14
S moke S ignals
june 15, 2014
Tribal Head Start receives an A+
Perfect score means
less frequent federal
reviews in the future
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The Tribal Head Start program
was recently evaluated on more
than 2,000 regulations and stan-
dards, and succeeded on every
one.
Staff has taken to calling the
program a Gold Star program, but
officially, said Sandy Bobb, Enroll-
ment and Transportation lead, “It
is just a perfect review.”
Staff members from the fed-
eral Administration for Children
& Families, the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services di-
vision responsible for Head Start,
evaluate the Tribal program every
three years. This year, six evalua-
tors did their work over five days
in April.
Head Start has pre-natal and
infant services, early childhood
services up to age 5, services for
teen parents and all are wrapped
in full family services that bring
parents into the planning and deci-
sion-making.
“We have always been involved,”
said Keri Kimsey, secretary for the
Tribal Employment Rights Office.
Keri and her partner, Sean Kyl-
lonen, enrolled their two children.
Her oldest, Ben, 4, is now in the
Mawich classroom for 4- and 5-year-
olds, but he started in the program
when he was eight months old. Her
youngest, Reed, nine months, is en-
rolled in the home-based program.
Keri started her involvement with
Tribal Head Start five years ago
before Ben was born.
“The parents are the ones who set
the curriculum,” she said. “We let
the home-based visitor know what
we are interested in and they try to
come up with field trips, activities
or socializations based around your
interest.”
The program, she said, gives par-
ents “constant encouragement to be
involved in your child’s journey.”
The federal evaluation gave the
Tribal Head Start program a rating
of seven out of a possible seven on
“positive climate,” “teacher sensi-
tivity” and “productivity.”
Willie and Jilene Mercier, who
work for the Tribe as Web design-
er and Economic Development
Projects coordinator, respective-
ly, enrolled their children in the
program — Audrey for two and
Tyler for two-and-a-half school
years.
Audrey, now almost 10, “started
when she was 3 and was develop-
mentally behind. She barely spoke
10 words,” said Jilene. “Over the
two years she received help with
speech and made great progress
early on. By the time she reached
kindergarten, you wouldn’t have
been able to tell she had prior learn-
ing disabilities.”
Audrey just completed the fourth
grade and her state OAKS test
score fell in the “exceeds” category.
The Oregon Assessment of Knowl-
edge and Skills test assesses stu-
dents’ mastery of Oregon content
standards.
“Tyler, 6, just finished kindergar-
ten last week and his teacher had
to find new challenges every day for
him. He is so eager to keep learn-
ing. He is reading at first-second
grade level and doing first-grade
math,” said Jilene.
This is the fourth evaluation for
the Head Start program and the
first time the program has had a
perfect evaluation.
Even in the past, few problems
have come up – never affecting
children or families – but this year
was something special. Success for
students and families and pride in
the program are the big rewards,
but the perfect score also allows
Tribal Head Start to apply for
future evaluations on a five-year
timetable instead of three.
The Tribal program also per-
forms yearly self-assessments that
monitor outcomes. In consultation
with families, teachers set short-
term goals for every student. Also,
said Early Childhood Education
Program Manager Vikki Bishop,
90 percent of the program’s 28
employees are currently engaged
in professional development, such
as college classes.
A Policy Council, comprised of
seven parents and two members of
the community, governs the pro-
gram. It approves budgets, policies,
procedures, curricula and child out-
comes, and members of the Policy
Council are at the table for hiring
and firing decisions.
Many on staff serve on boards
and committees outside of Grand
Ronde, Bishop said, to win support
for Head Start in Grand Ronde.
“This gives Tribal programs a
place at the table, and makes sure
that the Tribal voice is heard,” she
said.
Tribal Head Start has been so
successful, she said, that “we are
the go-to program in the area.”
Evaluating eligibility, recruit-
ment, selection, enrollment and at-
tendance, said Bobb, “ensures that
the program is enrolling the most
needy children, based on eligibility
requirements, in our community.”
The program enrolls Tribal mem-
bers whose family incomes fall be-
low the federal poverty level first.
For positions that remain open,
any Native American family living
below the poverty level is next, and
then descendants and members
of the community. Descendants
of Tribal members are considered
community members by the federal
government, said Bishop.
The waiting list for Tribal Head
Start ranges from 20 to 60 each
year.
The program is split into four divi-
sions: Transportation and ERSEA
(enrollment issues), led by Bobb;
Health and Family Partnership, led
by Tracy Biery; Disabilities led by
Toni Lockwood, who is also a head
teacher; and Education led by Kris-
tina Jaquith, also a head teacher.
This year, these divisions serve 22
home-based students and families,
and 55 2- to 5-year-old students and
their families. The program’s com-
mitment to families means that the
Tribe effectively reaches children
from birth to 5, and families from
the pre-natal stage to teens with
children.
Two home visitor staff positions
assess individual family needs and
provide services to pregnant moth-
ers and children up to 2 years old.
The point is to help families learn
at home.
Home lessons cover many ways
that help families live in their com-
munities, said Biery. “It can be so
hard to navigate. We teach how to
do it.”
The method makes suggestions,
for example, that parents cook with
their children, hike with them and
talk about the things they see along
the way. Home visitors also focus
on teaching parents songs they can
sing with their children and on buy-
ing nourishing food.
Every student is assessed on a
regular basis in such areas as self-
regulation, interpersonal skills,
math, letter names and sounds.
In a January letter sent to the
program, Carrie Zimbrick, prin-
cipal of Willamina Elementary
School, reported, “Our Native stu-
dents were slightly higher than
our white students in all categories
except math, and they were higher
in all categories compared to other
Native students in the state. Your
program is doing such a great job.
Our students that come to us from
your program continue to be some
of our top students throughout el-
ementary school.”
Tribal children coming out of
Head Start compare favorably at
Willamina in health care, too. In
addition to Zimbrick’s statistics,
Tribal students who go through the
Tribal program have a 100-percent
immunization rate, compared with
a 40-percent rate for students at
Willamina Elementary without
Head Start.
Regarding a child’s overall health,
the program follows recommenda-
tions for preventive pediatric care
from the American Academy of
Pediatrics. It makes sure children
have vaccinations, and screens
for good health in oral, vision and
hearing areas. The program keeps
track of every student’s history and
developing body measurements. It
also tracks for behavioral and other
developmental issues.
Federal funding this year cut 5
percent from the Tribal program.
At the same time, Tribal Council
steps up every year with cash and
in-kind support. In cash this year,
Tribal Council has offered $150,000
with a program match. Clinic ser-
vices make up the largest in-kind
services to the program, but Tribal
Council also provides facility main-
tenance, transportation liability
insurance and social services to the
program.
Funding also comes from the
federal Head Start that pays for 50
children. The federal Department
of Agriculture’s Child and Adult
Care Food Program, state and
non-profit funds also support the
program’s $650,000 budget.
“Everybody plays a role,” said
Bishop, “from our committed staff
to our bus monitors, to our cooks.”
Among Oregon Tribes, Uma-
tilla, Warm Springs, Coquille
and Siletz also have Head Start
programs. Only Warm Springs
and Grand Ronde have early Head
Start. n