High Marks for Head Start

WCIA has a very short blurb on our local Head Start program receiving recognition recently (available here). I added more information from the Regional Planning Commission's news release below. First, for those who don't know what Head Start is:

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is the recipient of federal funding to promote kindergarten readiness to income-eligible families in Early Head Start, which serves infants, toddlers, and expectant parents; and Head Start, which serves three- to five-year-old-children. We partner with parents to assist children in developing the knowledge and skills necessary for school success and lifelong well-being. Champaign County Head Start currently serves over 576 children and their families each year...

The Champaign County Head Start program promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of culturally inclusive educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to eligible children, their families, and pregnant women. Our daily mission is to inspire our children to develop their unique talents and skills and prepare them for lifelong learning and success.

From the RPC's news release:

A recent national monitoring review that assesses classroom quality has delivered positive scores for the RPC’s Early Childhood Education program. In results revealed in March, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) scored the RPC’s program above the national average in a number of the domains and dimensions it measures in regards to teacher-child interactions.

CLASS is an observation instrument that assesses the quality of teacher-child interactions in center-based preschool classrooms. Trained and certified observers conducted these reviews at the RPC’s Early Childhood Education Centers in Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, and Rantoul, which are all home to Head Start programs. The RPC scored above the national average in the domains of Emotional Support and Classroom Organization and in the dimensions of Teacher Sensitivity, Regard for Student Perspectives, Productivity, Instructional Learning Formats, and Language Modeling.

“We are very proud of the perseverance and dedication it took for our team to achieve these scores,” says Brandi Granse, the RPC’s Early Childhood Education director. “Preparing for the monitoring reviews required a great deal of work from the entire staff, and the results show that we are continuing to provide high-quality care and education to the families we serve in Champaign County.”

More at the news release here. More on the Champaign County Head Start program here.