December 4, 2024 • 32 mins
Since 1965, Contra Costa County has been a Head Start provider, ensuring access to early childhood education, health, and nutrition services to low-income children and their families, as well as parent involvement. A local panel of parental and child development experts will discuss how the program is a lifeline, a stepping stone, and an opportunity for future success for vulnerable children and families in Contra Costa County.
Guests:
Sarah Reich, Community Services Bureau Interim Deputy Director at the Employment & Human Services Department.
Ruth Hunter, Site Supervisor George Miller III Center, Richmond
Juan De Dios Batiz, Parent and Head Start Policy Councilmember Kristi Jourdan, Host
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[Music]
welcome to government speak this is
where we'll cut through the government
speak to get the information you need
about County programs services and
events Straight From the
Source welcome to government speak
contracosta County's official podcast
I'm your host Christy Juran contracosta
County's Public Information officer and
(00:21):
since 1965 contracosta county has been a
head start provider ensuring access to
early childhood education health and
nutrition services to low-income
children and their families as well as
parent involvement a local panel of
Parental and Child Development experts
will discuss how the program is a
Lifeline a stepping stone and an
opportunity for future success for
(00:42):
vulnerable children and families in
contracosta County with that I'd like to
welcome our panel of experts we have
Sarah Reich who's the community services
Bureau interim deputy director at the
employment and Human Services Department
she was a head start kid and has now
been on staff for 13 years Sarah started
as a family Advocate and worked way up
over the years supporting the program in
(01:03):
various capacities and Leadership roles
we're also joined by Ruth Hunter who's
the site supervisor for George Miller 3
Center in Richmond she's been working in
the County's Head Start childcare
centers for 30 years she started as a
teacher and has been a site supervisor
for the past 15 years and we're also
joined by Juan deos batist who's a
(01:23):
parent and serves on the Head Start
policy Council he has two children
who've gone through the program and one
just started kindergarten thanks
everyone for joining us today you're
welcome thank you thank you Chris well
uh Sarah let's go ahead and start with
you um kind of root Us in in background
here so what is the Head Start program
(01:43):
yes thank you happy to start us off here
um The Head Start program is a federal
program we are primarily of course An
Early Education Program um we provide
services though also to uh pregnant
women um as well as infants toddlers
and really um our primary goal is School
Readiness in addition um we have a
(02:07):
comprehensive service model um in
providing services to Children and
Families so our main goal is making sure
children are healthy and ready to enter
kindergarten but also that the families
are supported with accessing services
that may um support their goals or their
needs how many children are in the
program yeah so um we are designed to of
(02:31):
1,21 Head Start children uh Head Start
and Early Head Start so that includes
our pregnant women actually and our
infants and toddlers that's a that's a
sizable audience how would you describe
the the local impact that this program
has on our community I want to stress
that we do provide the full day services
for children um so that families can go
(02:52):
to work right um so that they can also
attend school um and um majority of our
services our programs are are open for
extended days or full days um 10 hours
plus um throughout the community um and
we do serve countywide so we serve um in
our directly operated County operated
(03:13):
centers uh we have 12 County operated
locations um and we also partner with
five agencies to extend extend or expand
or reach in the community it's a lot of
of coordination um but this is an an
application program so how do how do
parents apply um what does the
enrollment process look like absolutely
(03:36):
um so every family situation is unique
right so we really just there's no no
wrong door to reaching out to us to
accessing services and having a
conversation regarding qualifications um
so we do encourage that anyone seeking
um Services go ahead and give us a call
so we can start that conversation and
(03:57):
really see um you know how you may
qualify or uh what type of services
might best meet the family's needs um so
in order to give us a call um I do have
the number here it's 925
272
4727 um or you can also um access our
(04:19):
website hsd.org for additional
information um and there's some link to
um a way to apply as well okay great
just to reiterate 925 27
24727 or uh ehsd dorg um but you have
lived experience so can you talk about
that going through the program as a head
(04:40):
start kid um and now you've been on
staff at the at the community services
Bureau for for 15 years so talk about
that that must be rewarding absolutely
it really does feel like a a full circle
um sort of moment here in my life to be
able to contribute to the same program
that actually served my family so um I
am a contracosta county a lifelong
(05:02):
resident um and my family when I was
young fell on some hard times um my uh
father fell ill and at that point um he
was in a coma and came out with some
brain damage that um required quite a
bit of Rehabilitation and he was unable
to work so um my brother and I are 15
months apart um that means my mom really
(05:25):
needed to stay home right to care for
her two young children um under the age
of five as well as um her husband so um
you know she found the Head Start
program um at that time um she wasn't
able to work but the program offered um
home visiting Services I was still able
to access those really high quality
(05:47):
quality Early Learning Services as well
as comprehensive services so a lot of
what we do um in the Head Start program
is work in partnership with families um
on their own goal setting
and make sure um I think I may have
mentioned this that they um have access
to any Supportive Services that they may
need um so a component of that for my
(06:10):
family was uh job seeking right so they
helped um to provide
opportunities um for my mom to find a
job um and she did so um by the time I
went to kindergarten um my mom was able
to um take up employment again and my
(06:31):
brother shifted into actually a George
Miller conquered location which is still
an operation today um and he was able to
access uh preschool Services there while
my mom was able to go to work so I mean
think about that kind of whole wrapping
around of services with with a family
and there's so many different Dynamics a
(06:52):
family can experience just noted in your
story thank you for sharing and and we
know that there are hundreds of those
stories um um that are in the program so
I mean what an impact um and then you
know the program can't be successful
without the people and it seems like in
the in the in the audience or the the
(07:13):
circle of folks I've met connected to
head start they've been there for
decades so talk about the dedication of
Staff yes our staff are highly highly
dedicated they truly are here working
with us um because they are those
Mission driven individual ual and we we
speak with them daily obviously we
interact with them um and time and time
(07:36):
again what we hear is why they've been
staying with us for years on end really
I mean Ruth here um 15 no years 15 years
in leadership and um uh is is because of
our mission right and because they have
a passion for CH for serving children
and family and they can see the
(07:57):
difference that they're making on a
daily basis so so with that um you know
clearly people like like to be there
they love the program the program is
getting um a a lot of it's going to a
lot of good use for folks who really
need it um can you talk about some of
the the aspects to it and then we'll
(08:18):
move into the day-to-day of what that
looks like but in terms of monitoring so
um you know when when parents are
dropping their children off kind of walk
us through some of the the the as of the
program that they can expect sure um
I'll I'll let Ruth talk about when they
come in and kind of what that feel and
look like is that from the center based
(08:38):
perspective from but from a management
level um and I think what's really
important for families to understand is
that there's um a high level of
responsibility for monitoring in our
program and oversight um not only are we
a federal program so there's a lot of
accountability there uh regarding
reporting and on uh oversight and
quality management um but we our
(08:59):
management team takes really seriously
the health and safety of our families
and we want to make sure that um our
families do know that um so when we are
orienting them um just as we are
orienting our teaching staff um health
and safety is a focus um we have systems
that um are really rooted in maintaining
(09:21):
health and safety um we have daily
checks weekly checks monthly checks for
whole array whole spectrum of health and
safety aspects from um making sure
there's no tripping hazards or the
playground equipment is in good repair
um to also ensuring that we have
(09:41):
appropriate over um supervision active
supervision of our children um and no uh
potential for um children to be harmed
um and those systems of course we look
at as a management level um on a regular
basis um and so we're consist
(10:02):
constantly um taking this health and
safety lens it's it's always at the
Forefront of of what we're doing we
talked about the dedication of Staff but
I know the program successes also due to
some of the partners can you talk about
some of those Partnerships yeah um we
are so so grateful to have our Community
(10:22):
Partnerships um as I mentioned they
really allow us to expand our reach
right beyond the 12 12 centers that we
do operate um and um we've had some
pretty long-standing Partnerships we
partner with YMC of the East Bay um both
in East County and in West County we
(10:42):
have a growing partnership with uh
Kinder Care actually which um you may be
familiar with they have locations
countywide but we primarily partner out
in East County with them um and then we
partner with Mount D Unified School
District for Crossroads High School
which is a really wonderful program that
supports um pregnant teens and young
(11:03):
mothers so that they can continue to
attend school um as they have their
babies um and then um we also partner
with ASP spironet which is a home
visiting program um that serves the um
the whole entire County there uh with um
and supporting mothers to have healthy
(11:24):
pregnancies and then with the early days
of um bringing a b
home um into uh infant and toddlerhood
um finally we partner with the a program
out in brettwood called Tiny Toes so
yeah we've got a a whole array of uh of
support out there in the community
(11:45):
whether we're operating it directly or
with our partners um but all of those
programs are headst Start programs so
the important piece is that the same
quality services are there at all of
them all of them are unique and Families
get to um really choose what works best
for their family um
(12:06):
but what still grounds us in our centers
and I I mentioned around monitoring
oversight and health and safety is a
component of all those programs so
priority it's great that you know you
tailor to the needs of a family because
no family no two families are the same
and they don't have the same needs but
also there's an expectation of
consistency in the program so that's
(12:26):
lovely and so now that we've kind of
heard the overarching um kind of
administrative side of the program Ruth
you are actually in the classrooms on
the dayto day um Can can you talk about
how are the teachers supporting the
children I I understand there's a
greeting in the morning can you talk
about that yes um so part of what I do
(12:48):
is
um I look at the total family so when
they come into the school I'm usually
downstairs greeting parents also so when
they come through I'm saying good
morning hello have a great day just be
it's going to be awesome for you so they
can know that there's support for them
as they're going into the school and as
(13:09):
they're leaving your child is going to
be safe as they step into the classroom
the teachers do do a health check and so
they look them at them they ask the
parents how was your day how was their
evening how did they sleep um and so
they go through those questions just to
(13:30):
get a a
firm understanding and a foundation of
how that child's outcome will be for the
day so if they didn't have a good sleep
we know we need to tailor their learning
that day to help them support them if
they're tired or if they are excited or
(13:50):
there was a sad situation that happened
we know these things when they first
come into the classroom the teachers
individualize all their learning so from
doing from assessments to screenings
when they get to the point of being
there from the health check on the
teachers make sure that they
(14:12):
individualize what that day will look
like for that particular child so it's
it's such a you know seemingly small
gesture but it might be the only time
that parents get that interaction where
someone's actually asking them how
they're doing and it also speaks volumes
about the social social and emotional
component can you can you give some
details about that what does that look
(14:32):
like yes um social emotional is a big
key for us we want to make sure we're
meeting the total need of the child and
the parents with social emotional
because a lot of times we always think
about education and learning but we
forget that mental health is there and
so we want to make sure that if there's
(14:53):
the need that they need we have people
on site that can meet their direct need
then the comprehensive services staff
they're there on site they're there to
help them um the children in the
classroom the teachers are trained in
our second step curriculum we also have
what we call teaching pyramid which has
(15:13):
trained all the teachers in um how to
deal with social emotional and
behavioral needs and so those needs are
met right thin and there with skills
that the teachers all come into the
classroom with and so parents are very
happy about that because sometimes
(15:34):
separation is difficult so when they're
being separated from their parent it's
hard and so we have come to the point
when I look at my staff and I see them
how they interact with that child who is
having a difficult day and they deal
they pull in their
educational um their educational
(15:56):
component of knowing the social
emotional skills of the teaching pyramid
um of the um Second Step they bring
those skills in to help that child come
into the classroom without having to
think that they're different or they're
separated but they're inclusive into
(16:17):
what's going on on that day so yeah
social and emotional is the biggest part
of supporting a child in the classroom
but there are other services right
you're also looking at Health dental
nutrition absolutely can you talk about
those a little bit yes um we we are so
honestly um blessed to have the services
(16:41):
that we have um so our families if we
look at Dental they do have to make sure
they bring in a dental if they don't
have a dental home our comprehensive
service staff um make sure that they
help them get to a dental home so
they'll have a provider
that supports their
(17:02):
um getting um dental treatment if they
need treatment we also have what we call
give kids a smile Day in February and
that is such an awesome day because we
have volunteers that come in dentist
that come in and check all our children
that need that support and then they
also recommend if they need treatment
(17:24):
and we're able to support families to
get that treatment and then we talk
about nutrition we have our kitchen
staff our nutritionist our person who's
over that they make sure that we have
this whole component of um making sure
our healthy meals come in but the most
important part is that not
(17:46):
everybody understands that there's
choosy eaters and those choosy eaters we
meet that need and it's awesome to see
that a child who was not eating in the
beginning or was not trying the food at
the end of um a few months they are now
eating um meals but they were having a
(18:07):
difficult time so choosy eaters are um a
big component that we're starting now um
and I'm excited about that I have a lot
of choosy eaters and um one story we
have is that a child has not eat and his
mother told us he won't eat but a week
ago he put a peach in his mouth and that
(18:30):
is so awesome because that is a
milestone that we can say hey he's doing
this and his mom was so excited and just
asked us um told me the story and I
looked at her and said wow I am so
excited about it um the nutrition part
of um the medical part making sure all
(18:51):
Imus are caught up making sure the
children are able to go out and our comp
services again they're calling parents
they're letting the parents know that
okay don't forget that their Imus are
due especially when we have infant and
toddlers I have a preschool site only
but I've worked at an infant toddler
(19:12):
site and that means we have to keep up
with that and they support the families
by giving them heads up don't forget
they have their well baby check coming
up so we want to make sure we meet all
of those needs so from 0 to 5 we are
making sure the parents that their
nutritional needs are met we're making
sure their medical needs are met and so
(19:33):
that is a big component of Head Start
that you don't always get in other
places beyond all of those Services um
it's got to be really rewarding you've
been you know part of the program for 30
years um what are some of the career
Pathways there's some opportunities to
(19:55):
to advance I mean when you started did
you start as a site supervisor or did
you work your way up I worked my way up
I was a teacher and my unique story is I
learned about the program through an ad
in the paper so I answered an ad went to
an interview applied and went to an
interview and was hired as a Lead
(20:16):
Teacher and that was a a dream for me
because I come from families of
Educators but I came into the classroom
I was in private centers and when I was
able to go into a program that was going
to help the needest of needs or whatever
those families needed I felt like I just
(20:39):
made it to the point of My Success and I
didn't realize that was not the end of
my story that was just the beginning of
my journey and so as I continued to
support the children in the classrooms I
went and I tried my best to make sure I
learned everything I could to help them
I went through violent intervention
(20:59):
training I became a trauma informed
trainer I did um a pitc which is infant
toddler trainer so I made sure that I
had the skills to support the children
in the classroom however I thought is
this the end of my story no it wasn't I
(21:19):
continued by applying and becoming a a
site supervisor too and when I became a
site supervisor I was able to um help
support the teaching staff with the
skills that I bought in as a teacher um
and having that understanding about what
(21:40):
they go through on a day-to-day um level
as a supervisor coming from being a
teacher I was able to support the
teaching staff so that's where I um and
As I Grew and I became a site supervisor
too I then moved into a larger site
which is one of the largest sites in
Contra custa County programed of Head
(22:03):
Starts is George Miller 3 and so now I'm
the supervisor there and there every day
I walk in that site I think about what
am I going to do new to support my staff
to support my parents and to support the
children that walk in the school and
that's my goal each
day well it sounds like a perfect fit
(22:26):
and it's something that um it's in
inspiring to hear your story I mean who
knew if you wouldn't have picked up that
newspaper you know but it's that's
amazing and so now that we've you know
kind of heard about the resources that
go into the program how the County's
role and and all of the Partnerships one
you're your kiddos have gone through
most recently um can you talk about how
(22:49):
the programs impacted your your children
and your family and your parenting as
well yeah I know it's uh has been like a
very interesting because
um my first kid is 7 years old he start
there in the program when he was three
but you know my first son is was he was
like a very shine very shine so when the
(23:13):
first time that he get there I know like
it was being like a very hard time as
rot say like it's very hard to leave
your kids because you know they start
crying they want to be with you but
really the staff helps a lot to the kids
you know like to help the D process to
don't cry to understand like a one is
going to happen and everything and then
(23:36):
uh I didn't know that they were uh
therapists inside the classrooms uh so
my son start like taking uh season with
those therapist when he was on the
school so they help them a lot a lot but
we didn't know it you know like that
that that was happening and then after
(23:57):
because that that happened when it was
the pandemia so it was hard like uh to
understand like all the tools that the
program uh used to provide right and
then um after a while uh we start
finding with you know having a contact
with another person outside or some was
(24:19):
like uh being my social side with the
rest of the kids and then say like
what's going on no and then we talk with
the teachers and the teacher told us
like oh no that's because your son is uh
taking a therapy with the personal here
and then helping a lot with you know
doish and now it's he's doing sucess
ofolder yeah on on the he's now on
(24:41):
second
grade and uh he's still like doing a lot
he's participating a lot on on the on
the schools he he loves uh uh their
teachers and everything and my second
one was uh I my second kid he just STS
on the
kindergarten and um he's a very
(25:02):
different kid because he's a very uh he
has a lot of energy and uh Ruth help us
a lot really help us a lot with him
because it was the one that hard for him
to to eat food you know like different
kind of food uh he was having a hard
time to get a
nap uh also to uh he he's taking a a
(25:26):
speech therapy but they held in at the
beginning to to have to to to to have
like a that uh benefit you know and then
there's another things that they help
the program helps parents because
sometimes you don't understand what are
your kids needed and the teacher the
personal because they are very
professional and they are very Prof like
(25:47):
prepared so everything your kid need
they let you know and not only they
don't leave it like you know your kid is
going to need this no they help you all
the way to get through you know to
complete like all the process they they
they don't only like leave you in the
air you know they help you with that so
(26:08):
uh my kid
really my my my little one he went there
full-time and
uh it was amazing because as rth say at
the beginning when we start taking our
kids there is like the the security
guard the person on the front desk all
(26:28):
the all the person have a smile so that
that uh helps you to feel like you are
leaving your kids in a safety place and
then you know in my uh experience I
didn't like school when I was like at
that age and he my kids always asking me
like uh can can we go to school you know
(26:50):
even on the weekends they just like
today's a school day you know because
they really are enjoying so that's
that's how you learn like here in this
program they are doing something
different so you've definitely
experienced the connection with the
program Beyond just your children
experiencing the the services you're
(27:11):
you're getting tools and I mean what a
better testimonial than your children
wanting to go to school on the weekends
that that that they're doing something
that's really positive and
beneficial um so that seems to have
inspired your further involvement on the
Head Start policy Council um what is
(27:32):
that Council and and how does it operate
how does it function okay that was a
funny study because uh when I get
involved there I I was in a meeting with
the ru but not uh I I was the me and my
wife were the only parns connected to
that meeting so the each site needs a a
(27:52):
PN represented so that day uh she asked
us if we want to be a part of the policy
counil uh as a parent representant for
the site because they needed like
because you know the the policy conso
helps to the program to approve like all
the movements that they need and then
it's like making a consolation about
(28:14):
what the programs wants and what the
parents want so she asked me to be a
part of them and say like um okay let's
let's let's do it and then when I start
going to the meetings I apply for the
vice chair position and I didn't I
didn't have like idea just like you know
try to get involved because I was I was
seeing my kids like they're being very
(28:35):
happy right so I get the position and
then I start like learning all the tools
that really the program is I mean they
provide to you and and uh what is the
like the more important goal like maybe
they don't have it but I understand it
like that like to make the connection
(28:56):
parents with kids
because they care you know the the first
care of them is the kids right but if
your parents are not good you know so
the kids are not they're not going to
have a good develop in their Li and
they're they're not going to be
successful right so the program helps
(29:19):
like to get like a that connection with
your kids so to understand them like
what they need and also what you need to
be a good parent
so when I start learning that it's like
okay I want to be in boled I want to
help them because uh they needed the the
program needs the parent support so the
(29:39):
policy console role is is that help the
program in uh
to get like the best things for your
kids that's in like the simplest because
everything you know they have a you can
see like very professional uh personal
right so when they want to improve
(30:00):
something in the program the parners
need to approve it the policy Council
need to approve it so but they explain
to you like uh how how they going to
improve in how or how they're going to
work in on then and after that if and
also they listen to you if you uh if you
have a concern or something about that
(30:21):
they want to improve or something they
listen to you and they make the change
that they needed and then the parents if
the parents are
happy done so they're going to make yeah
it's ultimate accountability yeah yeah
um so now that we kind of have this full
circle moment where we're you know we
understand the program its impact its
(30:42):
benefits um to the community Sarah I
know you have some
openings I we do let's fill those
openings let's talk about um how can how
can folks apply for any of the open
positions absolutely um so we do have
openings in various positions um our key
Focus right now is is filling all of our
teacher
vacancies um and so we're doing a lot of
(31:04):
work around that um to apply of course
we you can apply on the County website
um you can go to the governmentjobs.com
um careers uh SL Contra Costa of course
to apply for any of our Contra Costa
County positions um but um if you have
any questions about our teacher
positions uh we do encourage that you
(31:26):
reach out to us right
um uh you can go ahead and reach out to
us through an email address which is
teach
ehsd. CC county. us um and you can also
go to our eh sd.org website for more
information well um thanks to you all
(31:47):
very much for being here um that's it
for our show uh I'm your host Christy
Jordan Contra Costa County's Public
Information officer thanks for joining
us on the government speak podcast
brought to you by the office of
communications and media but don't just
take our word for it stay curious stay
connected and stay informed until next
time keep your mind open and your facts
straight
(32:14):
[Music]
[Music]
welcome to government speak this is
where we'll cut through the government
speak to get the information you need
about County programs services and
events Straight From the
Source welcome to government speak
contracosta County's official podcast
I'm your host Christy Juran contracosta
County's Public Information officer and
(00:21):
since 1965 contracosta county has been a
head start provider ensuring access to
early childhood education health and
nutrition services to low-income
children and their families as well as
parent involvement a local panel of
Parental and Child Development experts
will discuss how the program is a
Lifeline a stepping stone and an
opportunity for future success for
(00:42):
vulnerable children and families in
contracosta County with that I'd like to
welcome our panel of experts we have
Sarah Reich who's the community services
Bureau interim deputy director at the
employment and Human Services Department
she was a head start kid and has now
been on staff for 13 years Sarah started
as a family Advocate and worked way up
over the years supporting the program in
(01:03):
various capacities and Leadership roles
we're also joined by Ruth Hunter who's
the site supervisor for George Miller 3
Center in Richmond she's been working in
the County's Head Start childcare
centers for 30 years she started as a
teacher and has been a site supervisor
for the past 15 years and we're also
joined by Juan deos batist who's a
(01:23):
parent and serves on the Head Start
policy Council he has two children
who've gone through the program and one
just started kindergarten thanks
everyone for joining us today you're
welcome thank you thank you Chris well
uh Sarah let's go ahead and start with
you um kind of root Us in in background
here so what is the Head Start program
(01:43):
yes thank you happy to start us off here
um The Head Start program is a federal
program we are primarily of course An
Early Education Program um we provide
services though also to uh pregnant
women um as well as infants toddlers
and really um our primary goal is School
Readiness in addition um we have a
(02:07):
comprehensive service model um in
providing services to Children and
Families so our main goal is making sure
children are healthy and ready to enter
kindergarten but also that the families
are supported with accessing services
that may um support their goals or their
needs how many children are in the
program yeah so um we are designed to of
(02:31):
1,21 Head Start children uh Head Start
and Early Head Start so that includes
our pregnant women actually and our
infants and toddlers that's a that's a
sizable audience how would you describe
the the local impact that this program
has on our community I want to stress
that we do provide the full day services
for children um so that families can go
(02:52):
to work right um so that they can also
attend school um and um majority of our
services our programs are are open for
extended days or full days um 10 hours
plus um throughout the community um and
we do serve countywide so we serve um in
our directly operated County operated
(03:13):
centers uh we have 12 County operated
locations um and we also partner with
five agencies to extend extend or expand
or reach in the community it's a lot of
of coordination um but this is an an
application program so how do how do
parents apply um what does the
enrollment process look like absolutely
(03:36):
um so every family situation is unique
right so we really just there's no no
wrong door to reaching out to us to
accessing services and having a
conversation regarding qualifications um
so we do encourage that anyone seeking
um Services go ahead and give us a call
so we can start that conversation and
(03:57):
really see um you know how you may
qualify or uh what type of services
might best meet the family's needs um so
in order to give us a call um I do have
the number here it's 925
272
4727 um or you can also um access our
(04:19):
website hsd.org for additional
information um and there's some link to
um a way to apply as well okay great
just to reiterate 925 27
24727 or uh ehsd dorg um but you have
lived experience so can you talk about
that going through the program as a head
(04:40):
start kid um and now you've been on
staff at the at the community services
Bureau for for 15 years so talk about
that that must be rewarding absolutely
it really does feel like a a full circle
um sort of moment here in my life to be
able to contribute to the same program
that actually served my family so um I
am a contracosta county a lifelong
(05:02):
resident um and my family when I was
young fell on some hard times um my uh
father fell ill and at that point um he
was in a coma and came out with some
brain damage that um required quite a
bit of Rehabilitation and he was unable
to work so um my brother and I are 15
months apart um that means my mom really
(05:25):
needed to stay home right to care for
her two young children um under the age
of five as well as um her husband so um
you know she found the Head Start
program um at that time um she wasn't
able to work but the program offered um
home visiting Services I was still able
to access those really high quality
(05:47):
quality Early Learning Services as well
as comprehensive services so a lot of
what we do um in the Head Start program
is work in partnership with families um
on their own goal setting
and make sure um I think I may have
mentioned this that they um have access
to any Supportive Services that they may
need um so a component of that for my
(06:10):
family was uh job seeking right so they
helped um to provide
opportunities um for my mom to find a
job um and she did so um by the time I
went to kindergarten um my mom was able
to um take up employment again and my
(06:31):
brother shifted into actually a George
Miller conquered location which is still
an operation today um and he was able to
access uh preschool Services there while
my mom was able to go to work so I mean
think about that kind of whole wrapping
around of services with with a family
and there's so many different Dynamics a
(06:52):
family can experience just noted in your
story thank you for sharing and and we
know that there are hundreds of those
stories um um that are in the program so
I mean what an impact um and then you
know the program can't be successful
without the people and it seems like in
the in the in the audience or the the
(07:13):
circle of folks I've met connected to
head start they've been there for
decades so talk about the dedication of
Staff yes our staff are highly highly
dedicated they truly are here working
with us um because they are those
Mission driven individual ual and we we
speak with them daily obviously we
interact with them um and time and time
(07:36):
again what we hear is why they've been
staying with us for years on end really
I mean Ruth here um 15 no years 15 years
in leadership and um uh is is because of
our mission right and because they have
a passion for CH for serving children
and family and they can see the
(07:57):
difference that they're making on a
daily basis so so with that um you know
clearly people like like to be there
they love the program the program is
getting um a a lot of it's going to a
lot of good use for folks who really
need it um can you talk about some of
the the aspects to it and then we'll
(08:18):
move into the day-to-day of what that
looks like but in terms of monitoring so
um you know when when parents are
dropping their children off kind of walk
us through some of the the the as of the
program that they can expect sure um
I'll I'll let Ruth talk about when they
come in and kind of what that feel and
look like is that from the center based
(08:38):
perspective from but from a management
level um and I think what's really
important for families to understand is
that there's um a high level of
responsibility for monitoring in our
program and oversight um not only are we
a federal program so there's a lot of
accountability there uh regarding
reporting and on uh oversight and
quality management um but we our
(08:59):
management team takes really seriously
the health and safety of our families
and we want to make sure that um our
families do know that um so when we are
orienting them um just as we are
orienting our teaching staff um health
and safety is a focus um we have systems
that um are really rooted in maintaining
(09:21):
health and safety um we have daily
checks weekly checks monthly checks for
whole array whole spectrum of health and
safety aspects from um making sure
there's no tripping hazards or the
playground equipment is in good repair
um to also ensuring that we have
(09:41):
appropriate over um supervision active
supervision of our children um and no uh
potential for um children to be harmed
um and those systems of course we look
at as a management level um on a regular
basis um and so we're consist
(10:02):
constantly um taking this health and
safety lens it's it's always at the
Forefront of of what we're doing we
talked about the dedication of Staff but
I know the program successes also due to
some of the partners can you talk about
some of those Partnerships yeah um we
are so so grateful to have our Community
(10:22):
Partnerships um as I mentioned they
really allow us to expand our reach
right beyond the 12 12 centers that we
do operate um and um we've had some
pretty long-standing Partnerships we
partner with YMC of the East Bay um both
in East County and in West County we
(10:42):
have a growing partnership with uh
Kinder Care actually which um you may be
familiar with they have locations
countywide but we primarily partner out
in East County with them um and then we
partner with Mount D Unified School
District for Crossroads High School
which is a really wonderful program that
supports um pregnant teens and young
(11:03):
mothers so that they can continue to
attend school um as they have their
babies um and then um we also partner
with ASP spironet which is a home
visiting program um that serves the um
the whole entire County there uh with um
and supporting mothers to have healthy
(11:24):
pregnancies and then with the early days
of um bringing a b
home um into uh infant and toddlerhood
um finally we partner with the a program
out in brettwood called Tiny Toes so
yeah we've got a a whole array of uh of
support out there in the community
(11:45):
whether we're operating it directly or
with our partners um but all of those
programs are headst Start programs so
the important piece is that the same
quality services are there at all of
them all of them are unique and Families
get to um really choose what works best
for their family um
(12:06):
but what still grounds us in our centers
and I I mentioned around monitoring
oversight and health and safety is a
component of all those programs so
priority it's great that you know you
tailor to the needs of a family because
no family no two families are the same
and they don't have the same needs but
also there's an expectation of
consistency in the program so that's
(12:26):
lovely and so now that we've kind of
heard the overarching um kind of
administrative side of the program Ruth
you are actually in the classrooms on
the dayto day um Can can you talk about
how are the teachers supporting the
children I I understand there's a
greeting in the morning can you talk
about that yes um so part of what I do
(12:48):
is
um I look at the total family so when
they come into the school I'm usually
downstairs greeting parents also so when
they come through I'm saying good
morning hello have a great day just be
it's going to be awesome for you so they
can know that there's support for them
as they're going into the school and as
(13:09):
they're leaving your child is going to
be safe as they step into the classroom
the teachers do do a health check and so
they look them at them they ask the
parents how was your day how was their
evening how did they sleep um and so
they go through those questions just to
(13:30):
get a a
firm understanding and a foundation of
how that child's outcome will be for the
day so if they didn't have a good sleep
we know we need to tailor their learning
that day to help them support them if
they're tired or if they are excited or
(13:50):
there was a sad situation that happened
we know these things when they first
come into the classroom the teachers
individualize all their learning so from
doing from assessments to screenings
when they get to the point of being
there from the health check on the
teachers make sure that they
(14:12):
individualize what that day will look
like for that particular child so it's
it's such a you know seemingly small
gesture but it might be the only time
that parents get that interaction where
someone's actually asking them how
they're doing and it also speaks volumes
about the social social and emotional
component can you can you give some
details about that what does that look
(14:32):
like yes um social emotional is a big
key for us we want to make sure we're
meeting the total need of the child and
the parents with social emotional
because a lot of times we always think
about education and learning but we
forget that mental health is there and
so we want to make sure that if there's
(14:53):
the need that they need we have people
on site that can meet their direct need
then the comprehensive services staff
they're there on site they're there to
help them um the children in the
classroom the teachers are trained in
our second step curriculum we also have
what we call teaching pyramid which has
(15:13):
trained all the teachers in um how to
deal with social emotional and
behavioral needs and so those needs are
met right thin and there with skills
that the teachers all come into the
classroom with and so parents are very
happy about that because sometimes
(15:34):
separation is difficult so when they're
being separated from their parent it's
hard and so we have come to the point
when I look at my staff and I see them
how they interact with that child who is
having a difficult day and they deal
they pull in their
educational um their educational
(15:56):
component of knowing the social
emotional skills of the teaching pyramid
um of the um Second Step they bring
those skills in to help that child come
into the classroom without having to
think that they're different or they're
separated but they're inclusive into
(16:17):
what's going on on that day so yeah
social and emotional is the biggest part
of supporting a child in the classroom
but there are other services right
you're also looking at Health dental
nutrition absolutely can you talk about
those a little bit yes um we we are so
honestly um blessed to have the services
(16:41):
that we have um so our families if we
look at Dental they do have to make sure
they bring in a dental if they don't
have a dental home our comprehensive
service staff um make sure that they
help them get to a dental home so
they'll have a provider
that supports their
(17:02):
um getting um dental treatment if they
need treatment we also have what we call
give kids a smile Day in February and
that is such an awesome day because we
have volunteers that come in dentist
that come in and check all our children
that need that support and then they
also recommend if they need treatment
(17:24):
and we're able to support families to
get that treatment and then we talk
about nutrition we have our kitchen
staff our nutritionist our person who's
over that they make sure that we have
this whole component of um making sure
our healthy meals come in but the most
important part is that not
(17:46):
everybody understands that there's
choosy eaters and those choosy eaters we
meet that need and it's awesome to see
that a child who was not eating in the
beginning or was not trying the food at
the end of um a few months they are now
eating um meals but they were having a
(18:07):
difficult time so choosy eaters are um a
big component that we're starting now um
and I'm excited about that I have a lot
of choosy eaters and um one story we
have is that a child has not eat and his
mother told us he won't eat but a week
ago he put a peach in his mouth and that
(18:30):
is so awesome because that is a
milestone that we can say hey he's doing
this and his mom was so excited and just
asked us um told me the story and I
looked at her and said wow I am so
excited about it um the nutrition part
of um the medical part making sure all
(18:51):
Imus are caught up making sure the
children are able to go out and our comp
services again they're calling parents
they're letting the parents know that
okay don't forget that their Imus are
due especially when we have infant and
toddlers I have a preschool site only
but I've worked at an infant toddler
(19:12):
site and that means we have to keep up
with that and they support the families
by giving them heads up don't forget
they have their well baby check coming
up so we want to make sure we meet all
of those needs so from 0 to 5 we are
making sure the parents that their
nutritional needs are met we're making
sure their medical needs are met and so
(19:33):
that is a big component of Head Start
that you don't always get in other
places beyond all of those Services um
it's got to be really rewarding you've
been you know part of the program for 30
years um what are some of the career
Pathways there's some opportunities to
(19:55):
to advance I mean when you started did
you start as a site supervisor or did
you work your way up I worked my way up
I was a teacher and my unique story is I
learned about the program through an ad
in the paper so I answered an ad went to
an interview applied and went to an
interview and was hired as a Lead
(20:16):
Teacher and that was a a dream for me
because I come from families of
Educators but I came into the classroom
I was in private centers and when I was
able to go into a program that was going
to help the needest of needs or whatever
those families needed I felt like I just
(20:39):
made it to the point of My Success and I
didn't realize that was not the end of
my story that was just the beginning of
my journey and so as I continued to
support the children in the classrooms I
went and I tried my best to make sure I
learned everything I could to help them
I went through violent intervention
(20:59):
training I became a trauma informed
trainer I did um a pitc which is infant
toddler trainer so I made sure that I
had the skills to support the children
in the classroom however I thought is
this the end of my story no it wasn't I
(21:19):
continued by applying and becoming a a
site supervisor too and when I became a
site supervisor I was able to um help
support the teaching staff with the
skills that I bought in as a teacher um
and having that understanding about what
(21:40):
they go through on a day-to-day um level
as a supervisor coming from being a
teacher I was able to support the
teaching staff so that's where I um and
As I Grew and I became a site supervisor
too I then moved into a larger site
which is one of the largest sites in
Contra custa County programed of Head
(22:03):
Starts is George Miller 3 and so now I'm
the supervisor there and there every day
I walk in that site I think about what
am I going to do new to support my staff
to support my parents and to support the
children that walk in the school and
that's my goal each
day well it sounds like a perfect fit
(22:26):
and it's something that um it's in
inspiring to hear your story I mean who
knew if you wouldn't have picked up that
newspaper you know but it's that's
amazing and so now that we've you know
kind of heard about the resources that
go into the program how the County's
role and and all of the Partnerships one
you're your kiddos have gone through
most recently um can you talk about how
(22:49):
the programs impacted your your children
and your family and your parenting as
well yeah I know it's uh has been like a
very interesting because
um my first kid is 7 years old he start
there in the program when he was three
but you know my first son is was he was
like a very shine very shine so when the
(23:13):
first time that he get there I know like
it was being like a very hard time as
rot say like it's very hard to leave
your kids because you know they start
crying they want to be with you but
really the staff helps a lot to the kids
you know like to help the D process to
don't cry to understand like a one is
going to happen and everything and then
(23:36):
uh I didn't know that they were uh
therapists inside the classrooms uh so
my son start like taking uh season with
those therapist when he was on the
school so they help them a lot a lot but
we didn't know it you know like that
that that was happening and then after
(23:57):
because that that happened when it was
the pandemia so it was hard like uh to
understand like all the tools that the
program uh used to provide right and
then um after a while uh we start
finding with you know having a contact
with another person outside or some was
(24:19):
like uh being my social side with the
rest of the kids and then say like
what's going on no and then we talk with
the teachers and the teacher told us
like oh no that's because your son is uh
taking a therapy with the personal here
and then helping a lot with you know
doish and now it's he's doing sucess
ofolder yeah on on the he's now on
(24:41):
second
grade and uh he's still like doing a lot
he's participating a lot on on the on
the schools he he loves uh uh their
teachers and everything and my second
one was uh I my second kid he just STS
on the
kindergarten and um he's a very
(25:02):
different kid because he's a very uh he
has a lot of energy and uh Ruth help us
a lot really help us a lot with him
because it was the one that hard for him
to to eat food you know like different
kind of food uh he was having a hard
time to get a
nap uh also to uh he he's taking a a
(25:26):
speech therapy but they held in at the
beginning to to have to to to to have
like a that uh benefit you know and then
there's another things that they help
the program helps parents because
sometimes you don't understand what are
your kids needed and the teacher the
personal because they are very
professional and they are very Prof like
(25:47):
prepared so everything your kid need
they let you know and not only they
don't leave it like you know your kid is
going to need this no they help you all
the way to get through you know to
complete like all the process they they
they don't only like leave you in the
air you know they help you with that so
(26:08):
uh my kid
really my my my little one he went there
full-time and
uh it was amazing because as rth say at
the beginning when we start taking our
kids there is like the the security
guard the person on the front desk all
(26:28):
the all the person have a smile so that
that uh helps you to feel like you are
leaving your kids in a safety place and
then you know in my uh experience I
didn't like school when I was like at
that age and he my kids always asking me
like uh can can we go to school you know
(26:50):
even on the weekends they just like
today's a school day you know because
they really are enjoying so that's
that's how you learn like here in this
program they are doing something
different so you've definitely
experienced the connection with the
program Beyond just your children
experiencing the the services you're
(27:11):
you're getting tools and I mean what a
better testimonial than your children
wanting to go to school on the weekends
that that that they're doing something
that's really positive and
beneficial um so that seems to have
inspired your further involvement on the
Head Start policy Council um what is
(27:32):
that Council and and how does it operate
how does it function okay that was a
funny study because uh when I get
involved there I I was in a meeting with
the ru but not uh I I was the me and my
wife were the only parns connected to
that meeting so the each site needs a a
(27:52):
PN represented so that day uh she asked
us if we want to be a part of the policy
counil uh as a parent representant for
the site because they needed like
because you know the the policy conso
helps to the program to approve like all
the movements that they need and then
it's like making a consolation about
(28:14):
what the programs wants and what the
parents want so she asked me to be a
part of them and say like um okay let's
let's let's do it and then when I start
going to the meetings I apply for the
vice chair position and I didn't I
didn't have like idea just like you know
try to get involved because I was I was
seeing my kids like they're being very
(28:35):
happy right so I get the position and
then I start like learning all the tools
that really the program is I mean they
provide to you and and uh what is the
like the more important goal like maybe
they don't have it but I understand it
like that like to make the connection
(28:56):
parents with kids
because they care you know the the first
care of them is the kids right but if
your parents are not good you know so
the kids are not they're not going to
have a good develop in their Li and
they're they're not going to be
successful right so the program helps
(29:19):
like to get like a that connection with
your kids so to understand them like
what they need and also what you need to
be a good parent
so when I start learning that it's like
okay I want to be in boled I want to
help them because uh they needed the the
program needs the parent support so the
(29:39):
policy console role is is that help the
program in uh
to get like the best things for your
kids that's in like the simplest because
everything you know they have a you can
see like very professional uh personal
right so when they want to improve
(30:00):
something in the program the parners
need to approve it the policy Council
need to approve it so but they explain
to you like uh how how they going to
improve in how or how they're going to
work in on then and after that if and
also they listen to you if you uh if you
have a concern or something about that
(30:21):
they want to improve or something they
listen to you and they make the change
that they needed and then the parents if
the parents are
happy done so they're going to make yeah
it's ultimate accountability yeah yeah
um so now that we kind of have this full
circle moment where we're you know we
understand the program its impact its
(30:42):
benefits um to the community Sarah I
know you have some
openings I we do let's fill those
openings let's talk about um how can how
can folks apply for any of the open
positions absolutely um so we do have
openings in various positions um our key
Focus right now is is filling all of our
teacher
vacancies um and so we're doing a lot of
(31:04):
work around that um to apply of course
we you can apply on the County website
um you can go to the governmentjobs.com
um careers uh SL Contra Costa of course
to apply for any of our Contra Costa
County positions um but um if you have
any questions about our teacher
positions uh we do encourage that you
(31:26):
reach out to us right
um uh you can go ahead and reach out to
us through an email address which is
teach
ehsd. CC county. us um and you can also
go to our eh sd.org website for more
information well um thanks to you all
(31:47):
very much for being here um that's it
for our show uh I'm your host Christy
Jordan Contra Costa County's Public
Information officer thanks for joining
us on the government speak podcast
brought to you by the office of
communications and media but don't just
take our word for it stay curious stay
connected and stay informed until next
time keep your mind open and your facts
straight
(32:14):
[Music]
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.