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Head Start Performance
Standards & Other Regulations
(45CFR Parts 1301, 1303, 1304 &
Guidance, 1305, 1306, & 1308 & Guidance)
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Curriculum
"What are the experiences
that support children's learning & development & lead to positive outcomes?"
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Areas of Accomplishment
for Children, Families, Programs & Communities
"How are our children progressing
& what are the changes in families, programs & communities?"
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Program Self Assessment
& Ongoing Monitoring
"How are we doing?"
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| A philosophy shared by the program & parents,
& a planned, organized & consistently implemented curriculum, support child
development & education in Early/Head Start. |
Head Start Program Performance Standards include
the physical, emotional, social, cognitive, & language areas of children's development
& learning. |
Grantees establish procedures for the ongoing
monitoring of their own operations, as well as those of their delegate agencies,
to ensure effective implementation of all Federal regulations. |
| Curriculum- a written plan that addresses
the goals for children's development & learning; includes the children's experiences,
roles of staff & parents, & materials needed to support implementation. |
Curriculum is the critical mechanism for achieving
Head Start's goal of enhancing social competence & school readiness. 1998 Head
Start Act Reauthorization emphasizes this goal & mandates several new measures
of Head Start quality & performance. |
At least once/year, Early/Head Start agencies
conduct a self-assessment to check how they are doing in meeting their goals &
objectives, & in implementing the Head Start Performance Standards & other
regulations. |
| Curriculum is consistent with Head Start Performance
Standards & based on sound child development principles about how children grow
& learn. |
Each child receives a screening for developmental,
sensory & behavioral concerns upon entry to the program. |
The process involves the policy group, governing
board, parents, staff & the community. |
| Head Start Performance Standards require qualified
staff in partnership with parents to select/adapt or develop a curriculum. Staff
members implement & individualize the curriculum to support each child's learning
& developmental progress. |
Through ongoing child observation & assessment,
staff & parents follow children's progress from arrival at Early/Head Start to
the time they leave. This information is used to individualize the curriculum for
children & to determine what the outcomes are … what children accomplish over
a period of time as a result of meaningful, cumulative experiences. |
| Staff receives consistent & ongoing training
on philosophy & appropriate implementation of the curriculum. |
Head Start Performance Standards identify
specific areas where Early/Head Start families are to be involved through the Family
Partnership Agreement process in their children's development & learning, in
increasing their own literacy, & in the governance process. |
The results of the self-assessment process
influence the agency's program planning – the continuous improvement process. |
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Source: National Head Start
Bulletin: Curriculum in Head Start
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