Head Start, Title I and
McKinney-Vento
Collaboration:
Bridging the Gaps
Presenters:
Maria Green, Assistant Director of
State and Federal Programs
Round Rock ISD
Gaby Cantu, PK Bilingual Teacher
Round Rock ISD
Program Design
• Comprehensive child
development program
• Ensures educational, physical,
mental and social needs of preschool children are met and are
ready to enter kindergarten
• Serves low-income children and
those with disabilities
• Priority system is used to serve
those most in need
History
• Opened 1989
• Downtown Round Rock, close to
Library and Fire Station
• Volunteers from Dell, Stony Point
High School, Volunteer Center
• All staff possess minimum of
Associates in Early Childhood
• Enrollment of 40 children
Head Start Staff
Administration:
• Executive Director
• Director
Coordinators:
• Education (5)
• Social Service/Parent Involvement
• Mental Health/Disabilities
• Health/Safety
• Nutritionist
Centers:
• Directors (11)
• Family Advocates (13)
• Cooks (7)
• Teachers
• Substitutes
Benefits of Head Start and
RRISD Collaboration
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Developmentally appropriate practices
Social services case management
Home visits (parent involvement)
Mental Health services
Education Coordinators
Elevates both programs
Provides enhanced services for
students and families
• Improves Early Intervention Program
Round Rock ISD
Dual Enrollment
• Forty dually enrolled Prekindergarten
students in Head Start and RRISD
• One certified Bilingual Teacher and
two Head Start teachers per class
• Progress monitoring each nine weeks
• Four parent conferences per year
Serving Children with
Disabilities
• Head Start accommodates children with
disabilities identified through Round Rock ISD
• Collaborative ARD meetings
• IEP goals are incorporated into lesson plans
• Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and
Physical Therapy provided at the Head Start
Center and by RRISD
• Preschool Expressive and Receptive (PEAR)
Language Program
• Articulation/Phonology Preschool Language
Experience (APPLE)
• Children with special needs receive the earliest
intervention through collaborations
RRISD Collaboration with
WBCO Head Start
Spring 2009 Collaboration Meetings
February 17th and 26th
March 25th
June 16th
August 31st
2009-2010
RRISD hired Gabriela Cantu as the
Prekindergarten teacher housed at
Round Rock Head Start
Collaboration between Head Start
Site Director and RRISD
Prekindergarten Assistant Director is
ongoing to ensure success
RRISD Collaboration with
WBCO Head Start
2010-2011
Head Start expansion implemented a
the two and three year old program.
Round Rock ISD PPCD program staff
collaborated to serve identified
students
2011-2012
Implement Dual Language Program
on site for PK students
Head Start staff participated in the
RRISD Dual Language Institute in
June and will assist with the
implementation of the Dual Language
model for all four year old students
Student Selection and Parent
Conference
• Economically disadvantaged
students
• Families in Transition (Texas Baptist
Children’s Home)
• Students with disabilities
• Discuss student goals and
objectives
• Scheduled prior to 1st day of school
(August)
Collaboration between Head
Start and RRISD
• Initial conference with Head Start
parents
• Dual Enrollment benefit
• Special program participation
• Student Residency Questionnaires
(SRQs)
• Limited English Proficient students
• Dual Language Classrooms
• Collaborative teacher meetings
• Support and resources
Student Residency
Questionnaires
• Component of RRISD enrollment
packet for new and returning
students
• Faxed to Homeless Education office
for processing
• Intake completed with parent
• Notification sent to campus and
Head Start regarding qualification
• Services provided to students
• Ongoing monitoring for the duration
of the school year
Identifying Limited English
Proficient Students
• Home Language Survey
• Woodcock-Muñoz Language
Survey
• Language Proficiency
Assessment Committee (LPAC)
• Parent Permission
• Bilingual / ESL / Dual-Language
Programs
Dual Language Classrooms
• Gomez & Gomez Dual
Language Model
• Bilingual, bicultural and
biliterate students
• Language of the day
• Literacy instruction is in
the native language
Dual Language
Classrooms
• Math instruction is in
English
• Science/Social Studies
instruction is in Spanish
• Bilingual Pairs
• Balanced classrooms (10
English and 10 Spanish
students)
Daily Schedule
• Rotate daily activities and
routines
• Three hours of instruction in
each of the two classrooms
• Literacy instruction for all
students is taught thematically
in Science/Social studies
• Math instruction through Circle
Time
Teacher Collaborative Meetings
• Weekly themes agreed upon
by both RRISD and Head Start
• RRISD and Head Start
teachers collaborate weekly
to create lesson plans
• Head Start teachers plan
lessons as extension of the
RRISD curriculum
Teacher Collaborative
Meetings
• Head Start Instructional Domains
are aligned with the Texas
Prekindergarten Guidelines
• RRISD and Head Start professional
development opportunities are
available to all collaborative
teachers
• Teachers rotate weekly lesson plan
and lead large group activities
Collaborative Professional
Development Opportunities
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Handwriting without Tears
Dual Language Institute
Power of Two
Pearson - Opening the World of
Learning (OWL)
• ESC Region 13 Monica Gonzales
Presentations
1. Teaching Science in PK
2. Effective PK Writing strategies
3. Mathematics in PK
4. 5 E Model
Family Involvement
• Monthly activities and events
• Books/Activity Packs sent home to
assist parents in reinforcing preliteracy and math concepts
including:
• Vocabulary development
• Alphabet knowledge
• Phonemic awareness
• Counting
• Shape recognition
• Number recognition
Support and Resources
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Home visits – attendance
Art Institute student volunteers
High school student volunteers
Private middle school volunteers
Community involvement
Future impact on
School Readiness
• Higher Math/Reading scores
• Reduce achievement gaps
• Retention and dropout potential
decreased
• Decreased need for special
and/or remedial classes
• Early intervention
Issues to Consider
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RRISD/Head Start Teachers
Salaries – works both ways
ALL personnel part of TEAM
Badges, Staff handbook,
inservice activities, etc.
• Culture of both organizations
• Day Care Licensing
Issues to Consider
• Turf
• Discipline practices
• MOU – assistance from
Education Service Center
• RRISD Administration and Head
Start Management Team
• Principal and Director Team
• Planning, Planning, Planning!
• Embrace Compromise,
Teamwork and Negotiation
• Change-Process-Journey
Research Says…
“For the most high-risk children, enrich
preschool environments and excellent primary
grade instruction can be a deciding factor
between success or failure that will follow them
all their lives. No time is more important, or as
fleeting, as a child’s early years of life and
schooling.”
Information from Eager to Learn: Educating
Our Preschoolers
*TEA – Partnering for School Readiness
Integration