HeadsUp!: New Opportunities in Professional Development for Head Start Staff

By Gabrielle Fardwell

Professional development is important to Head Start staff and especially vital to every Head Start teacher. Important new developments are constantly being made in how to care for and teach young children, and Head Start staff remains committed to the highest quality child care and education. At the same time, requirements for degreed teachers have increased. Further, finding access to affordable, convenient, quality training can be a challenge, particularly for large Head Start programs and those in rural areas.

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) is keenly aware of these issues and in 1998 unveiled an innovative way for Head Start staff and parents to benefit from the latest training in early care and education practices. The HeadsUp! Network, dedicated exclusively to the Head Start and early childhood community, provides cost-effective training and professional development in key areas including program management, health, infant/toddler development, parenting issues, Head Start news, and more. Programs across the U.S. can easily train their staffs, parents, and community partners on-site via satellite television at convenient times. This means entire staffs and parents can learn while they earn vital education credits, without incurring the time and expense involved in travel. This advantage is key in making the most of program training dollars.

Among the greatest strengths of the network is the variety of professional development credits it offers. Not only are credits toward the CDA credential available for selected training, but in Fall 2000, HeadsUp! launched HeadsUp! Reading, a new, 44-hour research-based early literacy course that offers CDA, continuing education units (CEU), and college credit. Course content is delivered by a renowned faculty of experts and is supported by the Internet and trained on-site facilitators.

Partnerships are key to making HeadsUp! work. The Network includes leaders in curriculum development, adult learning principles, television production, and other key disciplines. To make the programming cost-effective for programs, HeadsUp! has arranged to provide the receiving equipment to programs at no charge.

Today, the HeadsUp! Network delivers state-of-the-art training to thousands of Head Start and early childhood programs in 47 states. Most of the early childhood communities across the states of Ohio, Nebraska, California, and Pennsylvania are participating in HeadsUp! Reading and several other states have expressed interest in joining the network in similar ways. In addition, individual new sites are coming on-line each day.

But that is just the beginning. Staff at programs can earn a full associate degree in early childhood from the University of Cincinnati via their HeadsUp! Network equipment, and new programming is in the evaluation stages, which will add even more value for Head Start staff and parents.

The HeadsUp! Network's unique combination of direct delivery to centers, education credits, a low monthly fee, and free equipment combine to enable staff and parents to provide top-notch care and education to Head Start children now and in the future.

Gabrielle Fardwell is HeadsUp! Marketing Manager at the National Head Start Association.

For more information on the HeadsUp! Network, call 1-800-GET-HUTV or visit www.heads-up.org.