Head Start Students Can Soon Fall Behind Without the School Bus

By Ryan Gray

Need an example of how important school busing is to low-income parents, and why the service is so important to Head Start? Look no further than a recent study performed by the Center on Reinventing Public Education that found a lack of reliable transportation is the main barrier to sending children to better schools outside of their urban neighborhood.

The report was published this month after the center interviewed 600 inner-city parents who earn no more than $75,000 a year. Some interesting findings:

• More than a quarter (27%) of all parents interviewed said they would have chosen a school outside their neighborhood were it not for transportation problems.
• Parents prevented from choosing due to transportation problems indicated less satisfaction with the school attended by their child than parents who sent children to schools other than their nearby school.
• Most children who attend out-of-neighborhood schools are driven by their parents.
• Families now sending their child to charter or private schools have them travel much farther than children going to neighborhood schools.
• Many low-income parents say they would let their child travel farther to a better school, if they could.

Head Start children receive an invaluable service in beginning their education via school bus transportation. But unfortunately, as the survey shows, these children while initially on the right path may soon fall behind if they are unable to receive a better long-term education because they have no way to get there.

Cable Company Donates to Local Head Start Programs

Comcast, a national cable service provider, recently donated over $3,000 to Savannah and Liberty County (Ga.) Head Start programs. Since 2001, the company's Comcast Foundation has donated $1.4 billion in cash and in-kind support to national and local non-profit groups across the country.

As part of Comcast Cares Day, close to 200 Comcast employees in the area helped clean up Head Start centers in both Hinesville and Savannah. Employees and family members raised $2,480 for Savannah's Head Start program and $820 for Liberty County.

Have you worked with local and national charities to help fund your program? Comment below.

Prison Program Allows On-Site Early Head Start Program

While reading a lengthy article on a women's prison in Kentucky that allows weekly bonding time for incarcerated mother and their newborn children, I came across a interesting Head Start program towards the end the of the five-page piece.

At the Washington Corrections Center for Women, the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) operates an Early Head Start program for female immates who are either pregnant or have newborns:

"Home-based services are also provided by Early Head Start Family Educators to pregnant women and newborns living on J Unit. Services include weekly home (cell) visits to provide prenatal education and information about infant health and development, to screen for maternal depression, and to promote positive parent-child interaction. Family Educators also work with RPP families and corrections staff to develop individualized transition plans as the family approaches release from WCCW. This is done to insure each family will have the support it needs to make a smooth transition back into its community."

Head Start Agencies Getting Stimulated

A number of Head Start programs in the suburbs of Boulder and the Denver, Colo., will be receiving almost $700,000 from federal stimulus funds. The money will help the agencies with cost-of-living increases and also improve the overall quality of the programs, including (possibly) transportation.

A provision of the Head Start stimulus will provide $350 million for quality improvements. This includes funding for staff training, according to an Office of Head Start program instruction from April. Some programs have used this portion of their intended funding to send staff to national conferences like the National Head Start Association this past April and the upcoming STN EXPO in Reno.

How are you planning to spend your stimulus dollars? Comment below.

C.A.N.D.Y. for All the Kids

The Mississippi Press reported on a program that is visiting schools (including Head Start agencies) in the southeast part of the state that is teaching kids safety on numerous levels. Citizens Against Needless Death in Youth (C.A.N.D.Y.) representatives have been giving presentations each month on seat belt safety, handling bullies and water safety.

C.A.N.D.Y. is a program funded through a local chapter of the United Way.

2010 Scholarships and Awards Application Now Available

The 2010 National Head Start Association Scholarships and Awards booklet, which includes the application for the Support Staff of the Year Award: Bus Driver/Transportation Services, is now available for download.

All of the NHSA awards and scholarships recognize deserving individuals for exceptional service to Head Start. The Support Staff of the Year Award is rotated annually among different administrative categories within Head Start, and for 2010, the award will be given to an individual in transportation services.

The application deadline is Jan. 6, 2010 and the winner will receive a certificate and a $500 award.