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I, with other providers, have expressed these same sentiments to the powers that be many times to NO avail. We are taught early that all children learn differently and to respect these learning differences. There are many, many ways to provide quality care. Allow providers to choose their OWN learning paths with their daycares, their education, etc. DO NOT DICTATE WHAT PROVIDERS CAN/CANNOT DO. I understand there has to be rules/regs, but the state has taken it to another level. I FIRMLY believe after fighting this for sooooo long that there is a deeper reason this is all coming into play. It is deeper than individual status, local status, state status or Federal Status. It is a National trend that terrifies me for my own children and those children entrusted to me daily. Needless to say, I am extremely passionate about the career path I have chosen. I do not want to start a political debate, but........ Just my opinions!
lovethis
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OH No Way- Need job creation for people to work to be able to afford food and get off these programs!!! Working class grocery cart compared to the food stamp grocery cart- bull. Reinvent the wheel and hand out food instead of just giving it out in the form of $ Let the general public that takes on food help get basic/healthy food that makes them want to get off the A$$ and be able to buy the food that I/we can't buy with a two income household. Make it so that nutrition is front and center on this one- All the big name brand companies won't hear of this because they are being left out to their marketed consumer- How bad is that??? Michelle Obama fight this fight instead of the.....My Plate...... because it needs to start there.
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I responded to a few things above that stood out to me- I can see how HS helped you but for many it doesn't work the way it was intended. I know many parents that stuck the kids in HS and then went home and napped because they were "looking" for a job in their slumber. I would like to see welfare and help programs managed as a helping hand up and not a way of life.:
: Yes they do have very neat names! Let me think of the ones I know... Sage, Nolan, Kade, Finn, Roan...
I don't know that I agree with this really. I can understand from a daycare provider comparison, the idea that HeadStart is "better" than daycare I don't agree. BUT when you compare under-priveledged, poverty-stricken children and their upper-middle class counterparts of course you're going to have very little long term positive outcomes just based soley on their lifestyle outside of Head Start. For me it was a God-send! There was no way, as a single mom to twins, I could afford private preschool. I literally had to quit my job because I couldn't afford childcare. I was referred to Head Start, enrolled and was able to get a subsidy and transporation for after care which carried into funding for a home daycare and I found a PT job that turned into a FT job with benefits, vacation, etc. and really made a huge impact on my life.
I will say that comparing even two HS centers in two neighboring cities will give you a HUGE variance in outcome. Just being white and non-hispanic my children statistically have a better outcome in school, period.I don't get this statement at all- what does being hispanic have to do with anything if your living in the USA as an American Citizen? The first HS we went to was fabulous!! The parent participation was much bigger than the second HS my boys attended. The site was older, the teachers were older, one looked as if she lived in her truck! I kid you not!
I still see some of the teachers from their first school and they remember us and we chit-chat! I stronly believe parents who are involved in their children's education, even in preschool, will have a better outcome than the children of non-participant parents. I was on the Head Start Site Counsel and was paid my gas and time to go there once a month. I was our classroom parent, even though I worked FT. My kids participated in sports as well. It's kinda like saying our food stamp program is a complete failure so why pour money into a failing program when the participants are usually overweight and unhealthy. You're not looking at the bigger picture of WHY these people are even participating. They're living in poverty. I don't agree with this either- poverty looks pretty good to the working poor-
I took a class at our local R&R about nutrition and how 85% of children in childcare are obese.
WHAT?? It just doesn't make sense to me that these numbers even match. Of the 16 kids I've cared for in my childcare since mid-2012, 2 are probably classified as obese based on their weight but really are just big for their age. A 2.5yr old who wears a 4T and a 4yr old who wears a 5-6. They're tall and broad, not just fat!
Anyway, I can understand why this program can be viewed as a failure, but I feel it's really not taking into consideration their enviornment at home which I feel plays a bigger part than anything. My boys were definitely ready for Kindy and did very well in elementary school because it's based on what you know. Once they get to Jr High & High school they have lagged dramatically because it's also about what you do. How organized you are, how well you can manage your time, etc. They score in advanced in their STAR testing but are LAZY teenage boys that barely bring in a 2.0! It's discouraging as a parent but I don't think it has to do with Head Start! LOL My 3 middle boys all attended private preschool and didn't know any more or less than my older 2 boys who went to HS. I feel it's more about giving these children a chance to be ready for school instead of handing Kindergarten teachers a handful of kids who can't count, write their name or say their ABC's That is what Kindergarten teachers are for to teach the kids that stuff, they would rather a child come in not knowing those things but know how self help skills, socialization, and be potty trained and be able to sit and listen for small teachable moments. Those things are taught best in small settings at home or daycare.because mom & dad didn't teach them and the neighbor lady next door only watched him for $10/day and fed him cheap food and plugged him in front of the TV all day.Comment
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Well said! I, too, try to be optimistic and embraced the star system in the beginning with the reasoning it is here, so let's make it work by doing the best we can. BUT all that has changed now and providers and I realize that. Like I stated earlier, my feelings take over because of the passion I have for my job, but I have to move on because negativity breeds negativity and I refuse to let the powers that be take away from my own children nor the children in my daily care. Got a wonderful daycare support group meeting tonight with some great friends personally and professionally. Very timely!lovethis
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Just because the program is good for the underprivileged (some not all), doesn't mean it's a success or worth the $150 million dollars we dole out each year for it.
If more money was spent helping parents support and raise their own children verses having to work long hours and spend a ton of time away from their children, then I would be supportive of it but as it stands now I am not.
fwiw~ I AM looking at the big picture....
My oldest child went to HS
I used to be employed by HS for many years before opening my own child care
I collaborate with them now as part of my child care program.
I DO think the food stamp program IS a giant waste of money AS IS...I think it needs a HUGE overhaul too.
I also know that I am not far off in my thinking because as I posted, HS was the entity that conducted the study in the first place and gave themselves a big fat "F" so.....
You may be one success story but that doesn't mean it is worth millions of dollars a year just to benefit 1% of those enrolled.
I like your naked honesty here seeing how HS has been a big part of your life-
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no doubt- targeted marketing every time you shop, you leave a paper trail- its called a receipt. Make nutritious choices more affordable. I would love to buy all organic, sometimes I just can't afford to do that. I believe if your getting help that you shouldn't be spending that help on junk food. A treat has become a meal=obesity. Drive the price up on the junk food and bring it down on the nutritional food. The homeless shelters eat the best-We were just talking about this. We are now cutting people's food stamp allotments, which is NOT the answer. It's the way the program is administered that's the problem. There is no nutrition education involved, and no direction. "Here's a few bucks, go buy yourself something to eat".
How about:
-Limits on "junk"...processed foods and goodies.
-A financial incentive to participate in nutrition classes, community gardens, and farmers co-ops or farmer's markets. An emphasis on fresh vegetables (or frozen), whole grains, lean meats. Most people on food stamps can't afford those things, may not even know how to prepare them, and often don't know they can GO to a farmers market with their card. I know I didn't years ago.
The truth is, though, that more than likely there's some big corporate lobbyist who's job it is to make sure that people are stuck buying chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, and pop tarts with their $35 a week.
This subject really heats me for many reasons.
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BC Thanks for the information and articles you posted in this thread. I just read through them and it's very alarming indeed. I have been aware of how this program can and will impact my business, but it was very insightful to read these, as well as hearing how other providers have the same concerns.QRIS programs rate the quality of a facility based on the presence of various inputs. None of the measures assess whether or to what extent a child care facility is improving learning outcomes for children, or whether children are better prepared to enter kindergarten.
A recent report from the Washington Department of Early Learning about QRIS systems acknowledges this fact:
“However, currently, there is still no empirical research that specifically
links effectiveness of QRIS programs throughout the nation to child
outcomes and whether children are better prepared for school as a result of
QRIS models.”
An extensive evaluation of Colorado’s QRIS program, one of the longest running in the country, found no correlation between a child care facility’s star
rating and improvement in children’s cognitive and social development.
Pennsylvania’s QRIS program cost $62.7 million!!!! Just to find out that:
1. QRIS programs measure inputs, not actual outcomes for children
2. QRIS programs are expensive and complicated to administer
3. QRIS participation rates are low
4. QRIS ratings are limited in scope and often not shared with the public, so
they cannot guide decision making by parents and families
It does appear an agenda is being pushed through regardless of whether it will benefit anyone and it's all very disheartening indeed.Comment
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I hate that tool life the FCCERS (or ECERS and ITERS in centers) has become so abused and misused that it can now be looked at as checklist that if you only have and do these certain, very specific things you are a good program. NOT!
Also, i think many of the criteria have become grossly distorted. I recently found online a group of videos produced by San Diego county called ECERS All-Stars. They were aimed at "training" child care center workers to get score higher on the ECCERS. I literally simultaneously laughed out loud and shook my head when they said that the hand-washing sinks had to be disinfected between uses for different purposes (meaning that if the children use the sink to wash hands after going potty and then to wash hands after playing outside the sink has to be disinfected between those two uses). W....T....H??????Comment
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