On Thursday, September 23, the Office of Head Start (OHS) announced it would not resume monitoring in January 2022 as it had previously stated. Dr. Bernadine Futrell, PhD, director of the Office of Head Start explained during a broadcast that, ”CLASS reviews will not be conducted during the fiscal year 2022 monitoring season...We are following the highest safety precautions possible as we enter in different programs to do the monitoring.”
Teachstone stands behind OHS as they pivot plans in order to keep children, educators, and observers safe during the pandemic.
When OHS announced that it would pause monitoring in September 2020, we encouraged programs to use CLASS to continue understanding and improving the quality of teacher-child interactions in their classrooms. And, Head Start educators did just that. Many used the opportunity to provide their teachers with coaching. Others offered trainings to their staff to build CLASS knowledge and to focus on creating a culture of continuous improvement.
During this time, we are here to support educators in what they do best—provide meaningful interactions with the children in their classrooms. Teachstone offers tools and resources to support Head Start teachers, coaches, and leaders. And, to help rebuild the workforce, we are proud to offer flexible, independent training for teachers who are just getting started, or seasoned veterans who are looking to renew their current CLASS certifications.
Introducing the CLASS Video Pilot Project
OHS also recently announced an exciting joint project with Teachstone: the CLASS Video Pilot Project.
Over the last year, we’ve seen the growing need for flexibility in how CLASS data is collected—whether in-person or through video footage of classrooms. Because of our shared commitment to continuous quality improvement, Teachstone and OHS are partnering to pilot new methods of collecting reliable data from remote video observations
Watch Adia Brown, Monitoring Lead at OHS, share what this pilot means for Head Start programs, and how to get involved in this exciting work.
We believe this will be critical in helping every child succeed in the future.
We are incredibly excited to partner with the Office of Head Start on this initiative, to learn from our partners in the field, and to create new, innovative ways of understanding the quality of classroom interactions.
CLASS Guidance for Your Program
Want to learn more about improving interactions in your Head Start program? Connect with a CLASS Consultant who can recommend CLASS solutions that best meet your budget, timeline, and level of CLASS understanding.
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