Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community:
Individualizing: A Plan for Success
Module 1
| Contents
| Preface
| Introduction
|| Module 2
| Module 3
| Module 4 | |
Learning About Each Child--The First Step in Individualizing
In this module participants learn why individualizing is important, review skills used to carry out the four steps in The Individualizing Cycle, and use multiple sources of information to get to know each child.
Outcomes
- As a result of completing this module, participants will be able to:
- Use ongoing observation, planning, communication, and evaluation skills to carry out the four steps in The Individualizing Cycle
- Use a combination of formal and informal strategies and tools to identify the unique characteristics of individual children in collaboration with families, Head Start staff, and consultants
- Share screening results with families and Head Start staff, with the family's permission, and refer a child for an evaluation when indicated
- Set goals for individual children in collaboration with families and Head Start staff, based on screening results
- Individualizing allows families and education staff/FCC providers to respond to each child's built-in time clock for development, as well as to his or her culture, family, home language, life experiences, strengths, needs, skills, and abilities.
- Head Start encourages families to participate in all steps of The Individualizing Cycle.
- Head Start ensures that every enrolled child has an up-to-date examination of his or her medical, dental, mental health, and speech and hearing so that problems can be detected early and treated promptly.
- Head Start staff/FCC providers use multiple sources of information to conduct a developmental, sensory, and behavioral screening for each child.
Theories and principles of child development describe how children grow and learn. Developmental milestone charts predict the approximate ages at which children develop specific cognitive, physical, social, and emotional skills and abilities. Child development theories, principles, and milestones describe, in general, how young children develop. However, to encourage a child's development, we also need to know what makes that child unique. Recognizing each child's unique characteristics and planning a curriculum that responds to these differences is called individualizing.
What Makes Each Child Unique?
Children develop at different rates. They gain skills and learn new concepts according to individual time clocks. For example, some babies walk before they are a year old, while others need a few more months to develop this physical skill. Many other characteristics make children unique. They grow up in the context of family and culture, both of which contribute to their individuality. Children vary in temperament--the inborn characteristics that affect their responses to people, events, and environments. Some children are affected by disabilities, health conditions, or high levels of stress. Other factors that help define the individual child include:
- Home language
- Special interests, often based on life experiences
- Strengths
- Needs
- Likes and dislikes
- Preferred learning styles
Why Do We Individualize?
Comprehensive, high-quality early childhood programs such as Head Start have found that individualizing is the most effective way to foster young children's healthy growth and development. Individualizing allows staff/FCC providers and families to plan a curriculum--schedule, environment, materials, interactions, routines, and activities--that encourages children to use the skills they already have and challenges them to develop new ones. Through an individualized curriculum, children can experience success and growth rather than failure and frustration.
The Individualizing Cycle
By completing each step in The Individualizing Cycle, Head Start staff/FCC providers and families can encourage the development and learning of each child. As you read the following description of The Individualizing Cycle, you can also refer to Appendix A: The What? Why? and What's Next? of Individualizing.
1: Screening
Step 1 in The Individualizing Cycle is screening--getting to know each child. Staff learn about each child's health and developmental history, culture, family, home language, skills, needs, strengths, abilities, temperament, preferred learning style, and likes and dislikes. This information becomes the basis for an individualized child development and education approach.
Head Start requires that all children receive health examinations and screenings of their developmental, sensory, and behavioral status. Health examinations are medical, dental, and mental health examinations that are always conducted by licensed health professionals such as physicians, medical practitioners, or dentists. Health screenings may be done by health professionals or other trained individuals. (Refer to the Head Start Program Performance Standards for an in-depth discussion of screening.)
Education staff rely on multiple sources of information to conduct a screening for each child. These sources include reports from families of their children's health; developmental, sensory, and behavioral history; and their skills, interests, strengths, and needs. Other sources include home visits, staff and consultant observations of children, samples of children's work, and the results of a standardized developmental screening instrument. A standardized screening instrument is one that has been determined to be reliable and valid as a result of a rigorous test development phase.
Typically, education staff, with the family's permission, administer a developmental screening instrument. Appropriate developmental screening instruments for preschool children are:
- Child-centered: focus on individual skills
- Multidimensional: measure social, emotional, cognitive, and physical growth
- Activity-centered: require children to perform tasks that can be observed
- Reliable and valid
Head Start programs should be aware that it is nearly impossible to find a developmental screening instrument that is completely nonbiased and appropriate for all children, regardless of home language and culture. When a program serves children from differing cultures and home languages, it may be necessary to adapt the screening instrument and procedures to collect accurate information. Some programs use cultural and language mediators or interpreters to communicate with children, families, and staff during the screening process.
Staff share screening results with families using culturally sensitive and respectful terms. Staff also share screening results with staff and specialists from all of the disciplines represented on the Head Start team.
2: Evaluation
Step 2 of The Individualizing Cycle, evaluation, applies only to children whose screening results indicate a possible problem. In such cases, education staff seek a family's permission to refer their child to a specialist who can conduct an in-depth examination of the child's health, developmental, sensory, and/or behavioral status. Health evaluations are conducted by health professionals, and lead to diagnosis and treatment. Developmental, sensory, and/or behavioral evaluations are conducted by specialists in collaboration with local agencies under the provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA provides funding for local early intervention programs serving infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) serving preschoolers and older children.
As when administering a standardized developmental screening instrument, programs should be aware of the effects of language and cultural differences during use of an evaluation instrument. Specialists who administer instruments and interpret the results should be culturally competent. This means that they understand the culture and language of a referred child and family and can apply this knowledge during the evaluation process. When needed, programs can also use culture and language mediators or interpreters as described earlier.
2-A: Multidisciplinary Team Meeting and 2-B: Develop and Implement IFSP/IEP
In Steps 2-A and 2-B, the multidisciplinary team meeting, Head Start staff/FCC providers, the child's family, the disabilities services coordinator, early intervention program/LEA representatives, and other consultants meet to review the evaluation results. Sensitivity to a family's culture and language is crucial to the success of this meeting. The multidisciplinary team determines whether the child meets the Head Start and/or the early intervention program/LEA eligibility criteria for special education services and usually makes one of the following decisions:
- The child does not meet Head Start or early intervention/LEA eligibility criteria for special education services. Head Start staff and the child's family plan an individualized approach based on screening and evaluation results.
- The child meets Head Start and early intervention program/LEA eligibility criteria for special education services. Using input from Head Start staff and the child's family, the designated agency develops a comprehensive Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) for children from birth to age three or an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for children ages three and up. The IFSP includes plans for providing services to the infant or toddler and his or her family. The IFSP or IEP outlines both the child's needs and strengths. The special education service requirements of the child, as designated in the IFSP or IEP, are provided under the supervision of the disabilities services coordinator in collaboration with the early intervention program/LEA and other service agencies. For these children, the early intervention program/LEA's agreement to the individualized plan indicates their commitment to ensure that the child receives needed services.
- The child meets Head Start eligibility criteria for special education services; however, the early intervention program/LEA does not recognize the child as having a disability. Head Start eligibility criteria were developed to be compatible with eligibility criteria used by early intervention programs/LEAs, so this outcome is the exception. Staff and families plan an individualized program based on screening and evaluation results, and Head Start assumes primary responsibility for ensuring that the child receives needed services. If Head Start believes that a child was denied services due to an inappropriate decision by the multidisciplinary team, the program staff should help families understand and exercise their rights to request further evaluations of their child's needs.
Step 3 in The Individualizing Cycle is planning for individual children. Planning begins as soon as a child is enrolled. Throughout the year, the staff/FCC providers and family use the information gained through screening, evaluation if applicable, and ongoing assessment (see below) to set goals for the child and plan a child development and education approach that responds to and builds on the child's culture, home language, and other unique characteristics. The plan might include strategies related to aspects of the curriculum such as the schedule, environment, materials and equipment, activities and routines, and interactions. The plan should be adjusted frequently in response to up-to-date information collected through ongoing assessment.
For some children, the planning process also includes developing strategies for responding to health-related needs. For example, when a child is diagnosed with food allergies or a chronic illness such as asthma, education staff/FCC providers, the health coordinator, and the child's parents should agree on and put in writing the strategies that will be used to ensure the child's health and participation in program activities. (See the Head Start training guide Well Child Health Care for further information.)
Children are growing and changing all the time. They may develop new interests, be affected by life experiences or changing family circumstances, or respond positively to treatment for an identified health condition. Step 4 in The Individualizing Cycle, ongoing assessment, allows staff/FCC providers and families to track a child's progress and keep up with changing characteristics. Observations, checklists, communications with families, anecdotes shared by consultants, and samples of children's work are among the sources used for ongoing assessment. This information can be maintained in an individual portfolio--a living record of a child's progress as he or she participates in and learns from Head Start experiences. (See Module 4 for information on how to use an individual portfolio for a child.)
Staff/FCC providers and the child's family meet periodically to review the contents of the child's portfolio and assess progress. They then use this information to set new goals and plan strategies for continuing to encourage the child's development. For example, a parent and home visitor have both noticed a toddler using small motor skills with greater competence. They respond by providing a small pitcher so the child can pour her own drinks, offering a variety of manipulatives such as large wooden beads and strings, and encouraging the toddler to dress herself.
Ongoing assessment might lead staff and parents to identify signs of a health and/or developmental problem. When this occurs, a child should be referred for evaluation (see Step 2 of The Individualizing Cycle as described above).
A Dynamic Process
The Individualizing Cycle is a dynamic process. The steps in the cycle are repeated throughout a child's Head Start experiences. Staff/FCC providers and families are always learning more about each child, reviewing progress, setting new goals, and planning new individualized approaches for encouraging development and learning.
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Trainer/Coach Preparation Notes:
In the Head Start community and in the medical and early childhood fields, the terms used to describe the steps in The Individualizing Cycle may differ from those used in this guide. The terms in this guide are defined as follows: Screening is the process of using multiple sources of information to learn about a child's individual characteristics and developmental, sensory, and behavioral history and status. Evaluation is the diagnostic testing and/or examination of a child for observable, known, or suspected health, developmental, sensory, and/or behavioral problems. Ongoing assessment is the use of multiple sources of information to track a child's progress and to keep up with his or her changing characteristics. To ensure that participants gain a clear understanding of the steps in The Individualizing Cycle, use terms that are familiar to them. |
| Activity 1-1: The Individualizing Cycle |
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Purpose: In this activity, participants define individualizing, review the steps in The Individualizing Cycle, and examine how the steps contribute to an individualized child development and education approach. |
Outcome:
Participants define and follow the four steps in The Individualizing Cycle.
Materials:
- Chart paper, markers, tape
- Index cards or Post-Its (optional for Step 6)
- Handout 1: The What? Why? How? and What's Next? of Individualizing
- Handout 2: The Individualizing Cycle
- Appendix A: The What? Why? and What's Next? of Individualizing
- Appendix B: Ensuring Culturally Competent Practices
- Explain to participants that this activity is an overview of the steps in The Individualizing Cycle. If further workshops are planned, explain that the next one will focus on the first two steps in the process-screening and evaluation. Subsequent modules will address developing partnerships with families, planning and implementing an individualized program, and conducting ongoing assessment.
Trainer Preparation Notes: Your role in this activity is to help participants clarify what they already know about individualizing. As Head Start staff/FCC providers, they probably are familiar with individualizing and already get to know each child and plan an individualized program. However, they may not view these steps as inter-related pieces of The Individualizing Cycle. - Ask participants to work in pairs to define individualizing for children in Head Start. Give participants 5 minutes to complete this assignment. Invite volunteers to record their definitions on chart paper. Post the definitions.
- Discuss the definitions with the group. Help participants reach a consensus on a single definition that includes two key elements: (1) getting to know what makes each child unique and (2) using information about each child in program planning. Refer to the following example:
Individualizing is the ongoing process of recognizing each child's characteristics and planning a curriculum that responds to these differences.
Next, make the following points:
- Getting to know each child: In Head Start, we get to know children by using multiple sources of information during screening and, when indicated, evaluation of a child's health, developmental, sensory, and/or behavioral status. As children participate in Head Start, we continue learning about them through ongoing assessment, which also relies on multiple sources of information.
- Planning the curriculum: In Head Start, we plan and implement an individualized curriculum using information about each child. We use information collected during ongoing assessment to plan and implement new ways to respond to a child's changing skills, needs, interests, and other characteristics.
- Getting to know each child: In Head Start, we get to know children by using multiple sources of information during screening and, when indicated, evaluation of a child's health, developmental, sensory, and/or behavioral status. As children participate in Head Start, we continue learning about them through ongoing assessment, which also relies on multiple sources of information.
- Ask participants to divide into four small groups. Distribute Handout 1: The What? Why? How? and What's Next? of Individualizing. Assign a different step to each group. Review the instructions on the handout, stressing that participants can complete the activity using what they already know about the assigned step. Give participants 20 minutes to complete this assignment.
- Beginning with Step 1 on the handout, have the groups describe their assigned steps. Then distribute Handout 2: The Individualizing Cycle so that participants can see how one step leads to the next.
Trainer Preparation Notes: During discussion of the steps in The Individualizing Cycle, participants may raise questions about the roles of staff/FCC providers and families, recommended strategies, handling special situations, and so on. You can respond by either addressing the questions at the time or tabling them for discussion during subsequent modules in this guide. Participants can save their questions on index cards, Post-Its, or chart paper. - As you lead a summary discussion, make the following points about The Individualizing Cycle:
- All children enrolled in Head Start receive screenings and health examinations.
- In general, medical, dental, and mental health examinations are conducted by licensed health professionals, health screenings are conducted by health professionals or other trained persons, and screenings (developmental, sensory, and behavioral) are conducted by education staff.
- Families must give permission for their children's screening, health examinations, and evaluations. Family involvement is encouraged in all steps in The Individualizing Cycle.
- Head Start programs should respect the cultures and home languages of all children and families by using culturally competent practices throughout The Individualizing Cycle.
- Step 2 applies only to children with observable, known, or suspected health, developmental, sensory, and/or behavioral problems. It includes 2-A: a multidisciplinary team meeting and may include 2-B: the development and implementation of individualized plans. A child could be referred to Step 2 at enrollment, after screening, or whenever a problem is observed, known, or suspected.
- Steps 3 and 4 apply to all children enrolled in Head Start. Staff and families develop and implement individualized plans and conduct ongoing assessment throughout a child's Head Start experiences.
- The Individualizing Cycle is dynamic and ongoing. It responds as children gain new skills, develop new interests, and experience changing life circumstances.
- As you lead a summary discussion, make the following points about The Individualizing Cycle:
- Distribute Appendix A: The What? Why? and What's Next? of Individualizing and Appendix B: Ensuring Culturally Competent Practices. Explain that these are references that participants can use with the charts they completed during this activity.
| Activity 1-2: Why Do You Do What You Do? |
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Purpose: In this activity, participants define individualizing, review the steps in The Individualizing Cycle, and examine how these steps contribute to an individualized child development and education approach. |
Outcome:
Participants define and follow the four steps in The Individualizing Cycle.
Materials:
- Chart paper, markers, tape
- Index cards or Post-Its (optional for Step 3)
- Handout 2: The Individualizing Cycle
- Handout 3: Why Do We Do What We Do?
- Appendix A: The What? Why? and What's Next? of Individualizing
- Appendix B: Ensuring Culturally Competent Practices
- Explain to participants that this activity provides an overview of individualizing and is a review of the steps in The Individualizing Cycle. If additional coaching activities are planned, explain that the next one will focus on the first two steps in the process-screening and evaluation. Subsequent modules will address developing partnerships with families, planning and implementing an
individualized program, and conducting ongoing assessment.
Coach Preparation Notes: During discussion of the steps in The Individualizing Cycle, participants may raise questions about the roles of staff and families, recommended strategies, handling special situations, and so on. You can respond by either addressing the questions now or tabling them for discussion during subsequent modules in this guide. Participants can save their questions on index cards, Post-Its, or chart paper. - Ask participants to think of something they did in response to a child on a typical day in Head Start. For example, how did they respond to a child who was acting in the following way:
- Asking for attention (through crying, talking, or other behavior)
- Playing with toys or using materials
- Exploring the outdoors
- Solving a problem
- Playing alone, with another child, or in a small group
- Separating from or reuniting with a family member
- Reading a book
- Eating or drinking during a feeding or mealtime
When participants have a specific incident in mind, ask the following questions:
What was the setting of this incident?
What did the child do?
What did you do?
What did you know about the child and/or family that led to your specific response?
How did you know this about the child and/or family?
Handout 3: Why Do We Do What We Do? includes two examples you can use to demonstrate this process. - Discuss the following definition of individualizing and how it applies to the incidents described by participants:
Individualizing is the ongoing process of recognizing each child's unique characteristics and planning a curriculum that responds to these differences.
Use participants' responses to point out that they individualize the program by: (1) getting to know what makes each child unique, and (2) using information about each child in program planning.
- Distribute Handout 2: The Individualizing Cycle. Use the handout and the Background Information in this module to review the steps in The Individualizing Cycle and how they are interrelated.
- Ask participants to describe how they demonstrate respect for cultural and language diversity as they carry out each step in The Individualizing Cycle. Distribute Appendix B: Ensuring Culturally Competent Practices for use as a reference.
- Distribute Appendix A: The What? Why? and What's Next? of Individualizing. Explain that this on-the-job reference summarizes The Individualizing Cycle.
| Activity 1-3: Learning about Each Unique Individual |
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Purpose: In this activity, participants learn to use multiple sources of information, including standardized developmental screening instruments, to get to know each child. |
Outcomes:
Participants use a combination of formal and informal strategies and tools to identify the unique characteristics of individual children in collaboration with families, Head Start staff, and consultants.
Participants share screening results with families and Head Start staff and, with a family's permission, refer a child for an evaluation, when indicated.
Participants set goals for individual children in collaboration with families and Head Start staff, based on screening results.
Materials:
- Chart paper, markers, tape
- Handout 2: The Individualizing Cycle
- Handout 4: Using Multiple Sources of Information
- Handout 5: Introducing a Unique Head Start Child and Family
- Handout 6: Filling in the Blanks
- The program's Developmental Screening Instrument
- Appendix C: Selecting a Developmental Screening Instrument
- Explain to participants that this activity will review Head Start's screening and evaluation process and focus on the importance of using multiple sources of information to get to know what makes each child a unique individual.
- Ask participants to tell you everything they know about the program's screening and evaluation process. Have a volunteer record this information on chart paper. If needed, you can use the following questions as prompts:
Screening
- What is screening?
- When does it take place?
- Which children are screened?
- What is the purpose of screening?
- Who conducts the screening?
- What instruments and strategies are used during screening?
- How are children prepared?
- How are families involved?
- How do staff show respect for cultural and language diversity?
- How are screening results used?
Evaluation
- What is evaluation?
- When does it take place?
- How does the program ask families for permission to refer a child for evaluation?
- Which children are referred for an evaluation?
- What is the purpose of evaluation?
- Who conducts the evaluation?
- What instruments and strategies are used during evaluation?
- How are children prepared?
- How are families involved?
- How do staff/FCC providers show respect for cultural and language diversity?
- What happens after the evaluation?
- Who participates in the multidisciplinary team meeting?
- Which children receive IFSPs or IEPs?
- How are IFSPs or IEPs implemented and monitored?
Trainer Preparation Notes: Tailor your review of Head Start's screening and evaluation process to the training needs of the participants. Spend as much or as little time as is needed to make sure participants have a broad understanding of the process. - Distribute Handout 2: The Individualizing Cycle. Use the information offered by participants, the Background Information for this module, and the diagram on the handout to give a brief overview of Head Start's approach to screening and evaluation.
- Ask participants to form four small groups. Have each group spend 10 minutes generating a list of the sources of information members use to get to know children and families. The lists are likely to include:
- Observation notes
- Anecdotal records
- Health records
- Staff/FCC provider meetings
- Results of developmental screening instruments
- Checklists
- Conversations with families
- Home visits
- Results of evaluation instruments
- Reports from consultants
- Have participants share their sources of information in round-robin style. The first group shares a source from its list, the second group shares another source, and so on. The groups continue to share without repeating a source until they run out of items.
- Distribute Appendix C: Selecting a Developmental Screening Instrument and the developmental screening instrument used by the program. Use the checklist in the Appendix to discuss why the instrument was selected and how it is used. If appropriate, discuss how the instrument and its administration procedures are adapted to respect cultural and language diversity.
- Ask the groups to take turns selecting sources of information from their master list until all are assigned. Distribute and review the instructions for Handout 4: Using Multiple Sources of Information. Give participants 20 minutes to complete this assignment.
- Ask each group to share what they learned. Lead a summary discussion, stressing the following key points:
- The same information can be collected from different sources.
- By the time we administer a formal screening instrument, we already know a lot about each child and family.
- Families are critical sources of information about a child's health and developmental history, culture, home language, experiences, interests, skills, needs, strengths, abilities, likes and dislikes, and, of course, relationships with other family members.
- Using multiple sources of information leads to a complete picture of a child and family.
- The same information can be collected from different sources.
- Have participants remain in their small groups. Distribute and review the instructions for Handout 5: Introducing a Unique Head Start Child and Family. Give participants 20 minutes to complete this assignment. When the descriptions are finished, have each group trade with another one.
- Distribute and review the instructions for Handout 6: Filling in the Blanks. Give participants 20 minutes to complete this assignment.
- Ask the groups that exchanged profiles of information to meet with each other and share what they recorded on Handout 6: Filling in the Blanks. Have the paired groups give each other feedback on whether they identified the missing information or additional gaps. Allow 20 minutes for the entire process.
- Close the session by reinforcing the importance of involving families in Head Start's screening and evaluation process. Ask participants to share with a partner one new strategy that they plan to use to enhance family participation in this process.
| Activity 1-4: Getting to Know All about You |
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Purpose: In this activity, participants define the characteristics that make each child a unique individual and learn to use multiple sources of information to get to know each child. |
Outcomes:
Participants use a combination of formal and informal strategies and tools to identify the unique characteristics of individual children in collaboration with families, Head Start staff, and consultants.
Participants share screening results with families and Head Start staff and, with a family's permission, refer a child for an evaluation, when indicated.
Participants set goals for individual children, in collaboration with families and Head Start staff, based on screening results.
Materials:
- Chart paper, markers, tape
- Handout 7: Introducing . . .
- Appendix C: Selecting a Developmental Screening Instrument
- Explain to participants that this activity focuses on defining the characteristics that make each child a unique individual and using multiple sources of information to build a complete picture of each child.
- Ask participants to assume the role of a family member and list everything they would want Head Start to know about their child. (As an alternative, ask participants to take on a child's perspective and list the things they would want Head Start to know about them.)
- Next, have participants return to the perspective of a Head Start staff member. Ask them to work with you to list information about each child and family that will help them include families in planning and implementing an individualized program. For example, they might want to know the following information:
Did the child attend another child development program? If so, what activities did he or she enjoy?
How does the child respond to new situations and people?
What self-help skills does the child use regularly?
What are the child's and family's cultural beliefs and practices?
What is the child's home language? Does the child have skills in more than one language?
What is the child's typical schedule for eating and sleeping?
What social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills has the child mastered? Which ones are being developed?
Who are the adults and children who live with the child? How does the child relate to these people?
What can the child do really well?
Ask participants to compare this list of questions with the list of what a family or child might want Head Start to know (Step 2 of this activity). Are the lists similar or different? Are there items on the family or child list that they would like to add to the Head Start list?
- Record on chart paper the following categories typically used to describe a child's unique characteristics. Leave space under each one.
Culture Family Home Language Life Experiences Skills Needs Strengths Abilities Interests Temperament (inborn traits) Learning Styles Likes and Dislikes Health Status Development Status Ask participants if they want to add other categories. Record them on the chart paper. Have participants group the items listed in Steps 2 and 3 of this activity into these categories.
Allow participants a few minutes to review their work. Ask participants, If you knew this information about a child and family, would it help you offer an individualized child development program? Explain that they have identified the information about a child that is typically collected through Head Start's screening and evaluation process.
- Discuss the following sources of information used during Head Start's screening and evaluation process. As you review each source, ask participants to match it with one or more items on the list developed in Step 4. Examples are in parentheses.
- Observation notes (self-help skills the child uses in routines)
- Anecdotal records (how the child plays with others)
- Health records (whether the child has any food allergies)
- Staff meetings (materials the child can use)
- Developmental screening results (cognitive skills)
- Checklists (small motor development)
- Conversations with families (how the child handles frustration)
- Home visits (the child's interests)
- Reports from cultural and language mediators or interpreters (how culture and language affect screening and assessment)
- Evaluation results (preferred learning style)
- Reports from consultants (developmental strengths and needs)
Distribute Appendix C: Selecting a Developmental Screening Instrument and the developmental screening instrument used by the program. Use the checklist in the Appendix to discuss why the instrument was selected and how it is used.
- Ask participants to use the information in the file of a child enrolled in Head Start to complete Handout 7: Introducing. . .. Remind them to maintain confidentiality.
- Meet with participants to discuss the completed Handout 7: Introducing . . . and to review the program's screening and evaluation process as follows:
Does the screening and evaluation process use multiple sources of information to build a picture of the whole child?
How does the process respect cultural and language diversity?
Are families involved throughout the process?
Does the process provide the information needed to individualize the curriculum?
What changes, if any, would make the process more effective?
What role can participants play in planning and implementing the changes?
| Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice |
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Participants can build on skills developed through this guide by completing the following activities, independently or with other staff/FCC Extend Practice providers. Some of these activities can contribute to the participants' professional portfolios. |
Write an Article or Letter on Screening and Evaluation
Using simple language and an eye-catching format, write an article or letter addressed to families that explains the following aspects of the screening and evaluation process used in your Head Start program:
- What?
- Why?
- When?
- How?
- Where?
- Who?
Learn about Early Intervention and/or LEA Programs
Meet with the staff and/or consultants who oversee services to children with disabilities to review and discuss your Head Start program's interagency agreement with the early intervention program and/or the LEA. At this meeting, find out about the program's approach to including children with diagnosed disabilities. Make sure you understand the process for referring Head Start children for evaluation and the collaborative approach for providing services to children and families.
For example:
How do children and families transition from Early Head Start to Head Start?
What is the system for transferring children's records, in addition to requiring parental permission?
How do Head Start staff responsible for education, health, disabilities, and family support communicate with their counterparts in the schools?
Are there joint meetings of all relevant parties to share knowledge of individual children's skills and needs?
Are there joint training sessions for representatives from Early Head Start, Head Start, and/or other agencies?
Share what you have learned with other education staff/FCC providers.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Summary of findings
Review Developmental Screening Instruments
In conjunction with the staff and/or consultants who oversee services to children with disabilities, order review copies of the developmental screening instruments administered to children of the ages served by your program. Appendix C includes a list of screening instruments.
Use the checklist in Appendix C to compare and contrast these instruments to the one used by your program. Share your findings with parents and other staff. Consider using a new instrument if it seems more appropriate than the one you are currently using. Your program could try using the different instruments to discover whether they provide useful information about the skills and abilities of individual children.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Summary of findings
Establish an Ongoing Cultural Competence Training Program
Work with the director and staff representatives to plan an ongoing training program related to cultural competence. You can use the information in Appendix B as a starting point. Training should provide both knowledge about the cultures and languages of families enrolled in the program and opportunities to develop and practice skills in applying this knowledge. Look for ways to adapt program practices to make them more culturally and linguistically sensitive. Invite parents to serve as planners, trainers, and participants.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Training design, handouts, and/or evaluations
Copyright © 1999 Head Start Publications Management Center. All rights reserved.
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