Sharing Web Resources

The National Head Start Association http://www.nhsa.org/

• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

The National Headstart Association Website has added a live newsfeed to its website for the most uptodate inofrmation on headstart programs. With this feed you know what is going on with headstart all around the country.

• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

US House of Representatives introduced H.R. 1 which would fund the Federal government for the remaining 6 months of FY 2011 by slashing funding for many key programs. This included a drastic nearly 25 percent cut to Head Start programs that would result in more than 200,000 children losing services and more than 50,000 Head Start employees losing their jobs. .

• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

The U.S. Senate rejected HR1, the House bill that would have cut more than 218,000 children from Head Start and eliminate 55,000 jobs.

The Bad News:
An alternative Senate bill, which would have preserved funding for Head Start, was also rejected.

• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

International Contacts

In EDCU 6162 we were asked to make contact with early childhood professionals from other countries.I was able to make two contacts.I was able to make contact with a early childhood professional from Canada and one from Bolivia.

 The first contact is Robin McMillian. She is a senior consultant for Canadian Child Care Federation. From her I was able to learn that Canada's poverty rate is 9.1%. It has decreased from a few years ago when it was 11.9%.

The second contact I made was Juan Carlos. He is a social communicator from Bolivia.He works for UNICEF. Bolivia is among the five poorest countries in South America, with high maternal and infant mortality rates.59% of the population of over 8,274,325 inhabitants live in conditions of poverty and 24.4%live in conditions of extreme poverty.

I realize that all countries have really hard poverty problems. Each country deals with their problems in the same way. They all try to solve the problems the best way they can.

National Head Start Association

The organization I choose is the National Head Start Association. http://www.nhsa.org/

NHSA Mission

Our mission is to coalesce, inspire and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood development and education.
We are compelled to fulfill this mission by the promise of all the possible outcomes:

• one powerful, united Head Start voice;
• a collegial, collaborative Head Start field, one that is a valluable and valued partner and resource to early chiildhood development and education;
• nonpartisan support of increased Federal commitment to Head Start and, ultimately
• healthier, empowered children and families and stronger, more vibrant communities.

Issue
The National Head Start Association puts out a montly newsletter called Family Connection. This newsletter is intended for the parents of the families in headstart. Each newsletter focues on one topic at a time. The Feburary newsletter talked about how important it is to get out and move. It gave parents different activites they could do with their children to get them more active. The newsletter also told why parents should get their children active. The top three reasons why your children should be more active:
1) Children who are physically active are better behaved.
2) Children who are more active sleep better at night.
3) A young child's phyical development is tied to helping their reading and math skills

FYI

Head Start actually consists of two programs: Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS). HS is a comprehensive early childhood development program primarily serving at-risk preschool-age children and their families. Established during the 1994 Reauthorization of HS, EHS is a comprehensive early childhood program serving primarily at-risk children prenatal to age three, pregnant women, and their families.

1,117,687 children and pregnant women were served in HS and EHS programs during the 2009-2010 program year: 2
* 983,809 in HS and 133,878 in EHS

Establishing Professional Contacts

As you grow as a professional you need to start making contacts with other professionals. This week in EDCU 6162 we were asked to make contact with Early Childhood professionals from around the world. I used the websites that were given and went through and found some organizations to contact. I have received no replies yet from any of the organization that I contacted. To choose me organizations I tried to find ones that I felt may know English. I feel that it is very difficult to send emails in English to countries that speak different languages. I believe

The organization I choose to study is the National Head Start Association. I choose this organization beacause I am big believer in what they do. This organization helps to proivde an education to young children whose families may otherwise not be able to afford it. I have been an advoacate for them without even realizing it. I am constantly telling people who have children who are of age about the program. I don't believe in excusses when it comes  to a child's education. I look forward to gong more indepth into this organization.