Tag Archives: American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start

Office of Head Start Policy

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3/17/2015

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

TO: American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start and Early Head Start grantees and delegate agencies and those Head Start agencies whose service population includes AIAN children

SUBJECT: Native Language Preservation, Revitalization, Restoration, and Maintenance in Head Start and Early Head Start Programs

INFORMATION:

Purpose
The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to clarify the Office of Head Start (OHS) support for teaching tribal languages to children in AIAN Head Start and Early Head Start.

Background
Across the United States, 45,175 children with AIAN heritage are served in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Region XI administers 148 tribal Head Start grantees and 57 tribal Early Head Start grantees that serve 47 percent, or 21,259, of the enrolled AIAN children. The remainder of children with AIAN heritage, 53 percent, are served across the regions.

Currently, almost two percent of enrolled children’s primary languages spoken at home are Native North American and Alaska Native languages (1.9 percent); one percent reported Spanish; and the majority reported English (95.7 percent). This shows a decrease from the eight percent enrolled children who reported AIAN languages as their dominant language in 2001 for Region XI.

The Native American Languages Act of 1990 (Pub.L. 101-477) found that the “lack of clear, comprehensive, and consistent federal policy on treatment of Native American languages…has often resulted in acts of suppression and extermination of Native American languages and cultures.”

President Obama’s early learning agenda included Executive Order 13592, which contains the objective of “increasing the number and percentage of AIAN children who enter kindergarten ready for success through improved access to high quality early learning programs and services, including Native language immersion programs, that encourage the learning and development of AIAN children from birth through age 5.”

In 2012, OHS released a Tribal Language Report that provided information on the success, progress, and challenges experienced by tribal programs as they work to preserve, revitalize, and maintain their tribal languages. The report highlighted a misperception among some tribal programs that the full integration of tribal language and culture in Head Start and Early Head Start programs was inconsistent with Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Currently, AIAN programs are involved in a number of language and cultural preservation, revitalization, and maintenance efforts. These efforts include teaching language using a variety of models and supporting cultural ways and traditions through aligning them with school readiness efforts.

The Head Start Program Performance Standards that support language preservation and culture and the resources that OHS has made available for this purpose are described below.

OHS strongly supports the full integration of AIAN languages and culture in their Head Start and Early Head Start programs, including the use of language immersion, dual language, and other proven approaches. Pursuant to Pub.L. 101-477, it is the policy of the United States to “preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages” and to “encourage and support the use of Native American languages as a medium of instruction…”

The Head Start Act requires that children make progress toward the acquisition of English and that instruction be culturally and linguistically appropriate (Sec. 641A(a)(1)(B)(x)). Some grantees have expressed concern that the requirement that children make progress toward English acquisition means that supporting acquisition or progress in other languages is prohibited. This is not the case. There is substantial and increasing evidence that young children can benefit from the opportunity to acquire more than one language, and that support of home or heritage languages results in improved English language skills.

The Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act of 2006 (Pub.L. 109-394), which amended the Native American Programs Act of 1974, provides for the revitalization of Native American languages through Native language immersion and restoration programs that are administered by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), which is also a part of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

ANA and OHS believe language revitalization and continuation are fundamental to preserving and strengthening a community’s culture. Use of Native language builds identity and encourages communities to move toward social unity and self-sufficiency.

Head Start Act and Program Performance Standards
The Head Start Program Performance Standards provide for the integration of tribal language and culture in Head Start classrooms, in the curricula, with ongoing observation-based assessment, and across program systems and services. The current Head Start Program Performance

Source: Office of Head Start

Available at: http://hsicc.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/j/79748144B5C7D6BB/2ABD24CF6E74000C0F8C96E86323F7F9

Birth to Three Archive 2014

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3/2015

The 18th Annual Birth to Three Institute (BTT) was a three-day event designed to enhance the quality of services for expectant parents, infants, toddlers, and families. Explore the plenary sessions and webinars below by topic. They may be helpful to: Early Head Start (EHS), Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start, child care, and family child care staff; training and technical assistance providers; and the broader early childhood community.

Source: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, Early Head Start National Resource Center

Available at: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/btt/archive_2014.html

National Center on Health Event: Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative Webinar

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Learn More Hear and Now:

Introduction to Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Hearing Screening

Friday, June 21, 2013

Noon – 1 p.m. EDT

Each day, children with hearing loss attend Early Head Start programs. How will we identify who they are? Join Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) for a webinar on otoacoustic emissions (OAE) screening methods. Learn about appropriate hearing screening practices for children ages birth to 3 and how to implement them in your program.

Topics for this Webinar Include:

OAE hearing screening technology

How to establish effective hearing screening protocols in your program

Follow-up strategies for children who don’t pass hearing screening

A brief preview of the topic is available for viewing on demand

Who Should Attend?

This webinar will benefit an array of audience members, including: Early Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs working with children ages birth to 3; and those who support hearing screening activities at the state or community level for infants and toddlers.

How to Participate

Register early! This webinar is limited to 100 participants. Visit the June 21 Webinar Registration page to sign up. You will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar.

Questions?

Before the webinar, watch this six-minute Introduction to Periodic OAE Hearing Screening video. Send your questions to echo.ncham@usu.edu by 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 21.

 

Award of Regions XI and XII T/TA and Collaboration Center

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2/21/12

The Office of Head Start announces the award of a contract to FHI Development 360, LLC to operate a Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) and Collaboration Center for Region XI, serving American Indian and Alaska Native children and families, and Region XII, serving Migrant and Seasonal children and families.

The Center will operate under the leadership of a Project Director. Within the Center, each Region will be staffed by a Collaboration Director, a T/TA Manager, Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialists, and Grantee Specialists. The ECE specialists will support local programs in work related to school readiness, including positive child outcomes; parent, family and community engagement; career development needs of staff; and, collaboration with others at the national, tribal, state and local levels. Grantee Specialists will work with grantees with findings identified through the federal monitoring process and other areas of concern.