Following up on my blog post from a month ago, I’m pleased to share our final comments submitted to the Office of Head Start. We applaud the work of the Office of Head Start (OHS) in proposing new program performance standards stemming from a review of the current, applicable research on early childhood education and child and family development, and we appreciated the opportunity to submit comments.
Our key comments focus on these issues:
- Need for a definition of high quality pre-K
- Support of the multiple references to the importance of teacher-child interactions in early childhood education, including a recommendation that the importance of the quality of these interactions is not limited to center-based teachers but pertains to all staff
- Support of the explicit recognition of bilingualism as a strength and the alignment of the research on dual language learners and home language support with practical applications
- Support of the systematic approach to professional development
- Support of the 15 hours minimum requirement of professional development for all teachers, assistant teachers, home visitors, and family child care providers
We also are pleased that Teachstone signed onto the comments submitted by the National Head Start Association (NHSA), as our review of the proposed rule is significantly aligned.
Please review the PDF attached to our comment, and let me know what you think. Thank you!
