Sharing Web Resources Week 4

This week we have read and listened to how important it is for us to invest in early childhood education.  It is something that is happening in my community where a group of concerned teachers, preschool directors, parents and community members have come together to find a way to provide access for low income children to a high quality preschool program.
The web site that I have been exploring is the Head Start web site and I have learned a lot about the organization.  Today as I was looking on the web site for Head Start I went under that tab for resources.  Their was an announcement of grant funding opportunities for Head Start and Early Head Start.  I went to the link for the Health and Human Services Department and there was a listing for a grant for a basic center program.  I did not know that a private preschool could qualify because I thought Head Start had to be run by the government but it seems to be that a preschool has to meet certain criteria and then they would be able to apply for a grant. I was surprised that faith based and community preschools could be eligible.  I am interested in learning more about this potential of opening up opportunities to serve families and children by being able to receive government funds. I felt that this was relevant to my professional development because it is something that I am involved with in my community and ties into what we are learning about how economists, scientists and politicians are talking about when they emphasize early learning.  President Obama has recently talked about the importance of early learning and has set new standards for Head Start programs.

I think what I find interesting is that their is this emphasis on helping children from low income families and yet in some communities Head Start is not in because the population does not meet the federal income levels required to be eligible.  I think that the families that have jobs but do not fit in the low income level are struggling just as much to be able to find and afford high quality child care/preschool for their children.  How do we meet the needs of these families?  I can only think of getting corporations, businesses and private donors involved to donate funds to support these communities.  If we seriously want all children to be able to have access to early learning programs then we all need to get involved.

I like how the Head Start web site has tabs that contain information to help support teachers, administrators and parents.  The web site has a great teaching and training tab with a pod cast that has information for teachers on how to teach the different areas of curriculum.