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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY
HEAD START IMPLEMENTS FEDERAL CHILD OUTCOME STANDARDS
Head Start is a comprehensive child development program
that encompasses all aspects of a child’s development. Chautauqua County
Head Start, a program of Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc., locally serves 490
low income children and families 0-5. This year, the program has implemented
the tracking of performance indicators for 400 children ages 3-5 enrolled in
Head Start. This measurement of data is result of the reauthorization of the
Head Start Act by Congress, which included mandating of several measures of
quality and performance, including child outcomes.
The child outcome mandate includes a continued focus on the
whole child, including social competence and school readiness. Information
collected includes all aspects of development and learning, including
physical, emotional, social, cognitive and language, in order to provide an
overall picture of the child from when he or she entered the program to the
culmination of their Head Start experience. The Federal Head Start Performance
Standards (regulations that a Head Start program must implement to provide
quality services to the children and families), provide a sound foundation for
achieving positive child outcomes.
The Head Start Child Outcomes Framework is a guide which
programs will use in implementing the child outcomes. The framework is based
on the performance standards and is presented as a form of building blocks
that are important for school success.
A Head Start student learns
to use a computer.
Data is gathered on children’s progress in 8 general
domains of learning which include; Language Development, Literacy, Mathematics,
Science, Creative Arts, Social and Emotional Development, Approaches Towards
Learning, and Physical Health and Development
along with 27 domain elements and additional specific indicators of a child’s
development. The 8 domain areas are broken into more specific domains which also
include indicators.
The 9 indicators currently mandated in Head Start, focus on
Language Development and Literacy:
1. Understanding an increasingly complex and varied
vocabulary
2. For non-English speaking children, progresses in
listening to and understanding English
3. Develops increasing abilities to understand and use
language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions,
needed, questions, and for other varied purposes
4.Uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary
5. For Non-English speaking children, progresses in
speaking English
6. Associates sounds with written words
7. Recognizes a word as a unit of print
8. Identifies at least 10 letters of the alphabet,
especially those in their own name
9. Knows that letters of the alphabet are a special
category of visual graphics that can be individually named
Head Start Students
excitedly gather around the classroom computer
The Head Start Outcome Framework targets the areas of
Language and Literacy, which are directly related to the New York State
Education Learning Standards for children in Grades Pre-K through 1.
Head Start will gather information to document progress
towards assuring positive child outcomes through, providing a variety of
screenings to confirm that each child is in good health and developing well when
they enter the program. Child observations by the staff and parents and
assessment continue throughout their experience. This information will help to
demonstrate how each child has benefited from their experience in Head Start.
Through this process, the program comes to know each child’s strengths,
interests, needs, and learning styles. The curriculum is individualized to build
on the child’s prior experiences and knowledge and to provide meaningful
experiences and activities that support learning and development. The
information gained from the Child Outcomes Framework is also integrated into the
program’s planning and continuous improvement process.
Chautauqua County Head Start is excited with this initiative and is in the
process of compiling the initial data on children’s progress this year. The
program is pleased that the preliminary data is displaying progress for the
children enrolled ages 3-5 in the 9 specific domain areas.
Future articles will include more specific information
regarding the outcomes as highlighted in this article for the children enrolled
in Chautauqua County Head Start.
Chautauqua County Head Start is actively recruiting children
for the 2002-03 program year. The program serves low income children 0-5,
countywide. Please contact the program if you would like additional information,
366-5661, 366-8176 or 483-5779.
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