School Board of Brevard County Head Start

School Board of Brevard County Head Start Annual Report 2014-2015

Contents TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS... 3 Program Goals... 4 Program Governance... 4 Program Overview... 4 Head Start... 4 Financial Report... 6 Funding Sources... 6 Head Start Budget... 6 Proposed Federal Budget... 7 Fiscal Year for July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015... 7 Funding Summary... 7 Serving Families and Children... 8 Enrollment Statistics... 8 Eligibility Type... 8 Community & Program Partnerships... 8 Family Demographic Information... 9 Race... 9 Ethnicity... 9 Language... 9 Medical and Dental Services... 9 Family Engagement Activities... 10 School Readiness Strategies... 11 Curriculum Materials... 11 Staff Training... 11 Ongoing Progress Monitoring... 13 Student Outcome Data... 14 Transitions... 16 Office of Head Start Federal Review Results... 16 Financial Audit Results... 17 Program Contacts... 17 2

TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS Brevard Public Schools Head Start is a high quality federally funded program that serves three and four year old children and their families. The Head Start program is the first step in a continuum of care, education and family services that provides stable uninterrupted support beginning in preschool and extending into elementary school. Our mission is to create a safe and nurturing environment for each child that promotes successful and appropriate learning experiences in all areas of a child s development. Children participate in a variety of activities guided by school readiness goals. Comprehensive program services are delivered with a focus on family engagement. Head Start staff members partner with families to help children progress and to assist families in meeting goals. Parents are encouraged to be actively engaged in all areas of Head Start. Additional services are offered to meet the special needs of children with disabilities. All 35 Head Start classrooms are staffed with fully credentialed early childhood certified teachers who have earned either a bachelor s or a master s degree. At least one highly qualified instructional assistant also supports classroom learning. In addition to classroom staff, a family advocate is located at each site to facilitate communication between home and school and to offer support in family goal setting. Working as a team, all staff provide leadership and guidance to ensure that the components of both the Parent Family and Community Engagement Framework and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework are addressed. Our families are empowered through the acknowledgement that they are their child s first and most important teacher. By sharing the responsibility of program governance with the governing body, families are also recognized as active, contributing partners in achieving the program mission. 3

Program Goals Provide a positive and safe learning environment for all children. Promote active learning experiences by encouraging children to explore, create, and manipulate a variety of materials with adult support. Prepare children to be successful learners as they enter kindergarten. Provide support for parent education by creating positive relationships between school and home. Program Governance As the Head Start grantee, the School Board of Brevard County has established a formal structure of shared governance in which parents participate in decision making and program planning. Acting as the governing body, the school board solicits guidance from the Head Start Policy Council. The Policy Council is composed of parents and community representatives. This structure ensures that the governing body, Policy Council, Parent Committees, and program staff work cooperatively in the decision making process. Program Overview Head Start The Head Start program promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to children and families. 4

Head Start has a funded enrollment of 624 and offers a center-based model. The program calendar consists of 175 student days and each day provides a minimum of 6.5 hours of instructional time. Children attend school five days each week. This provides 1,950 minutes of weekly instructional time. The program is operated at public school sites throughout the county. Four year old Head Start children also participate in the Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten program (VPK). VPK is a state funded program that supports the Head Start school readiness goals. Head Start/VPK is provided to four year old children determined eligible for the program. Head Start - 3 is provided to three yearold children determined eligible for the program. CUMULATIVE ENROLLMENT BY AGE Age Percentage Number 3 years old 43% 317 4 years old 57% 427 5

Financial Report Funding Sources Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2015 Federal Grant Funds $4,726,783.00 Non-Federal Share $1,181,696.00 Total Budget $5,908,479.00 Head Start Budget Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2015 Explanation of Budgetary Expenditures Categories Total Payroll $2,785,416 Fringe $901,013 Travel $0 Equipment $0 Supplies $116,410 Contractual $348,338 Other $124,239 Indirect Costs $202,003 Training $24,787 Total Budgetary Expenditures $4,502,207 6

Proposed Federal Budget Fiscal Year for July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015 Categories Total Payroll $2,787,002 Fringe $950,506 Travel $0 Equipment $0 Supplies $206,635 Contractual $380,839 Other $151,691 Indirect Costs $196,029 Training $54,081 Total Proposed Budget $4,726,783 The funding request submitted in the Refunding Application for 2014-15 was $4,726,783. Proposed travel expenditures have been included in the training budget. Funding Summary For 2014-2015 Program Year Federal Funds-Operations $4,672,702 Federal Funds-Training $ 54,081 Non-Federal Share $1,181,696 Total Head Start Budget $5,908,479 7

Serving Families and Children Enrollment Statistics Total number of families and children served: 744 Average monthly enrollment: 624 or 100% of the funded enrollment Total number of children with disabilities served: 116 or 18.6% of the funded enrollment Homeless 4.3% Public Assistance (TANF / SSI) 17.3% Over Income 5.5% Eligibility Type Foster Care.5% Earn less than 100% of the federal poverty level 72.4% Community & Program Partnerships There were 539 community linkages made in support of families through the program partnership with Brevard CARES. The mental health and disabilities specialist partnered with Kinder Konsulting to provide mental health consultation and services to 43 children and families. The school district transportation services transported 131 children by bus to and from their Head Start program location each day. Number of Meals Served Number of Snacks Served 181,998 89,247 8

Family Demographic Information Race 51% 1% African American 36% Multi-racial White 12% Other Ethnicity 80% 20% Hispanic or Latino Origin Non-Hispanic or Non- Latino Language 12% 4% 84% English Spanish Other Medical and Dental Services Completed Percentage Number Exam Medical 97% 608 Dental 36% 224 9

Family Engagement Activities It is important that families have access to meaningful engagement experiences because our goal is to establish a framework from which parents will work for the duration of their child s educational journey. Dr. Teresa Wright, Executive Director of Head Start Completed Home Visits Completed Parent Conferences 1030 1028 Number of Volunteers Number of Head Start Volunteers 383 373 Number of Family Meetings Number of Parents in Attendance Number of Fathers/Father Figures 224 2503 585 The value of school readiness for our students is far reaching. The value of family engagement is equally important, perhaps even more so. When you take a look at our opportunity to positively impact entire families, the child sitting in one of our high quality classrooms becomes a bonus. Terri Barlow, Director of Head Start and Principal of Riverview School 10

School Readiness Strategies Curriculum Materials The program utilizes Creative Curriculum to meet the needs of a wide variety of learners and Teaching Strategies GOLD as the ongoing progress monitoring tool. Teachers, working collaboratively with parents, district staff and administrators, have created an alignment between Creative Curriculum, the Head Start School Readiness Goals, GOLD Objectives and the Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards for three and four year olds. This alignment tool guides teacher planning and ensures accountability for program instructtion. District staff provides Conscious Discipline and Second Step training to teachers to support the social/emotional growth of children. Daily classroom routines are established using the HighScope framework. Staff Training Staff training begins before the first day of school and continues throughout the year. All staff receive program orientation that includes curriculum and assessment updates, health and safety requirements and professional development based on the analysis of outcome data. Teaching teams are observed a minimum of two times each year using CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System).CLASS is designed to improve the quality of teacher/child interactions. CLASS measures teacher-child interactions across three domains: emotional support, classroom organization and instructional support. All Head Start staff are CLASS certified reliable observers. To further support the 11

development of high quality interactions, each teacher and instructional assistant receives MMCI (Making the Most of Classroom Interactions) training. District staff provides ongoing support to teaching teams with the implementation of the GOLD assessment so that student data is collected and documented with fidelity. Each instructional assistant also completes a sequence of online training components to improve instructional practices and to support the development of literacy skills. Date Domain Score Fall 2014 Program Self Monitoring CLASS Data Emotional Support 6.10 Classroom Organization 5.63 Instructional Support 3.56 Emotional Support 5.87 Spring 2015 Classroom Organization 5.32 Instructional Support 3.37 Date Domain Score January 2015 Federal Review CLASS Data Emotional Support 5.98 Classroom Organization 5.74 Instructional Support 2.75 12

Ongoing Progress Monitoring District staff collects data on an ongoing basis to determine how well children are progressing across the five central domains of the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Teaching Strategies GOLD is the primary data collection tool. It is based on 38 objectives that include predictors of school success. GOLD data is aggregated by classroom and program level three times per year. At each point, staff studies outcomes across domains to identify strengths and areas for growth relative to the school readiness goals. Next, the staff looks at the distribution of scores to examine the variability of children s progress. By working collaboratively with teachers, staff determines the most appropriate placement of additional support to positively impact student learning. Student outcome data is shared with teachers, parents, school administrators, district personnel, the school board, and the parent policy council. The progress of children with suspected or identified disabilities is monitored by recording observations and assessment results on documentation that is specific to each IEP. 13

Student Outcome Data 2014-2015 GOLD Data for 3 Year Olds School Readiness Domain Meeting/Exceeding Expectations Checkpoint 1 to 2 Winter 2015 Meeting/Exceeding Expectations Checkpoint 1 to 3 Spring 2015 Social/Emotional 69.3% to 96% 69.3% to 99.5% Approaches to Learning Language and Literacy Cognition and General Knowledge Physical Development 78.7% to 96.8% 78.7% to 98.1% 61.2% to 89.45% 57.3% to 95.15% 53% to 88.9% 53% to 98.1% 85.6% to 99.1% 85.6% to 100% 14

2014-2015 GOLD Data for 4 Year Olds School Readiness Domain Meeting/Exceeding Expectations Checkpoint 1 to 2 Winter 2015 Meeting/Exceeding Expectations Checkpoint 1 to 3 Spring 2015 Social/Emotional 52% to 84.3% 52% to 96% Approaches to Learning Language and Literacy Physical Development Cognition and General Knowledge 50.5% to 86.8% 50.5% to 95.6% 57.3% to 79.2 % 57.3% to 96% 57.4% to 85.6% 57.4% to 91.2% 33.9% to 80% 33.9% to 90.6% 15

Transitions The transition from Head Start into kindergarten is seamless because the grantee is Brevard Public Schools. All Head Start classrooms, with the exception of two sites, are located within elementary schools. Because the Head Start children ride the same buses, eat in the same cafeterias, and participate in many of the same activities as the elementary children, the transition is smooth and effective. Families mingle with kindergarten teachers, visit classrooms, and become familiar with routines through daily involvement in the elementary school experience. Activities that target this effort include kindergarten open houses and family orientations. As an added layer of support, Head Start has developed a transition plan to extend learning into the summer months. The plan includes summer backpacks designed through a collaborative effort between family advocates and teachers. The backpacks contain a variety of learning materials and books that are age specific for either three or four year olds. Families receive the backpacks after participating in a parent education meeting during which they learn how to use the materials at home. Head Start student health and education files, maintained with other school records, are easily transferred in a timely manner during the transition process. Office of Head Start Federal Review Results The Overview of Findings report for the Environmental Health and Safety review conducted by the Office of Head Start during the week of 5/26/2015 5/29/2015 revealed full program compliance with all applicable federal regulations. This is a significant achievement for the program and provides evidence that principals, teachers, support and district staff members work as a team to ensure the program remains in compliance with Head Start requirements. 16

Financial Audit Results Moore Stephens Lovelace P.A. conducted an audit of the financial statements of Brevard Public Schools. The audit provided an unmodified opinion and no findings or internal control issues were identified. Program Contacts Dr. Teresa Wright Director of Early Childhood & Title I 321.633.1000 x340 wright.teresa@brevardschools.org Terri Barlow Head Start Principal 321.617-7786 x220 barlow.terri@brevardschools.org Angie Doucette Head Start Coordinator 321.633.1000 x282 doucette.angie@brevardschools.org 17

SCHOOL BOARD OF BREVARD COUNTY Educational Services Facility 2700 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Melbourne, FL 32940-6601 SUPERINTENDENT Dr. Desmond Blackburn SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS Amy Kneessy, Chairman Karen Henderson, Vice Chairman Misty Belford John Craig Andy Ziegler NON-DISCRIMINATION NOTICE The School Board of Brevard County, Florida does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, pregnancy, disability or marital status in its educational programs, services or activities, or in its hiring or employment practices. The district also provides equal access to its facilities to the Boy Scouts and other patriotic youth groups, as required by the Boys Scout of America Equal Access Act. The School Board of Brevard County is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Amendment Act of 2008 (ADAA), the Florida Education Equity Act of 1984, Age Discrimination Act of 1967 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Civil Rights Act of 1964 including: Title II, Title VI, and Title VII, United Stated Education Amendments of 1972 - Title IX, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act. Questions, complaints, or requests for additional information regarding discrimination or harassment may be sent to the following equity coordinators: Student/Public Equity Mr. Robin L. Novelli Dir. High School Programs 2700 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Melbourne, FL 32940 (321) 631-1911, Ext. 310 Novelli.Robin@Brevardschools.org Exceptional Education/504 Equity Dr. Patricia Fontan Dir. Exceptional Student Education 2700 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Melbourne, FL 32940 (321) 631-1911 Ext. 505 Fontan.Patricia@Brevardschools.org Employee/Job Applicant Equity Mr. James C. Hickey IV Dir. Human Resources & Labor Rel. 2700 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Melbourne, FL 32940 (321) 631-1911 Ext. 265 Hickey.Jim@brevardschools.org Reasonable accommodations are available for persons with disabilities to complete the application and/or interview process. Applicants/Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may contact the Employee/Job Applicant Equity Coordinator for assistance. This Publication or portions of this publication can be made available to persons with disabilities in a variety of formats, including large print, braille or audiotape. Telephone or written request should include your name, address, and telephone number. Requests should be made to Kim Parker, Exceptional Education Projects, (321) 633-1000, School ext. 535, Board at least of two Brevard (2) weeks County prior to Head the time Start you Annual need the Report publication. 2014-2015 18