MINUTES
REGION 7 EDUCATION SERVICE CENTER
HEAD START POLICY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2011
1909 NORTH LONGVIEW STREET, KILGORE, TX 75662
The Region 7 Education Service Center Head Start Policy Council met on Monday, January 24,
2011, at 11:30 a.m. in the Pine meeting room, 1909 North Longview St., Kilgore, Texas.
Members present at the meeting included:
Lucia Rodriguez, Arp; Mayelle Escobedo, Carlisle; Jackie Anderson, Chapel Hill - Wise;
Keyanna Lewis, EHS – LCDC; Rosyllin Taylor, EHS – LCDC 3 year old; Melanie Morton,
EHS Marshall; Danell Roadruck, Vanessa Broughton, Elkhart; Jessica Hyde, Eustace;
Charity Bell, Gilmer; April Perritt, Grand Saline; Ginny Beard, Hallsville; Christa Semar,
Harleton; Kameka Ford, Longview-Johnston McQueen; Timberly Hall, Longview – Ware;
Loretta Pittman, Malakoff; Letty Zarate, Martins Mill; Jenny Skinner, Rusk; Sandibel
Garcia, Waskom; Beth Waugh, Winnsboro; Rose D. Davis, Gregg County; Melissa
Newell, Henderson County; Marinell Pieper, Harrison County; Russell Korbol, Orelia
Pugh, Van Zandt County.
Staff members present included:
Susan Blanton, Isha Brown, Ronnie Hemann, Laura Lopez, Tracy Stewart, Gail Thomas,
Marilyn Thompson, Mark Wagstaff, Nancy Welch, Marilyn Williams, Felicia WoodardShaw, Kilgore; Dee Dee Harnage, Longview; Stephanie Stump, Waskom
Non-Employee Travel Form and Childcare Voucher Training/Review
Prior to the start of the business meeting, a training of how to complete the Non-Employee
Travel Form and Childcare Voucher Form took place. Nancy Welch, Associate Director,
conducted the training.
Call to Order
Russell Korbol, Policy Council President, called the meeting to order at 11:58 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
The Policy Council minutes from November 15, 2010 were presented for review and approval.
Members were given time to review and no further discussion was necessary. A motion to
approve the November 15, 2010 minutes was made by Marinell Pieper, Harrison County, and
seconded by Charity Bell, Gilmer. The motion carried unanimously.
New Business
Self Assessment
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Dr. Wagstaff, Head Start Director, and Nancy Welch, Associate Director, reviewed with the
Policy Council the Self Assessment highlights. The group was given time to review the findings
of the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths-(internal), Weaknesses-(internal),
Opportunities-(external), Threats-(external). The floor was opened for questions following the
review. Marinell Pieper questioned whether the Head Start classrooms were getting the
disinfectant supplies needed for the cleaning of toys, etc. Marilyn Thompson, Health and Safety
Coordinator, addressed the corrective action plan which stated the school districts are to
provide the disinfectants for cleaning. A letter went out to all and this will also be addressed at
teacher trainings.
Dr. Wagstaff stated a lot of work went into the self assessment and staff did a good job of
coming up with the corrective actions. There were no further questions and a motion was made
by Melanie Morton, Marshall, to approve the Self Assessment 2010-2011 as presented. Rose
Davis, Longview-Greg County Representative, seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Community Assessment
Dr. Wagstaff stated the Community Assessment is reviewed and updated each year. Tracy
Stewart, ERSEA Coordinator, was introduced and gave the definition of ERSEA (Eligibility,
Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, Attendance). Isha Brown was recognized for her efforts to
pull the Community Assessment information together. A review of the findings followed.
Strengths reviewed:
 Low unemployment rate compared to national average
 Good schools
 Churches and other organizations willing to help
Needs were reviewed:
 Children and Families without adequate insurance
 Too few Doctors and Dentists who take Medicaid
 Children in need of medical and dental care
 Jobs that are poor quality-low wages, few benefits
 Better educational opportunities to qualify for better quality jobs
 Parental Education
 Public Transportation
Community Assessment Issues followed:
 Increase in number of parents who do not speak English
 Increase in number of parents with GED or less
 Increase in families without insurance
Community Assessment Solutions were reviewed and the following additional points were
added to the Application process - (Systematic Selection Point System):
 Parents with no high school diploma / GED (5 points given)
 Child has received services from ECI – documentation is required (5 points given)
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A question from Beth Waugh, Winnsboro, regarding Head Start budget cuts was raised. Dr.
Wagstaff asked to refer this to the end of the meeting for further discussion. The group then
moved on to the ERSEA review.
ERSEA
The ERSEA section of the agenda packet was reviewed by Tracy Stewart. A question
regarding kinship was asked. Definition was provided. Timberly Hall, Longview, questioned
proper documentation. Danelle Roadruck, Elkhart, was able to answer her question and stated
she has documentation for her four granddaughters. Mr. Korbol asked if the birth certificates
must be original and what if they don’t have that. If the birth certificate is not available at
registration, then staff may use a shot record which shows the birth date. However a birth
certificate must be received in 30 days.
Sharon Andrews, Early Head Start Advocate, addressed questions regarding Early Head Start.
She noted who they serve and discussed the waiting list.
Parent Jenny Beard, Hallsville, asked about special needs students and how to go about
requesting testing if the parent feels there is a problem or need. Tracy Stewart stated the
parent is in charge and can request an ARD for their child at any time.
Tracy then reviewed the application documents and noted the changes that have been
incorporated. Example: to identify homelessness and former Head Start parent. Additional
lines added to complete sections. Verification of no income form was addressed along with
unemployment. Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) was discussed. Question regarding
returning children was asked by Beth Waugh, Winnsboro representative, and answered by
Tracy Stewart.
A motion to accept the Community Assessment and ERSEA documents as presented was
made by Marinell Pieper, Harrison County, and Jackie Anderson, Chapel Hill-Wise, seconded
the motion. The motion carried.
Program Priorities 2011-2012
Program Priorities for 2011-2012 were reviewed by Dr. Wagstaff. It was noted during the
Stakeholder’s meeting held January 12th, most participants saw no need for changes. A motion
to accept the Program Priorities as presented was made by Jenny Beard, Hallsville, and
seconded by Danelle Roadruck, Elkhart. The motion carried with no opposition.
Personnel / New Head Start Teacher / Teaching Assistants
No new Head Start employees were presented for approval this month. The teacher and
teacher assistant changes were reviewed and Jessica Hyde, Eustace, made a motion to
approve the new Teachers and Teaching Assistants. Jenny Skinner, Rusk, seconded the
motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Non-Action Items:
Health Component / Nutrition Component Reports
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A component update for Health was given by Marilyn Thompson, Health and Safety
Coordinator. The Goals for Early Head Start and Head Start Health and Safety Program were
reviewed. These include:
 Assist each family and child to establish a medical and dental home for their health care
needs
 Early identification and treatment of medical and/or dental conditions that could
adversely affect the child’s growth and development
We desire to get your child as healthy as they can be. Establishing a medical and dental home
is a major focus. The screenings that are done within the 90 day period are addressed so we
can get the children to the doctor and/or dentist for treatment. We have a lack of dental
providers and we work hard to get children connected with a dentist. EPSDT, which stands for
Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis Treatment, is the Medicaid schedule used for the well child
check up. The hemoglobin and lead testing (which is required) often does not get done at the
doctor’s offices so we have purchased equipment which allows our Head Start nurses to
perform this test (finger stick blood draw). Head Start nurses have worked hard to recruit
dentists to do free visual exams. The nurses pick up the dentists and transport them to the
schools. During this visual exam, the children are prioritized according to their needs. We work
to get dentists to take Medicaid.
School nurses assist with hearing and vision screenings. Head Start has audiometers, Sure
Site and Audex machines for screening to assist school nurses or if a school does not have a
school nurse. Jessica Hyde, Eustace, asked about children where the results cannot be
determined. Marilyn Thompson stated if an initial hearing or vision screen cannot be completed
due to the child’s development, the child is rescreened in 2-3 weeks. If the second screen does
not produce an accurate reading, the child is referred for testing. The referral is to the primary
physician, who will refer to a specialist, if necessary. If a parent or teacher identifies a need or
has a concern after the initial screens, the Head Start nurses will be glad to rescreen. Russ
Korbol asked about the vision testing. It is a state of Texas law that all children (age 4) starting
in school must have the hearing and vision screen.
A question was raised regarding childhood obesity and this was referred to Gail Thomas,
Nutrition Coordinator.
Gail Thomas, Nutrition Coordinator, addressed the childhood obesity question and referred the
group to the nutrition page in their agenda packet. We weigh and measure the children and
compare this to previous years. Changes were made in June 2010 by the Center for
Disease/Control and Prevention (CDC) in the terminology for overweight and obesity. The 2010
BMI 85%-95% is now overweight and 95% or over is considered obese. We can start earlier
educating the families prior to the child falling into the obese category. Counseling, food
preparation, and exercise are all addressed. Heights and weights are a piece of the well child
check. Actions and results were reviewed.
Program Updates Head Start and Early Head Start
Dr. Wagstaff asked all to review the Program Progress Report and Board Minutes in the packet
and if there were any questions he would be glad to answer them.
Financial Statement/Budget Training
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The financial reports for Head Start / Early Head Start reporting periods (Final August 2010) and
December 2010 and Early Head Start ARRA Expansion December 2010 were provided for
review. There were no questions.
Other Discussion
State funding is in session now. The budget that is proposed does not include pre-k funding.
This is just the preliminary statement. We need to look at this and be ready if changes are
made to the State pre-k funding. Ginny Beard, Hallsville, asked who to contact to voice your
opinion. Dr. Wagstaff stated they should contact their State Representative. Jessica Hyde,
Eustace, asked about the date this would be determined. We don’t know at this time.
An additional $3,500,000 would be needed to fund teacher salaries if the proposed pre-k
funding cuts are made.
Adjournment
There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Beth Waugh, Winnsboro,
and seconded by Jessica Hyde, Eustace. All were in favor of adjournment. We adjourned at
1:04 p.m.
The next Policy Council meeting will be held February 21, 2011.
__________________________________________
Russell Korbol, President
Head Start Policy Council
__________________________________________
Keyanna Lewis, Secretary
Head Start Policy Council
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