HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START EXPANSION
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New funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will expand the access of Head Start services to 500 additional children and families and double the number of children and families served by Early Head Start programs in North Carolina! Read more.
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E-RATE ELIGIBILITY FOR NC HEAD START PROGRAMS
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Effective May 28, 2009, all Head Start grantees in North Carolina were made eligible to participate in the E-rate program , allowing them to receive discounts of up to 90% on certain program costs associated with telecommunications and Internet access! Read more. |
2010 NC HEAD START COLLABORATION SPECIAL PROJECTS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
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For the summer 2010, up to three (3) Head Start Collaboration Office Interns will be selected via a competitive process from Head Start & Early Head Start grantees in NC to assist the Head Start State Collaboration Office with pursuing its federal priorities. Interns will participate in an intensive 5-1/2-week experience in Raleigh, NC, attending State-level meetings, conducting research, and crafting position papers and summary briefs to support the work of Head Start grantees. Interns are paid stipends ranging from $4,500 – $6,500 for the period. All current employees of HS & EHS programs are eligible to apply! Applications are now available and may be downloaded by clicking (here).
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CURRENT HEAD START-STATE COLLABORATION OFFICE INITIATIVES
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The NC Head Start-State Collaboration Office pursues eight (8) federal priorities that include the coordination of Head Start services with State pre-K and childcare; welfare services; health care; education, community service activities, family literacy services; activities related to special needs children; and services to homeless children. Click (here) for more details about current Head Start-State Collaboration Office initiatives. |
OFFICE OF HEAD START CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
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The Centers of Excellence program was established in the 2007 Head Start Act and will recognize Head Start and Early Head Start grantees that are performing at the highest levels of quality. Grantees designated as a Center of Excellence will be awarded $200,000 a year for a period of 5 years. Excellent and effective programs are those that have achieved and are actively building upon full compliance with the Program Performance Standards and are implementing comprehensive, innovative and targeted approaches to enhance program services. Applicants must first be nominated by their Governors to be eligible to be considered in the national Head Start competition. Click (here) to see which NC programs were nominated by Governor Bev Perdue. |
HEAD START/MORE AT FOUR NEWS
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The Office of Head Start has strongly encouraged increased collaboration between Head Start grantees and State Pre-K programs across the country. Recent changes to the newly reauthorized Head Start Act also include provisions that require grantees to establish Memorandums of Understanding with the “appropriate local entity responsible for managing publicly funded preschool programs in the service area of the Head Start agency…”
Head Start grantees in NC have kept pace with the expansions of the More at Four State Pre-K program (MAF) since 2006. Most recently, the More at Four program received a $30M increase in funding that will expand services to over 3,400 additional children. Head Start programs currently account for 18.25% of children in North Carolina who are served with MAF funding! Head Start / More At Four Collaborations provide a tremendous depth of high quality comprehensive services to at-risk 4-year-olds.
North Carolina is one of two top States recognized nationally for State pre-kindergarten quality standards, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, including standards such as teacher education and training, class size, staff-child ratio, and early learning standards. Children's experiences in More at Four are rooted in North Carolina's early learning standards for preschoolers, called Foundations. These standards incorporate the five domains of development and learning fundamental to school readiness: approaches to learning, emotional and social development, health and physical development, language development and communication, and cognitive development. More at Four teachers engage children in active learning with a focus on each domain. |
EARLY EDUCATOR CERTIFICATION INITIATIVE
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North Carolina is the first in the nation to increase its workforce professional development standards by certifying the education of those who work directly with children birth to 12. This important initiative, known as Early Educator Certification, is the new system that validates and recognizes the professional development achievements of early childhood professionals. As with all professions, certified individuals will have to continue their education to maintain their certification.
There are currently over 500 teaching staff from approximately 25 Head Start programs across the State who have already received Early Educator Certification. In an effort to grow this number, the NC HSSCO is pleased to sponsor 250 additional Early Educator Certifications Early/Head Start teaching staff for select grantees across North Carolina. For more information about Early Educator Certification, please visit the NC Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development website at http://www.ncchildcare.org/index.html |
OUR COLLABORATION DIRECTOR
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Mr. Khari Garvin serves as Director for our NC Head Start State Collaboration Office. His office is housed with the Office of School Readiness in Raleigh. He can be reached at 919-431-2005 or khari.garvin@ncpublicschools.gov.
Click the link below for the NC Head Start State Collaboration Office website:
NCHSSCO website |
last update: 12/18/09