Report: Head Start met challenge

Teacher rating scores increased in all three areas despite pandemic

While it was a challenging year for Lorain County’s Head Start program because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, its annual report shows an increase in evaluation scores across the board.

“Our Head Start staff and families met this unprecedented challenge with the creativity and compassion they are known for,” said Jackie Boehnlein, president/ CEO of Lorain County Community Action Agency, which oversees the Head Start program.

The report was released Aug. 30.

The theme of this year’s report is “The Art of Adjusting.”

When school began Sept. 3, 2019, Head Start teachers, staff, students and parents were focused on maximizing learning while settling into new routines, according to the agency’s annual report.

The LaGrange center began its first year while the center located inside Firelands Elementary had started its second year.

“Our Head Start staff and families met this unprecedented challenge with the creativity and compassion they are known for.”

— Jackie Boehnlein

“Stories were read, milestones shared and screenings conducted,” according to the report. “Events were held, meals were served and conferences conducted.

“There were parent meetings, projects, songs and pleas to complete 2020 Census forms.”

Bottom line: Things were going great at the centers, and then everything abruptly changed, the report said.

“Classrooms had just celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday and were preparing for a nutrition event when the entire state of Ohio ground to a halt,” the report said.

“Our program went home, went online and finally returned to our centers,” Boehnlein said. “Through it all, we maintained high standards of service and excellence preparing children for kindergarten and sparking a desire for lifelong learning.”

The annual report details an evaluation on classroom environments using CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) which gives teachers feedback on how they interact with students.

The scoring system uses a seven-point scale to assess teacher-child interactions that support learning and development.

“Our teachers are very intentional about how their classroom becomes a learning environment,” said Head Start Director Shauna Matelski, Ed.D.

The evaluation concentrated on three areas: emotional support, classroom organization and instructional support.

Emotional support which rose to 6.58 from 6.48 “assesses the degree to which teachers establish and promote a positive climate in their classroom through their everyday interactions,” according to the report.

Classroom organization climbed to 6.12 from 6.01 and “assesses classroom routines and procedures related to the organization and management of children’s behavior, time and attention in the classroom,” the report stated.

Instructional support also increased to 3.86 from 3.66 and “assesses the ways in which teachers implement the curriculum to effectively promote cognitive and language development. This domain measures how teachers support and extend children’s thinking, problem solving and conversational skills and vocabulary,” according to the report.

“Fifty percent of each site’s CLASS observations were conducted,” the report stated. “A total of 13 classrooms were observed and increases occurred in all three domains.”

“Time after time, everyone associated with LCCAA Head Start demonstrated strength and determination,” Boehnlein said. “The stories, photos and comments featured here (in the annual report) tell a story of resilience, very similar to the one our clients write every day.”

Parents of the children enrolled in the program also play an important role at their respective centers.

The centers elect parents to serve on its Parent Policy Council where “they make critical decisions for the entire program,” according to the report.

For 2020-2021, the policy council met through Zoom sessions to continue their work.

“We know that parents are their child’s first teachers,” Matelski said. “It gives them an opportunity to help us make decisions that are going to be right for the program and for their child.”

Head Start and Early Head Start serve low-income children up to 5 years old, pregnant women, homeless, foster and kinship care children and disabled children, according to information provided by the center.

Enrollment currently is open at the majority of LCCAA Head Start Centers.