Jumpstart!
Jumpstart is an early intervention program that offers a one-on-one interaction between Jumpstart counselors and four-year-olds who are experiencing difficulty adjusting to Head Start preschool programs.
It has been noted that some Head Start children develop social and emotional problems that manifest themselves in a variety of "acting out" behaviors, which can push the child toward failure in school-the one place that could provide a safe haven for nurturing the child's growth and development.
But Jumpstart works to alter this destructive course and put these very young children on a path toward success in school. By pairing each preschooler with his or her own counselor, who is a specially trained college student, even the youngest child with the most difficulty has a chance to succeed with the one-on-one attention that the Jumpstart counselor provides. Counselors work to teach the kids the basic academic skills they will need to succeed in preschool, from writing their names, to reading books. but they also teach the young children how to make friends, with both their peers and with adults.
Jumpstart counselors serve as mentors, teachers, friends, and , most importantly, positive role models for the Jumpstart children they work with, as often the counselors are former Head Start children or parents themselves. All counselors are volunteer undergraduate students who have committed to two-year terms so that they can follow children through their last year of Head Start and their first year of public school.
Jumpstart takes place in Head Start classrooms, either after school or during the parts of the day when the classroom isn't being used. The counselor and child meet twice weekly in this setting, for two house each session. Each classroom houses eight kids, eight counselors, and one coordinator who oversees the curriculum and makes sure everything runs smoothly. Each child is referred to Jumpstart by their Head Start teacher and staff.
Jumpstart counselors continue to work with the children after they complete Head Start and move into kindergarten. Counselors will travel to the children's schools and continue to work with them for four hours weekly, lending vital support to help them with the transition from Head Start into the regular public school system.
Jumpstart is being tested in Boston, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut. Currently the program is privately funded, but it is looking both individuals donors and corporations to sponsor the eight-person Jumpstart teams that comprise a classroom group.
Jumpstart is an undergraduate run program operated in collaboration with the public school system. In Connecticut it is affiliated with Dwight Hall at Yale University in New Haven.
For more information on this program, contact Yale undergraduate and co-founder Rebecca Weintraub at DwightHall, Yale University, P.O. Box 209008, New Haven, CT 06520.
Rebecca is a former volunteer at a local Had Start center which she contacted to offer her services and where she developed the idea of Jumpstart, along with co-founder and fellow student Aaron Lieberman. Jumpstart was originally thought of as a vehicle to stimulate college students into getting involved in community service. Rebecca states that Jumpstart has attracted more volunteer students than they can currently use, so is has been widely successful.
Aaron Lieberman has since graduated from Yale University and plans to teach at a Boston Head Start center this fall.
What they're saying about Jumpstart...
"Jumpstart has been a wonderful experience for both the children, their parents, and our staff. The children are certainly benefiting from the one-on-one contact they have with the counselors. This is helping to raise their self esteem and, at the same time, increasing their language, literacy, and cognitive skills."
-Ruth Turner
Director of New Haven
Head Start
"[The child I referred to Jump start] became less aggressive and was calmer after returning to class. He was more verbal and sure of himself, too."
-Head Start Teacher
at the Zigler Head Start
Center, New Haven, CT
"He seemed to do better [during Jumpstart] He was a lot more calm, taking his time about learning. In the classroom, when he is around a lot of kids, he gets aggravated, but with one-on-one he can take his time and work things out."
-Neva Caldwell
Jumpstart Parent
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