HEAD START®

Effective Transition Practices: Facilitating Continuity

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community

Table of Contents | Preface | Introduction | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Continuing Professional Development | Informational Resources Section

program profiles: overview

Promising Practices

When we think of transitions in schools, we usually think of the movement of children between activities and classes. In recent years, funds from governmental, private, and nonprofit agencies enabled early childhood educators and administrators to redefine transitions to include children's passage between early learning and care environments.

In 1991, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children, Youth and Families funded thirty-two Head Start Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Projects. One goal of these projects was to form partnerships between Head Start and the public schools to pave the way for smoother transitions for children. Other sources of funding for transition programs include grants from private foundations; pooling of federal, state, and local resources; and collaborations between Head Start and state early childhood agencies.

Early childhood transition programs are tailored to serve the school, child care providers, and the larger community. The programs have many unique features and each profile highlights the creativity and cooperative spirit of individuals who work with families in transition. The promising practices from a sampling of programs across the country demonstrate the importance of involving administrators, frontline staff, and families. Examples of effective practices follow:

Administration Involvement

• Interagency agreements provide a foundation for pooling funding streams, sharing teaching materials, and planning joint training for public school staff and the local child care community.
  
  
• Administrators actively participate in parent nights and special events. They are accessible and have an ongoing working relationship with parents and parent groups.
  
  
• Regular meetings are scheduled to facilitate communication between Head Start and public school staff.
  
  
• Administrators provide staff leave time for joint transition training and visits to public schools and early childhood programs in the community.
  
  
• Transition coordinators serve as liaisons between feeder programs and the public schools.
  
  
• The school curriculum is planned to build on a child's previous experience and current developmental level.
  
  
• The administrator designates space in the school, assigns personnel, and forms partnerships with community agencies to provide health and social service support to families as needed.

Family Involvement

• Families are consulted at each stage of the transition process and are actively involved in making informed decisions about their children's education. Transition information packets are available for all families.
  
  
• Returning parents serve as mentors for families entering schools for the first time. Veteran parents accompany teachers, care providers, and support service personnel on home visits.
  
  
• Informal special events serve as ice breakers for families. Events include family field days, pizza parties, and theme-based activity nights. Education, care, and support service personnel attend special events and distribute information to families.
  
  
• Schools provide transportation for children and families to attend special events and supplemental programs. Child care is provided during evening family meetings.
  
  
• Family rooms and drop-in centers are housed in the schools. The family room offers parenting resources; adult education classes; and a comfortable, welcoming space.
  
  
• Family Service workers and their counterparts are assigned to families throughout their participation in the transition program.

Teacher, Caregiver, and Health and Social Services Staff Involvement

• Head Start personnel communicate with public school teachers about Head Start practices.
  
  
• Teachers consult with colleagues about the curriculum and grade-level expectations.
  
  
• Teachers and caregivers prepare children for transitions to and from their programs using books, dialogue, field trips, and family activity packets.
  
  
• Teachers make home visits before the school year begins.
  
  
• Support service personnel in Head Start meet with their counterparts in the public school on a regular basis. For example, health specialists meet with school nurses and family service coordinators meet with school counselors.

Wisconsin Head Start Transition Project

Address:
CESA 5
626 East Slifer Street
Portage, WI 53901

Renewal Unlimited
P.O. Box 77
135 Linn
Baraboo, WI 53913

Contact:
Julia Herwig/Project Director
Carola Pförtner/Coordinator
Phone: (608) 742-8811

Linda Young
Executive Director
Phone: (608) 356-8764

Program Type: National Head Start-Public School Transition Demonstration Project

Funding Source: Federal

Population: Families with children in kindergarten through third grade and their teachers

Location: Eight rural school districts (4 program and 4 comparison) in central Wisconsin

Transition Resources:

This program can be replicated via a variety of materials, resource guides, and training.

Family Services

• Strength-based Family Service Plans through Family Resource Mapping. Identifies family strengths/resources, and facilitates access to community resources.
  
  
• Thematic Family TUBs for home visits, designed to foster parent-child interaction and family growth in the areas of education, health, and family routines.
  
  
• Counseling Track (Solution Focused/Brief Counseling) of up to eight home visits with families experiencing multiple stressors.
  
  
• Learning Track for children identified as academically at risk by family or teachers; includes classroom consultations, tutoring, and in-home learning visits.
  
  
• F.A.S.T. (Families and Schools Together), a collaborative family outreach and prevention program to address family resilience, parent-child, and family-school relationships.

Education Services

• Family Involvement activities include family story hours, coffee meetings, open houses, health fairs, family nights, governing board, and joint planning at teacher institute. Volunteer/tutor coordination programs to facilitate family and community involvement.
  
  
• Teacher consultants to support developmentally appropriate practices as part of a common learning philosophy between Head Start and public schools.
  
  
• An Annual Summer Transition Institute including families and administrators. Also an administrative institute.
  
  
• Communication cycles for school change include cross-grade teacher meetings, Authentic Assessment Committees, and Educational Advisory Committees.

Community Collaborations and Health Services

• Interagency collaboration through monthly youth councils, case management, and family resource mapping.
  
  
• Joint activities such as F.A.S.T., community health fairs, and intergenerational programs.
  
  
• Local service providers (fire department, police, health providers) participate in story hours in libraries and schools.
  
  
• Collaborative monthly newsletter to 1,600 family, school, and community team members in areas of family, community, health, and education.

Achievements

• Families increase awareness and utilization of resources in school and community to meet family-identified goals in the areas of family enhancement, education, and health after transitioning from Head Start to public schools.
  
  
• Classrooms increasingly implement developmentally appropriate strategies.
  
  
• Schools demonstrate increased awareness of family-identified needs and resources.
  
  
• Resource guides and training materials for replication of transition activities.

Project Educational Impact (PEI)

Address:
Alpena Public Schools
2373 Gordon Road
Alpena, MI 49707

Contact: Jane Guyott, Program Director

Phone: (517) 356-0485

Program Type: Local initiative, foundation and grant funded

Funding Source:
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan
Michigan Children's Trust Fund

Population: Families with young children from birth through five years. The program has expanded to incorporate services through third grade.

Location: Activities are currently carried out in three elementary buildings of Alpena Public Schools, Alpena, Michigan, as well as through home visits. (Plans are to expand to the remaining seven elementary buildings.)

Transition Resources:

Family Services

• Parent mentors–parents with children in the school–are paired with new parents (if needed) in the school community to offer guidance and support as well as to answer questions.
  
  
• Monthly home visits (more if needed) by trained Home Visitors introduce parent-child activities and educational games to families that are developmentally appropriate.
  
  
• Free monthly family dinners bring parents and children into the school environment in a non-traditional, non-threatening way. Child care is provided and transportation is arranged if necessary.
  
  
• Quality parenting information is provided at the family dinners by professionals from the community.

Education Services

• Communication with the school community begins before children are enrolled in kindergarten at age five or six. Eligibility and contact begin at birth.
  
  
• Children become comfortable with the school setting through attendance at the monthly family nights.
  
  
• Children become familiar with eating in the cafeteria. They also ride the school bus before school starts.
  
  
• Each family receives a notebook on child development and parenting tips. Children also receive educational gifts that are developmentally appropriate.

Community Collaborations and Health Services

• Elementary school, Head Start, Title I, and community support through the foundation now work together with children.
  
  

• The local Probate Court and Community Mental Health Department provide services to identified at-risk families and children age six through eight.
  
  
• The program is overseen by the Project Educational Success Advisory Board which represents a variety of agencies across the community and region.

Achievements

• Families have favorable attitudes about school, and are comfortable in the school setting and with school personnel.
  
  
• Parents are more knowledgeable about child development and age-appropriate activities and expectations.
  
  
• Reduced incidents of child abuse.
  
  
• Increased parent involvement in their children's education.
  
  
• Transition to kindergarten is less stressful for children as shown by less crying at drop-off and lunch.
  
  
• Parents form friendships and volunteer to help the school and others.
  
  
• Other schools have used the family night as a model for their programs.

Cradle School

Address:
Byck Family Resource Center
2328 Cedar Street
Louisville, KY 40212

Contact: Stephany Hoover

Phone: (502) 485-8862

Program Type: Local initiative, federal and local funding

Funding Source: Federal Magnet Grant for Early Childhood Education, School District System

Population: Families with children from infancy through four years in urban school district Location: Dann C. Byck Elementary School, Louisville, Kentucky

Transition Resources:

Family Services

• The Cradle School is designed as a school-within-a-school for parents to learn while their children prepare for school.
  
  
• Families attend parenting skill classes with their infants and toddlers.
  
  
• Children aged two to four have separate early childhood learning experiences while their parents attend classes.
  
  
• Cradle School parents orient new parents to the elementary school.
  
  
• Parents are taught how to work with their children at home to continue the educational process.

Education Services

• Head Start, the Cradle School, pre-kindergarten, and the elementary school all work together to plan programming for children.
  
  
• Ungraded kindergarten through third grade, with multi-age grouping.
  
  
• Older children are paired with younger buddies. Multi-age field trips are offered in each program.

Community Collaborations and Health Services

• Since Head Start, the state pre-kindergarten program, and the Cradle School are located in the same elementary school, parents from all three groups mix for training and workshops.
  
  
• The Family Resource Center, located at Byck Elementary School, serves all families in the area.

Achievements

• Parents have become very active in the school and have become liaisons between the community and the school.
  
  
• Children whose families are involved with the Cradle School have not been retained in first grade.
  
  
• Parents and staff sing together in a chorus, The Mamas and Papas of Byck Elementary, which has performed at statewide educational functions and at school activities.

Project TRANSFER

Address:
Project TRANSFER
Community Unit School District #300
300 Cleveland Avenue
Carpentersville, IL 60110

Contact: Linda Kolbusz, Assistant Superintendent, Program Development

Phone: (847) 426-1300, ext. 313

Program Type: National Head Start-Public School Transition Demonstration Project

Funding Source: Integrated funding sources, local, state, and federal

Population: Racially and ethnically mixed communities with rapidly growing Latino, African-
American, low-income, and language minority populations

Location: Urban, suburban, and rural areas in Carpentersville and Elgin in Northern Kane
County thirty miles northwest of Chicago

Transition Resources:

Family Services

• Home visits for over 300 families include short-term and long-term family planning, social services, and education for all family members, and the celebration of developmental milestones.
  
  
• Family support, information, intervention, crafts, and Fit n' Trim groups are offered in Spanish and English. Family nights in math, science, and literacy encourage family involvement.
  
  
• Families and Schools Together (F.A.S.T.), an eight-week program, strengthens family members' and school staffs' relationships with service agency personnel.
  
  
• Family Centers are located in elementary school sites with clothing closets, food pantries, and child care facilities. Lending libraries allow families to borrow books, games, and toys.
  
  
• Adult education classes, ESL, GED, and ABE are offered both day and night at elementary schools.

Education Services

• Transition activities allow children, family members, and teachers to meet informally to ensure program continuity and school success.
  
  
• Parents, teachers, and staff attend training and workshops together to enhance developmentally appropriate activities for children.

Community Collaborations and Health Services

• Local Governing Board, composed of 51 percent parents and 49 percent school, business, and agency representatives, organizes programs and services to reduce duplication and provide seamless service delivery.
  
  
• Comprehensive Wellness Clinics support families by providing immunizations, nutritional information, counseling, WIC coupons, physicals, and other services in a school setting.
  
  
• Staff training to assist families in working appropriately with local service providers.
  
  
• Local service providers conduct conflict resolution workshops, domestic violence support groups, mental health counseling, and job training in a school setting.
  
  
• Child care is provided for parent classes, conferences, and other school/community activities.
  
  
• Integrated Program staff help others with promising practices illustrated by activities such as: Transition Maps, Family Mapping System, and the Quilt of Learning Conference.

Achievements

• Infant screening and parent information through the Public Health Department Healthy Moms/Healthy Kids Program to children, and over 525 families. Nutrition counseling to over 370 families through WIC. Immunizations of over 2,652 children and 525 screenings to determine appropriate placement and services for pre-primary children.
  
  
• Implementation of developmentally appropriate practices in schools to meet the needs of all children.
  
  
• Communitywide planning and commitment to assist children and families in need, while providing continuity in programming.
  
  
• Awards/Recognitions: National Governors Association–Governor's Campaign for Children; National Alliance of Business Bronze Community Award for Excellence in Education; Illinois State Board of Education Business Education Partnership Honorable Mention; Illinois Department of Public Health Cornerstone Foundation Award; featured in publications such as Education Week, Chicago Tribune, Illinois Kids Count 1995, Daily Herald, and Northwest Herald.

Southwest Communication Resources Infant and Early Childhood Program

Address:
Southwest Communication Resources, Inc.
P.O. Box 788
Bernalillo, NM 87004

Contact: Randi Suzanne Malach, Director of Program Services

Phone: (505) 867-3396

Program Type: Local initiative. Began as a foundation-funded project to enhance Southwest Communications Resources' early intervention program. Now all activities are incorporated into early intervention program.

Population: Serves families of diverse cultural backgrounds whose children are developmentally disabled or who have/are at risk for delays in development. These children transition to community Head Start programs (includes seven different Native American tribes and a large native/immigrant Hispanic population).

Location: Family homes, day care centers, and Head Start centers in central New Mexico

Transition Resources:

Family Services

• Family support is an integral part of services provided to families of infants/toddlers with special developmental needs.
  
  
• Staff and developmental specialists work with bilingual/bicultural liaison workers to ensure that services are culturally responsive and that native language interpretation is available as needed.
  
  
• Because children must transition during the year after their third birthday, staff help families to explore placement options when their child is two years old. The year prior to the transition, families are encouraged to visit Head Start and other placement options. Staff accompany them on visits, and parents are linked to other parents who have already experienced the transition.
  
  
• Parent-child group activities are held monthly to facilitate parent-to-parent support in a comfortable and culturally appropriate atmosphere.
  
  
• Families are assisted in completing required transition/placement documentation, arranging for testing, and setting up and participating in pre-transition meetings.

Education Services

• Developmental specialists conduct workshops for teachers on how to work more effectively with families and children who have special needs. Videotapes on inclusion (including bilingual/bicultural ones) are used to familiarize Head Start staff with inclusive services in Head Start and other child care settings.
  
  
• Children and parents visit and participate in Head Start activities several times before transition. This allows staff and family to identify areas of support that might be needed to ensure successful transition.
  
  
• After transition, staff developmental specialists visit the child in Head Start to answer questions and provide child-specific training and technical assistance. Staff also meet with Head Start and school ancillary staff to discuss successful strategies for the child.

Community Collaborations and Health Services

• An interagency agreement was formed between Southwest's Infant-Early Childhood Program, Head Start, and local school districts. This facilitates the provision of coordinated services.
  
  
• The Infant-Early Childhood Program, Head Start, and local school districts collaborate with external health and social service agencies to provide an annual Family Health Fair Day: free developmental screening, hearing and vision testing, blood pressure testing, a parade, and food and games.

Achievements

• Head Start staff are more comfortable enrolling and serving children with special health and developmental needs.
  
  
• Families are happy that their children receive necessary support services while attending the community Head Start with neighborhood children.
  
  
• Interagency coordination of services has resulted in children receiving a more comprehensive program within local communities.
  
  
• Parent-to-parent support activities have resulted in parents forming individual support networks that continue even after transition.