Headstart

Hi R., I had both of my kids in head start, I was also involved in the parent committee. I really liked it a lot. Not only does your child learn a lot, but you as a parent also learn a lot. Specially if you have time to be involved at the center. You asked for pros and cons. But I really can't think of any cons. I really liked my experience with all of it. I was really sad because my kids are going to APS now. But I do plan to go back and visit some time. If you do decide to put your child in a headstart program, really get involved, go to meeting, help around the center as much as you can. After doing this you will agree with me.Good luck.

I work for the County - occasionally with (but not for) the Human Services department. I was able to tour the east valley headstart classes and I thought they were really great. I would say that 90% of the students are Spanish speaking, and you have to be low-income to qualify (actually 10% of the enrollees are not low-income but have other qualifications like special needs) but if you qualify for the program I would say go for it! They are ran by the government, so of course the employees have background checks and at least some sort of qualifications, and there are many dedicated teachers who have been in their business for decades. One lady who does in-home teaching actually brought a tear to my eye when she told us about her job and how much joy she gets!

Hope this helps!

T.

Dear R.,

As a single mom back in my early mid 20s I decided to quit a $17/hr job working only 32 hours with benefits and move to Colorado to be closer to my brother, however, I didn't have a job lined up first. Although I had saved enough that my son and I did not have to worry financially for the first 3 months I still needed to find a job and in order to do that, he needed to be in child care/pre-school for the obvious reasons. In Fort Collins, CO, I was fortunate to have found an awesome pre-school program through United Way! Because I was unemployed at the time, I paid next to nothing while there were attorneys and doctors whose children also attended the school, but the only difference is, their income did not qualify them for low-income assistance. They had to pay the full rate, but all of the children received the same wonderful education and experience! Once I started working again, I was able to pay more and no parent knew whose children were there receiving financial aide and it didn't matter. My point is, the program my son attended at United Way, was considered a Head Start program because of the financial assistance I received, basically a sliding scale, but my son was able to reap all the benefits and I couldn't keep my child out of preschool because of my own pride either. Why would any parent prevent their child from learning experiences and new friends? My mom always told me when we were at K-Mart, growing up and buying school clothes, if your friends see you here and they pass judgment, what are they doing here in the first place?! My son is now an 8th grader at a private school and we try and pay it forward buy donating all of his gently used school uniforms from the previous year to his school so other kids can receive what he was once given, a head start!

Good luck in your decision.

My son was went into the program when he was 3. Dalton was very rambunctions...It really helped him to be successful when he entered 1st grade. The teachers where wonderful & the classes were very well structured. If you can get accepted in to the program....do it. You will not be sorry...Thanks C.

Hi R. -

I'm sure you will get many responses on this but I still wanted to add my 2 cents worth. I have had good and bad experiences with Head Start. The most important thing to find out is their philosophy on labeling kids and the structure of the child's day.

My youngest son went to a headstart where the lead teacher was great. She treated each of the children fairly and with compassion and understanding - unfortunately, that headstart was just far enough away from my work that I would always be 5-10 minutes late picking him up and the late fees added up. They were building a new headstart closer to my work so I transferred him there. I asked the lead teacher to work with him on writing his name, letters, etc because he was starting kindergarden in a few months. I was told - "If he tells us he wants to write, we will work with him." I was shocked to say the least. I thought the adults were in charge, not the kids. About 2 weeks after this incident, I again went to the lead teacher and talked with her about him learning to write. At that time, she said she didn't think it was a good idea because he doesn't stay focused and likes to move from area to area to play. She said she thought he probably had ADHD - and that's where the labeling starts.

Then there was the time that they were bussed to a different headstart for "play time" and my son was left behind when the bus returned to the center. Luckily it all worked out ok, but having a 4 year old walk through town and cross busy streets on his way back to school was frightening to say the least.

I guess what I'm saying is get to know the adults in charge of your child. Find out what your child's day will be like and then drop in at various times to see if they are following the schedule they gave you.

I believe head start is a good idea - but it's the teachers that make or break it.

Good luck,

M.

Hi R.-

Headstart is a great program practically guaranteed to increase your child's school readiness. Go for it! S.

Do not know particulars of this area...but the academic gains made by sending kids to Head Start Programs, overall, are short lived. By second grade...I believe, if I remember correctly, the "head start" is gone. But, individually, a family, or the kids may benefit otherwise.
Do not be concerned about "socialization" or socializing skills of your kids, if you stay at home with them. See Gordon Neufeld's book (avail at library) Hold Onto Your Kids; Why Parents Should Matter More Than Peers.
A child psych in Canada with 35 years experience talks about the dangers of putting any kids or adolescents together for long periods of time without intense adult care and guidance. Kids of the same age do NOT teach each other skills that get them ahead...emotionally, academically, socially etc. That is why we have terrible problems in this country with bullying. Kids always establish a pecking order. Adults may not see it, but it is there...and it is stressful..for those at the top, to maintain, and those at the bottom, to survive, and those in the middle, to figure out where they are.
Staying with a loving, caring adult who can focus nearly one-on-one attention on them, a child has a much better chance of keeping self-esteem, and eventually finding maturity. This is one reason colleges are favoring home schooled kids...they really can think independently, and do not fall-in-with the crowd so easily.
I think you would have to have a rough or dysfunctional home life for a government program to beat the personal attention you give your child. If you are SAHM...and plan to keep it that way, I'd skip it.
I am not just someone in love with a relatively new book...I am a public school teacher, and have lived overseas in other cultures, and have seen how true Neufeld's observations are...highly recommend reading it...I can not cover all that he touches on here.
I am not saying the teachers or programs in daycare preschool or Head Start are poor...it is just impossible to replicate the individualized home care you can provide, in a class setting. Yes, kids who go to such programs may also seem to have more social skills or be better able to sit and follow directions etc, but at what price? I, and others ask. And for how long? There is lots of info available to read.

In my opinion it was not for US. We went to tour the class and I ended up putting my son in a preschool 2 days a week
I just feel like it was CHAOS everytime I went in there...

It is an EXCELLENT program. I weork for a fire department and we even teach there once a month - life & fire safety. The kids are always so happy and ready to start regular school because they have been broke into it slowly. Good luck & God bless