This list enumerates some of the major activities that the Head Start Bureau has engaged in to support English language learners in Head Start. In the early years of Head Start, English language learners were primarily Spanish–speaking, whereas now Head Start children and their families speak over 140 languages.

1972—The Head Start Program Performance Standards required that classroom environments help each child build ethnic pride; an educational program individualized to meet the needs of children from various populations; and staff reflective of the racial and ethnic population of the children, including staff who speak the primary language of the children and are knowledgeable about their culture. The Standards also required that parents be involved in the planning and implementation of services and considered for employment opportunities.

1976—Implementation of the Head Start Strategy for Spanish-Speaking Children included a Bilingual and Bicultural Early Childhood Development Research Workshop, which identified four priority areas: curriculum development, staff training, resource network, and research.

1976 to 1979—Dissemination and Training Based on Four Bilingual and Bicultural Curriculum Models to support children’s cognitive and social growth as well as individualization of instruction based upon a child’s linguistic dominance:

• ALERTA—A Learning Environment Responsive To All Teachers College, Columbia University.
• AMANECER—A Multicultural Action Network for Early Childhood Education Resources Intercultural Research Associates, San Antonio
• NUEVAS FRONTERAS de APRENDIZAJE—New Frontiers in Learning, University of California, Santa Cruz
• UN MARCO ABIERTO—An Open Framework High Scope Foundation, Ypsilanti

1978—Dissemination of A Bibliography of Bilingual and Bicultural Preschool Material for Spanish–Speaking Children for use by staff in early childhood programs to identify suitable curriculum and other instructional materials.

1980—Evaluation of the Head Start Bilingual and Bicultural Curriculum Models was the final report of a study conducted over a three and a half year period at eight Head Start centers in communities with relatively large Hispanic populations, focusing on the impact of the four bilingual and bicultural preschool curriculum models. Data from the evaluation were analyzed to answer three central questions: impact, implementation, and feasibility of transfer.

1981—Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts was established in collaboration with the Head Start Bureau to develop drama, music, and movement activities to support children’s learning through the arts. This institute provided professional development to staff in the practical applications of effective techniques. In 1995, the Institute and a group of Head Start programs developed the Multicultural Program Artist and Administrator Guidelines to promote and support multicultural learning experiences representing the cultures and languages of Head Start children and families.

1982—Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential Bilingual Specialization was established for candidates with a working knowledge of two languages, including the ability to speak, read, and write well enough to understand others and to be understood by others.

1988—Development and Dissemination of a Special Issue of the National Head Start Bulletin entitled, “A Look at Head Start’s Cultural Diversity,” to celebrate the diversity of Head Start, promote sound practices, and showcase successful approaches.

1988—Anti–Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children served as a training tool widely used among Head Start programs and the Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network to foster respect for diversity and to promote learning environments that support the cultures and languages of families served.

1990—Development of the Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs by a task force including representatives of the former network of grantees who provided training on the four multicultural curricula as part of the “ Strategy for Spanish–Speaking Children” in the 1970s. The Multicultural Principles, extending beyond what takes place in a Head Start classroom, apply to all program services and form the foundation for Head Start families and staff to understand and respect cultural differences.

1990 to 1994—A Network of Six Head Start Agencies demonstrated the infusion of the Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs across all the program services, including health, social services, parent involvement, education, management, serving children with disabilities, and staff training. This network was comprised of a diverse group located in Fresno, California; Mahube, Minnesota; Seattle, Washington; Fairfax, Virginia; Southern Ute, Colorado; and Spokane, Washington. Among the family languages represented were Hmong, Chinese, Spanish, Navajo, and Arabic. These effective practices have been showcased at a number of events and in publications.

1991 to 1996—Padres Hispanos en Acion was a joint effort of the Kraft General Foods Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and distribute multi–media nutrition materials with accompanying training to programs and families located in the twenty states with the largest number of Hispanic Head Start enrollees.

1993 to 1996—A Descriptive Study of Head Start’s Bilingual and Multicultural Program Services determined that more than 140 languages are spoken by the children enrolled in Head Start programs. After English, the most common languages spoken by Head Start children are Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, and Vietnamese.

1996—The Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs were incorporated into the revision of the Head Start Program Performance Standards, which were published as a Final Rule, November 5, 1996.

1998—Head Start Act as amended in 1998, Sec. 648B(11)(e) requires that The Secretary provide training for personnel providing services to non-English language background children, including services to promote the acquisition of the English language.

2000—NHSA DIALOG a research-to-practice journal for the early intervention field, Volume 3, Number 3, 2000, devoted solely to issues of bilingual education for young children. Includes “Taking Stock of Research on Language Development and Emergent Literacy–Best Practices for Preschool and Kindergarten Second Language Learners” (NABE 2000); a peer-reviewed paper on linguistically diverse children’s language development; and “Ask NHSA Dialog,” a question and response forum, focusing on bilingual issues.

2000—The Head Start Child Outcomes Framework to guide Head Start programs in their ongoing assessment of the progress and accomplishments of children and to analyze and use the data in program self-assessment and ongoing program improvement. Congressionally mandated indicators for English language learners include progress in listening to and understanding English as well as progress in speaking English.

2000—The National Head Start Child Development Institute for 3,200 education leaders included major presentations regarding language development, English language learners, and preserving native languages. A Training Package for Ensuring Quality and Accountability Through Leadership based on 29 key Institute presentations was created and disseminated to the field and is now posted at www.hsnrc.org. In planning for this national Institute, the two most pressing needs identified through extensive consultation were for specific strategies to support programming for English language learners and strategies for guiding children’s behaviors.

2000—FACES: The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey launched in the Spring of 1997, is an integral part of Head Start’s system of Program Performance Measures, an outcome-oriented accountability system. FACES collects data annually on a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs, classrooms, teachers, parents, and children and examines the quality and effects of Head Start. Findings include:

• Spanish-speaking Head Start children show gains in some school readiness skills and in their performance on several tasks in English;
• By spring, most Spanish-speaking children in predominantly English language programs are able to perform a number of school related tasks in English; and
• Spanish-speaking children in predominantly English language programs have fine motor and early writing skills that are similar to their English-speaking peers, but continue to trail other children on tasks that require English language proficiency.

2001—A Descriptive Study of Seasonal Farmworker Families focused on 40 Migrant Head Start programs, detailing characteristics of the seasonal and farm worker populations with important implications for Head Start program policy and practice. This report also documented the need for continuity of educational experiences and the importance of linkages with the public school. This study also underscores the importance of language proficiency in school success and the role migratory patterns play in the academic progress of children.

2001—Supporting the Home Language and Promoting English Acquisition within Migrant and Seasonal Head Start is a technical paper from the Migrant Head Start Quality Improvement Center (QIC) and Disability QIC. It focuses on supporting Spanish–speaking English language learners within the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs and identifies the benefits of exposure to two languages as an asset that should be fostered. It suggests that all programs should possess the capabilities to provide support of the home language and implement effective practices that can allow children to become bilingual with the necessary foundation to develop their capacities to become bi–literate as well.

April 8–9, 2002—A Focus Group to Identify Strategies to Support English Language Learners in Head Start and Early Head Start Programs brought together staff and parents from local programs that serve diverse populations of children and families and subject experts in the field of second language acquisition in order to identify research–based strategies:

• To improve Head Start and Early Head Start services for children and families from non–English language backgrounds; and
• To solicit recommendations regarding effective approaches that support the development and learning of linguistically diverse children and to assess child progress over time.

Prepared by E. Dollie Wolverton for the English Language Learners Focus Group Report. April 8 – 9, 2002. Washington, D.C. The focus group of parents, staff, and subject experts was convened by the Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. Available at www.headstartinfo.org