One aspect of the curriculum is the “plan, do, review” process. During this time, children plan what they want to do for the day, or in essence, where they would like to play and what they would hope to do there. After the “plan” is in place, the children go off and do their “plan”. This part of the day is called work time. This allows children to carry out their desired plan. A large portion of the day is set aside for the children to get very involved in the plan. Once the work time has ended, the children review or recall what they did. It is during that time children are required to reflect on their goal for the day and whether or not it was attained. This process helps children to organize events that have occurred, manage their time on projects, and understand choice and consequence. Children learn to become good decision makers only when they are given the opportunity to make decisions. The curriculum of the Head Start program fosters this concept.

 “As educators, it is our responsibility to instill in young children the need to further their education whenever possible, to provide job readiness skills, model appropriate social skills, teach proper hygiene, and stress literacy so that children will become contributing members of the community”, stated Debbie Hasson, Head Start Teacher.

Head Start also invites parents and community members to come in and discuss careers or just spend time with the children. The opportunities for community members to visit the program and talk about their jobs are endless. This open door policy permits exposure to various career opportunities and the children enjoy having their family member become part of their classroom. Children are also given the opportunity to meet people who provide services within our community such as firefighters, police officers, medical professionals, etc.

For more information regarding the Head Start program please call 366-5661 in the Dunkirk area or 483-5779 in the Jamestown area, or visit the Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. website at www.chautauquaopportunities.com.

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