One mothers experience helped her work with her children especially a child that was non verbal that other educators had already said he would not develop normally. With the encouragement of Head start the child received speech, and occupational therapy he is now a 3.3 student and plays basketball communicating with his peers. Another person learned how to encourage her family and other to have a higher self esteem and be proud of what they do. Head start encourages parents to keep supporting the program and make sure their voices are heard while always believing "yes, we can."
The involvement of parents and family members can benefit the children not just by showing support to the program and educators but also showing the children what they are learning and doing in class is important to the ones that love them the most. Families can reinforce what the children are learning within the classroom. The children will respond in a positive manner if those that interact with them regularly are are on the same page.
The government and policy makers can benefit because head start is a good starting point for any child providing the foundation to their education and laying the ground work for the child to be successful. The end result will be better test scores and a lower drop out rate.
Amanda, I could not agree more! Parents are the secret to sharing the successes, as well as, challenges of Head Start. Many times, I have learned that what it took me 45 minutes to convey to a Congressional staff assistant or Congressman, it can only take a Head Start parent 15 minutes to share their story and their Head Start experience. Within those 15 minutes, they have effectively captured the heart and attention of that congressional staffer and/or congressman/congresswoman. So amazing!
ReplyDelete