The Head Start Variations Study
Allen N. Smith, Special Assistant to the Associate Commissioner, Head Start Bureau
The Head Start Bureau recently published the findings of a study conducted in Region X which examined the effects of home-based, center-based, and combination Head Start models on child performance and family home behavior at the end of the Head Start year and at the end of the kindergarten year. The total sample of 402 children was drawn from 12 Head Start programs and reflected six service delivery models. Four combination models, in addition to center- and home-based models, comprised the mixture of weekly center visits and yearly home visits.
The findings generally paralleled those obtained from a 1988 study of different Head Start models conducted in rural Pennsylvania. No significant differences in child performance or home behavior were observed across the various models at the end of the Head Start year. At the end of the kindergarten year, however, child performance was higher for the center-based and three of the four combination models than for the home-based model. Family home behavior, on the other hand, tended to be stronger for the home-based programs than for the other models.
The study findings supported the generally held view that parents can serve as effective change agents in the development of their own children.
Single copies of the report are available by writing to: Head Start Bureau, P.O. Box 1182, Washington, DC 20013. Parent Rooms are special, Parent Rooms are nice
Because to Head Start, parents add the spice.
So we fixed this little room for you, in case you need to rest
Or when your feet are tired, it really is the best.
Maybe you need to use the phone, to call your job or home,
If you're looking for a quiet spot, somewhere to be alone.
Or how about some coffee, some place to sit and talk.
For just a few minutes we can forget there's a clock
We hope this room becomes all these things
And we mean it from the heart
Because without our parents, it just wouldn't be Head Start.
Written by Sandy Anderson
and daughters Michele and Tara
United Community Action Program, Inc.
Head Start's Birstow Center,
Pawnee, Oklahoma
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