A Conversation with the New Associate Commissioner
of the Head Start Bureau
"Family literacy is based upon a simple but powerful premise: parents and children can learn together and enhance each other's lives." -From the 1994 Annual Meeting of the national Center for Family Literacy, Louisville, KY
The following interview with Helen H. Taylor, the new Associate Commissioner of the Head Start
Bureau, was conducted by Trellis Waxler, Family Literacy Coordinator, Head Start Bureau:Question: Congratulations on your new position. Someone once said that your job is one of the best jobs in government.
Helen Taylor: Thanks. I would agree with that statement. I was pleased to be selected for this position. I have worked for Head Start at the local level for 28 years and I see this position as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of more children and their families. I also welcome the opportunity to work with so many people who are dedicated to making a difference. Head Start started as part of the war on poverty. The effort is still needed.
Q: You were sworn in a few months ago. What have been some of the highlights so far?
Taylor: First of all, it has been a tremendously hectic few months. There have been so many exciting and important events that have taken place, but the one thing that stands out in my mind is the work on the Head Start reauthorization bill. This was an intense bipartisan effort that I think made it a much better piece of legislation. I am very excited about the bill because in addition to expanding the program and providing grantees greater flexibility in meeting the needs of the local community, it places emphasis on improving the quality of services to children and their families. In addition to the work on the bill, we are heavily involved in attempting to respond to the recommendations made by the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion. I would say that these are my two high points thus far.
Q: There are a number of common points between the Reauthorization Legislation and the Advisory Committee's recommendations. For example, they both emphasize the importance of family literacy. Do you anticipate any new initiatives in this area?
Taylor: The two of them do deal with the issue of family literacy, particularly in terms of improving the quality of the services provided to children and families. Program improvement is an important concept in Head Start. This year we have backed the concept up with a major infusion of funds for additional quality.
Q: Are you saying that a large portion of this year's Head Start budget is devoted to program improvement?
Taylor: Yes. We are determined to improve every facet of the Head Start program, including family literacy. Over the coming months, we will work with grantees to help them improve their current parent involvement and literacy activities. Those grantees that do not have family literacy projects will be encouraged to develop literacy activities.
As you know, Head Start has a long history of working with literacy efforts. For example, the Family Service Centers have family literacy as one of their three components. In 1991 every grantee was given the opportunity to apply for additional funds for literacy activities. These funds became a permanent part of the grantee's base budget. Some grantees have interagency agreements with local partners to implement literacy efforts. An example of this would be the agreements that many grantees have with their local school systems to provide GED programs for parents, and some grantees work with their local Literacy Councils or local literacy volunteer programs.
Q: What other literacy efforts are underway?
Taylor: One activity we have is the Interagency Agreement between Head Start and the Library of Congress. We encourage all grantees to look at the resources within their local communities in working with families. We know that Head Start cannot do it alone; there must be help from many agencies, both public and private. Grantees must reach out to parents and make them feel secure in seeking help to improve their literacy skills so that lifelong learning becomes a goal for all families.
Q: You mentioned earlier that lifelong learning is one goal of the Head Start literacy effort. What are some other goals for family literacy?
Taylor: That's a very interesting question. The word "family" has become the new buzzword for the 1990's. However, when we use the word "family" in Head Start we really do mean family. For Head Start, the focus of family literacy is to assist parents in their roles as the prime educators of their children and to assist parents in their efforts to obtain economic and social self-sufficiency. We want parents to reach the highest level of proficiency they can in each of these areas.
We have an important ally in our family literacy work. Recently, Bob Williams, Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, spoke to a Head Start audience. He stated that expectations of parents and teachers are greatly diminished when a child has significant disabilities and he could see the family literacy provisions of the Head Start Reauthorization Act as key to beginning to challenge and replace those lowered expectations. He also stated that one out of every two adults with cerebral palsy was illiterate and he felt that Head Start could be a vehicle for beginning to change that for the next generation.
It is my hope that Head Start will continue to play a major role in the country's effort to break the cycle of intergenerational illiteracy and that it will help pave the way for the achievement of social and economic self- sufficiency of all families and individuals.
Thank you, Ms. Taylor, for sharing this time with us.