The FHSA Nominating Committee is currently seeking self-nominations from qualified candidates to serve on the FHSA Board of Directors now through August 1, 2019. FHSA is seeking three (3) Head Start/Early Head Start Directors in the following regions: Central, Southeast, Southern, and four (4) Director-At-Large Seats to be filled by the members in the following Affiliate Groups: Staff, Parent, and Friends. These seats are a two-year term. Grantees, Programs and Agencies are limited to one representative serving on the Board of Directors at any given time.

Self-nominations should be submitted through the FHSA website by clicking the Apply Now! Button below. If you are unsure on how to log-into the FHSA website, we have created a tip sheet to walk you through the process.

As the summer months are quickly approaching and Florida continues with extreme temperatures water safety becomes ever so important. Our friends at Prevent Child Abuse Florida have Water Safety Resources available for FREE. They are offering "Swim Safer” books and "Swim Safer Little Seals” coloring books for preschool children and up. “Swim Safer Little Seal” books are available in English and Spanish as well as coloring sheets. Prevent Child Abuse Florida would like to get these resources into the communities across the state and into the hands of parents, children, and advocates. To place your order, please visit this website and create an account to get started.

Don't forget to nominate your peers for a State, Region, and National award. FHSA is accepting nominations until June 17. We will honor our State recipients and recognize Regional and National nominees during our annual awards luncheon in October. Check out detailed nomination information below.

May was Mental Health Awareness month. I want to share with you a fantastic video sent to me by the Miami Dade County CAA Head Start program. This is a classroom from Paradise Christian School & Development Center Head Start: Yellow Class. There focus was teaching children about feelings. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did. Please send us your classroom videos, photos, and activities so FHSA can share with the rest of our Head Start family. We will also feature them on our "What's Happening Around the State" column below.

In partnership,

Wanda Minick
Executive Director
FHSA

Updates from the Office of Head Start

Head Start TAlks provides training and technical assistance (T/TA) podcasts from the Office of Head Start. Home visitors, child care providers, directors, teachers, and other staff can access and learn valuable information on the go. Head Start TAlks makes content easy to find and manage. Check out these resources here.

Advocacy Activities

FHSA are members of the Early Learning Consortium, which is a group of early learning provider associations, funders and subject-matter experts who are working together to improve Florida's early learning system. On June 7, the Consortium will host a meeting with Drs. Steve Barnett and Karin Garver from the National Insitute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The Consortium scheduled this initial meeting to talk with NIEER about taking a closer look at Florida's quality and costs of VPK. The goal is to produce an advocacy tool we can use to show how we can improve VPK in our state and how much these improvements would cost.

NIEER publishes The State of Preschool annual report each year. The 2018 report shows Florida only meeting two of the ten quality standards benchmark, and Florida ranked 41 in state spending for Pre-K. The Florida Department of Education Office of Early Learning was awarded a Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five awards in 2018 for $8.52 million to increase the quality, coordination, alignment and efficiency of the state's programs and services to support families' needs and children's readiness and early grade success, particularly for vulnerable and underserved children. Click here to download Florida's Preschool Development Grant B-5 Project PDF Summary and Abstract.

Governor DeSantis Directs Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to Address Voluntary Pre-K Readiness Rates

May 18, 2019

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Education released the 2017-18 Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) readiness rates, and 41% of children who participated in VPK were not ready for kindergarten. In response, Governor Ron DeSantis called on Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to create a plan to ensure Florida families receive the great start to an education their children deserve.

Governor Ron DeSantis said, “A 41% failure rate is not defendable and certainly not good enough for Florida’s youngest learners. I have asked Commissioner Corcoran to prioritize this issue and direct available funding to make enhancements. Nearly three-quarters of Florida parents rely on VPK programs to lay the academic and social foundation necessary for their children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.” Read More.

To View VPK Program Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate, click here.

Head Start Celebrates Passage of Major Disaster Relief Funding Bill

Congress Passes Bill with $55 Million for Head Start Programs

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Head Start Association (NHSA) welcomed congressional passage of legislation providing $55 million to meet the recovery needs of Head Start programs with facilities impacted by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019. The Head Start funding is included in the 2019 Emergency Supplemental bill (H.R. 2157), which passed the House of Representatives this evening with overwhelming bipartisan support and is expected to be signed into law by the President without delay.

The Office of Early Learning will host rule hearings on Rule 6M-8.601 Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rate. These hearings will be held via webinar scheduled for June 6 and June 14.

June 6, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (EDT) To register, please click here.
June 14, 2019, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT). To register, please click here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

A copy of the notice and proposed rule language is available at this link.

Written comments on the proposed rule may be submitted to [email protected]. All emails should have “6M-8.601 Comment” in the subject line. All comments must be received by COB Friday, June 14, 2019.

What's Happening Around the State

Paradise Christian School & Development Center, Inc. a delegate agency for Miami Dade County Community Action Agency Head Start Program, is proud to announce Head Start Teacher Arelys Ramirez was recently awarded the Early Childhood Teacher of the Year 2019 for the City of Hialeah.

Executive Director of Social Services with Paradise Chrisitan School & Development Center, Ashley Banos stated, "we are very proud of Ms. Ramirez and the excellent work she has accomplished as a teacher of a Head Start Classroom. She makes a difference every day with her love, energy and charismatic enthusiasm as a colleague, friend, and teacher".

Ms. Banos also thanks their community partners for helping to make Paradise a Success!

Paradise Christian School & Development Center, Inc. became re-accredited with NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), an accreditation process for high-quality programs. Education Coordinator, Belkys Salvat, led the team for the accreditation process, and they are so proud of their accomplishment. Congratulations to the staff, families, and community!

Registration is now open to attend the 2019 One Goal Summer Conference July 17-19 in Tampa at the Hilton Tampa Downtown.

This year's conference is filled with motivating, high energy speakers leaving you renewed and energized! There will be 96 educational sessions. To see a complete listing, click here. The Conference Book will be on the web site in early July.

Conference fees are only $75 per person. When securing your registration, don't forget to book your hotel reservations early to guarantee availability and conference rates. The last two years, the room block has sold out before our cutoff date.

Questions or need assistance registering, please call the Conference office at (850) 893-6270.

Nominate a Colleague for a Head Start Award

In collaboration with the Region IV Head Start Association (RIVHSA), FHSA opens nominations to recognize Head Start and Early Head Start employees, parents, alumni, volunteers, and community partners.

There are 20 awards and scholarship categories open for nominations. Each year RIVHSA rotates the focus area on the Administrator, Staff, and Support Staff of the Year awards. This year's awards cycle will recognize the following: The Administrator of the Year: Grantee Executive Director; The Staff of the Year: Family Services; Support Staff of the Year: Nutrition Services. When submitting these specific awards, be sure your nominees are eligible based on criteria which are outlined on the application.

Florida Grantees determine nominees from their agency and provide those nominations to FHSA by the June 17 deadline. FHSA will select a nominee from each of the categories submitted to represent our State at the Regional and National level. FHSA will recognize award winners during its annual awards luncheon in October 2019. Start the nominations process by clicking here.

RIVHSA's 2019 Leadership Institute

Join RIVHSA in Atlanta June 17-20 for a rich learning experience that supports organizational development and professional growth.

Meet Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr., the Regional Program Manager for the Region IV Office of Head Start. Hear his vision and priorities for Region IV!

For a complete glimpse into what this conference has to offer, click here to download the event brochure.

Updates from NHSA

Webinar: Proposal to Redefine Poverty Could Affect Head Start

The Office of Management and Budget released a proposal to change how the Census Bureau’s Official Poverty Measure (OPM) is adjusted annually for inflation. As the Official Poverty Measure is used to set the federal poverty line, this change has the potential to lower the level of the federal poverty line each year. Over time, fewer and fewer individuals could be deemed eligible for critical programs, including Head Start, Medicaid, and SNAP.

NHSA will be hosting a webinar Wednesday, June 5th at 4:15 pm EDT to discuss the specifics of the poverty measure proposal, its impacts, and the next steps we can take as an active, united Head Start community. To sign up, please click here.

The Head Start Advantage: A Research Compendium: Part 2

To celebrate Head Start 54 years of success, NHSA released a new research compendium that complies summaries of several critical studies that represent the best knowledge to date about Head Start's effectiveness.

This research can be a useful tool when talking about Head Start's impact on community partners, parents, and policymakers.

Click here to download the latest research about the great work that Head Start is doing!

Join NHSA in Indianapolis, Indiana from July 22 - 25, 2019 for a journey through the Head Start grant cycle.

The 2019 Manager and Director Academy will explore the five-year grant cycle, starting from building a strong foundation with the grant-writing process, to setting goals and uniting your team to execute them.

Check out the Academy's session schedule, and then make sure to reserve your spot at the Early Bird rate!

Register by Friday, June 7th to save nearly $200 on each registration.

NHSA Seeking Stories from Head Start Children and Families

NHSA ask programs to help identify stories they can use to develop tools for Head Start advocacy efforts further. If your program has a story to share that meet the below parameters, please email [email protected], and she will connect you with the NHSA team member.

A child with particular health or mental health/trauma needs who's benefited from having these needs identified and addressed before school began
A child in foster care or kinship care
A family that was experiencing homelessness and achieved stability with the support of Head Start
Dual language learners
A family who benefited from two-generational programs that helped parents achieve their education/workforce goals
A family who had multiple options and deliberately chose Head Start for the services it offers
A family who had one child go to pre-K and now has a child in Head Start and can articulate a strong preference for Head Start

NHSA Remembering a True Champion of Head Start, Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi

Senator Cochran, who retired from the United States Senate last year, passed away May 30 at age 81. For more than four decades, the Senator’s strong values, devotion to protecting rural communities, and marked commitment to children and families made him a model public servant and pillar of the Republican party, in Congress. Click here to read NHSA complete tribute.

Four strategies to help children prepare for the transition to kindergarten

By Teaching Strategies

Before you know it, you’ll be hugging the children in your pre-K class good-bye as they head on to kindergarten. For most, this will be an exciting transition—a new school, a new teacher, new friends to make—but for others, this transition may be scary because they aren’t sure what this change will bring. Planning carefully for the final days of school can ease transitions and help children feel more comfortable and secure. Click here to read the article in its entirety.