|
|
|
Your Name:
|
Patricia Persell
|
|
Your Email:
|
persell_patricia@bah.com
|
|
Please be certain to add the address (domain) "ECLKC.info" to your email Safe List to ensure that all automated messages from this site arrive securely in your inbox.
|
|
Your Contact Number:
|
914-400-6712
|
|
Date of Suggestion:
|
03/03/2008 11:23:09
|
| Questions for OHS on HS ReauthorizationCollected at 2 different cluster meeting in Upstate NY in the winter of 2008• What if a teacher’s CDA has expired? The Act does not say it has to be kept current. Is this implied?• What if 2 ½ year-olds and 3s are in the same room? Would we have to follow EHS regs or can it be HS regs? As long as we follow day care regs?• Can we still use our agency created curriculum? When we made it we based it on sound research and developmentally practice.• What is an “active waiting list”?• The new Act says all programs must serve at least 10% of its enrollment with children with diagnosed disabilities. Can children be in the process of being evaluated? As most of our CPSEs shut down in the summer.• The new Act states that children can be enrolled for the year they are in and then the year after that. What if the child is enrolled in EHS as an infant (say 3 months old), would we have to reevaluate the child’s income the following year when they child is 1 ½ years-old?• Also what if a child starts in EHS at the end of the school year? Do we have to reevaluate his income at the end of the following year (he will have only been in the program for just over 1 year) or can we wait for 2 full years of service to pass?• How is an agency to prove it has reached out to all income eligible children before moving on to recruit children at 130% of poverty?• The new Act states that if the agency pays for a teaching staff member’s tuition that staff member must commit to working with the agency for a minimum of three years from the completion of the degree. What if the tuition comes from other sources as well, Head Start and other funding sources. Would the staff member have to pay back only the HS portion of the money if they leave before 3 years? And if the staff member were to die before the three years is up would their estate be expected to pay it back?• This is more of a comment: We have to be able to pay a living wage if we are going to retain high quality staff. Even if staff love Head Start and want to stay with us they often can’t afford to. This is a real problem in many parts of the country.• Will there be federal loan forgiveness for teachers who go back to school for their degrees? We don’t pay them anymore once they get the degree, there is barely any COLA, they truly can’t afford to return to school without compensation for doing so.• When will the 5 year grant cycle go into effect?• The teacher requirements that 50% of teachers must have BA or advanced degree by 9/30/2013, is that for teachers nationwide or is that program specific? • The teachers are now required to obtain 15 ours of training annually – is that training provided by the agency during in-service days, training provided by outside entities or a combination of both? • Can you please elaborate on the Teach for America program and how that will impact teachers in Head Start programs?• Please elaborate on the role of the consultant to the board. If an agency is not able to identify a lawyer to sit on the board, according to the new act, they can have one as a consultant to the board. How many hours is that consultant expected to be available? Do they need to attend board meetings? What are their role and responsibilities? Would they have voting power? • Can a child who is at 110% of poverty - be considered Over Income? Or is Over Income now over 130%?See next page• Section 648A Staff Qualifications for Head Start TeachersIf they do not have an EC degree then a BA/BS degree and coursework equivalent to a major relating to EC education. How many EC credits would that be? the staff qualifications for Head Start teaching assistants can use some clarification. It says:(ii) Head Start teaching assistants nationwide in center-based programs have—(I) at least a child development associate credential; (II) enrolled in a program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree; or(III) enrolled in a child development associate to be completed within 2 years.Clarification Questions:1. Is # (III) really the minimum requirement instead of # (I)? (# (I) does not have an/or, and it is therefore a little confusing.2. Can someone be hired without being enrolled in a CDA on the condition that they begin classes with a certain length of time and are in agreement to complete the CDA within 2 years? (If we were to hire someone in October, the next course date through the local CDA course providers would not be available until late January.3. Re: (II) Is this intended to mean an Associate or Baccalaureate degree in Early Childhood Education or related degree? 4. If the staff member is enrolled in an Associate or Baccalaureate degree as defined in (II), is the CDA no longer necessary? What about for staff working with Infants and Toddlers? Re: teachers1. If an EHS teacher has an advanced or baccalaureate degree in Early Childhood Education or in coursework equivalent to a major relating to early childhood education, is the CDA no longer necessary for EHS teachers? 2. Re: (ii) a baccalaureate or advanced degree and coursework equivalent to a major relating to early childhood education, with experience teaching preschool-age children, is this relating to the prior requirement of six courses in Early Childhood Education?• Ratios are critically important to our kids, especially since many have not had any prior experience with a setting such as this. Unfortunately, the ratios they recommend are no more than 10 per teacher/aide. Even our 16 with 2 adults can often be TOO MANY people in the space. We have so many kids who cannot yet tolerate environments that are so over-stimulating. Maybe at least with 3yo classrooms there can be better ratios, and higher numbers in 4yo classrooms?• Service Requirements- Does the Service requirement for Teachers (A)to teach or work in a Head Start program for a minimum of three years after receiving the degree; or (B)repay the total or a prorated amount of the financial assistance received based on the length of service completed after receiving the degree take effect immediately or are there additional requirements that the Secretary still needs to establish prior to this taking effect? Does this apply to Assistant teachers as well as they are not mentioned in this requirement?• We currently have a one year service policy after completing a course. Do we need to change our policy effective immediately? There are also practicality concerns for obtaining this reimbursement. Will further supports be developed to assist grantees in carrying this through if a staff member is uncooperative in paying this back? • Policy Council- (2) ( C) (i) does not define what a conflict of interest is. It just states that they can not have one. Is this up to the Agency to define? • Do Head Start programs need to pay staff for their time spent in courses when we make the degree a requirement for their job? Like do we pay them for the 3 hours of class they attend on Thursday evening? • We are facing some major union issues with the new requirements for teachers and teaching assistants. That we can’t change the requirements of the position they already hold. Is this true?• In a Head Start/ Pre-K collaborative classroom where the children are considered both a Head Start child and a UPK child. The cut off date for enrollment is Oct 1 in our district and if we start on Sept 1 this could pose a challenge to our full enrollment from day one. We will take strides to have the school district understand the importance of enrolling children by Sept 1. But it might not always be the case.• It will be very hard for us to collect money from a staff member who leaves before their three year commitment is over. Do we spend Head Start dollars on a collection agency? This could cost more than the money we retrieve.• Why can’t the federal government institute more Perkins type loans so that the person who takes the loan can have their loan forgiven if they work in a Head Start or EHS for three or more years? You realize our programs have no people power or money to reclaim any money if staff leave before their 3 years is over.
|
