EHS/HS 5-Year Program Goals, School Readiness Goals, PFCE …€¦ · 2016-2017 GOLD Progress...

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AVANCE-Houston, Inc.

EHS/HS 5-Year Program Goals, School Readiness Goals, PFCE Goals

FY 2018

Program Goal #1: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. will provide all children ages 0-5 years with developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, high quality

comprehensive education and support services which fully address their social, emotional, physical, literacy, and cognitive development to ensure their

successful transition to school and academic achievement.

Objective 1: Teachers practice

successful language development strategies in the

classroom, as measured by children’s improved

GOLD scores in the area of language

development. (HS)-Progression during the school

year (fall, winter, & spring).

Expected Outcomes: Children’s language

development and GOLD

assessment scores improve

Data Tools or Methods

for Tracking Progress: GOLD Assessment

Scores

Data Tools or Methods for Tracking

Progress: GOLD Assessment Scores

Progress: During the school year, AVANCE’s

Head Start children demonstrated an increase in

each developmental domain by the end of the

school year. Children were assessed three times

during the school year (fall, winter, and spring).

The table below represents each area of

development and the rate of growth by the close

of the year. For the current school year 2107-

2018, the program changed the developmental

assessment for Head Start from GOLD by

Teaching Strategies to Circle by the Children’s

Learning Institute.

2016-2017 GOLD Progress Report- Head Start-Center Based End of the Year Growth (Fall, Winter, & Spring)

Domain/Age 3 Years Olds 4 Years Olds

Social Emotional 47% 38%

Physical 43% 36%

Language 46% 40%

Cognitive 48% 48%

Literacy 79% 78%

Mathematics 63% 60%

Objective 2: Teachers engage in

purposeful observation of children to target

GOLD objectives, as measured by children’s

improved GOLD scores in the area of language

Expected Outcomes: Increased consistency in

assessment scores and

teachers better assess


for Tracking Progress: Gold Assessment Scores

Progress: During the school year,

AVANCE’s Early Head Start children

demonstrated an increase in each developmental

domain by the end of the school year. Children

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development. (EHS) progression during the

school year (fall, winter, & spring).

children’s progress

were assessed three times during the school year

(fall, winter, and spring). The table below

represents each area of development and the rate

of growth by the close of the year. The program

will continue to utilize GOLD by Teaching

Strategies to assess EHS children.

2016-2017 GOLD Progress Report-Early Head Start-Center Based End of the Year Growth (Fall, Winter, & Spring)

Domain/Age 1-2 Year Olds 2-3 Year Olds


Physical 35% 33%

Language 67% 47%

Cognitive 68% 49%

Literacy 136% 61%

Mathematics 106% 70%

2016-2017 GOLD Progress Report-Early Head Start-Home Based End of the Year Growth (Fall, Winter, & Spring)

Domain/Age 1-2 Year Olds 2-3 Year Olds


Physical 23% 20%

Language 42% 23%

Cognitive 55% 25%

Literacy 93% 51%

Mathematics 73% 31%

Objective 3: Introduce Conscious

Discipline (CD) to all staff, families and

collaborative partners, as measured by survey

Expected Outcomes: Teachers better able to

manage classrooms and


for Tracking Progress: Classroom Visit Reports

Progress: The program continues to expand its

knowledge and practice of Conscious Discipline.

The program expanded its book club and now

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feedback of knowledge of CD. (EHS CB/HB &

HS)- The program will discontinue the

measurement of success by a 10% increase of

knowledge each year; however, it will implement

one aspect of the Conscious Discipline program

each year.

support social emotional teachers are requesting to have the studies take

place at their centers. The centers were

encouraged to implement various aspects of the

program in their classrooms. The wishing well

tree is practiced and the program plans to create

one for its main office. AVANCE’s Education

team attended the Conscious Discipline training

institute in Houston this year. Several of the

staff was also selected by Becky Bailey’s team

to help with facilitation during the seven day

training. To kick of the year, the agency’s

welcome back training session for all employees

included a Conscious Discipline exercise. The

activity was led by an Education Specialist and

the staff seems to enjoy the activity and actively

participate. For 2017-2018, the program plans

to continue implementation and incorporate

practices agency wide.

Objective 4: Decrease the number of children

who meet criteria for overweight and obesity

through parent education and support programs.

10% decrease each year

Expected Outcome: Increased number of

children with healthy

weights


for Tracking Progress:

Nutrition Assessment &

BMI records

Progress: This year, the program experienced a

decrease (8%) in the number of overweight and

obese children. The program decreased the

number of overweight and obese children since

the previous school year (201-2016); however, it

did not reduce the numbers by 10%. Nutrition

continues to be a priority for program staff and

parents; therefore, AVANCE continue to

implement practices to better educate families

about nutrition and exercise and encourage good

eating habits. AVANCE continues to work with

Ortho-Tek to provide education and nutritional

referrals and services for families. In addition,

the program is currently reviewing nutritional

software designed to improve meal service and

offer support and education. AVANCE will

strive to continue making gains in this area in

order to reduce the number of children with

atypical BMIs.

Objective 5: Increase rates of parent Expected Outcome: Data Tools or Methods Progress: The program experienced a

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compliance with children’s dental treatment

follow up to 100%. Year 1-5% Increase, Year 2-

10% Increase & Year 3-5-100% achieved and

maintained

Children with improved

dental health

for Tracking Progress: Monthly reports and PIR

reports

significantly lower number of children who

required dental treatment since the previous

school year (2015-2016). For 2016-2017, the

program identified 58 children who required

dental treatment. Fifty five of the 58 (95%)

children received dental treatment follow up

during the past year. The program missed the

100% rate by 3 children. These children had

insurance coverage but missed appointments;

therefore, the program will work to provide

additional parent education about the importance

of dental care. Parents will continue to receive

education, follow up case management services,

and assistance with payment of services when no

other funds are available. In addition, the

program will continue to work with its dental

providers on preventative care and follow up

treatment. AVANCE will continue to strive for

100% in this area.

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Program Goal #2: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. will create support services needed to help all parents access continued learning and vocational/training

opportunities, develop/utilize advocacy and leadership skills, and achieve self-sufficiency.

Objective 1: Develop a plan

that ensures that all of the Family

Development Workers (FDWs)

possess the experience and

competencies required to fully

support parents in their personal

development and pathway to self-

sufficiency. Each year, FDWs with

Family Service Worker Credential

will increase by 20% leading to 100%

by year 5.

Expected Outcome: Increased

competence of FDWs in supporting

families

Data Tools or Methods for

Tracking Progress: Family Service

Worker Credential

Progress: Most of the Family

Development Workers have received

the Family Service Worker

Credential; however, the new staff

will need to complete the program

this year. AVANCE’s two employee

Family Service Worker Credential

trainers received offered the training

this past year at our national office.

They were required to order the

revised materials and are now ready

to offer the training to the new staff

this school year. There is also

significant cost associated with

credentialing each employee, with an

average cost of $1,000 per staff. The

program’s budget status will impact

its ability to credential all staff at one

time; however, the T &TA plan

includes allocations for some FDWs

to receive credentialing in 2018.

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Program Goal #3: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. EHS/HS will enhance its organizational capacity to more effectively support the development and retention

of employees and the full engagement of the Policy Council.

Objective 1: AVANCE will

create a sustainable and effective plan

to attract and retain qualified

employees. The rate of staff turnover

will decrease by 10% each year.

Expected Outcomes: Increased

retention and staff morale


Tracking Progress: Report of new

hires and resignations

Progress: The program experienced a

44% decrease in staff turnover in the

Head Start program, which was an

improvement since the last school

year. However, the Early Head Start

program saw a 25% increase in

turnover of its teachers since the last

school year. Although retention rates

have improve with non teaching staff

of both programs and Head Start

teachers, the agency continues to

work on strengthening the retention of

EHS teachers. The program is

working to create more effective

professional development and better

strategies for recruiting the right

candidates for work with infants and

toddlers. Additional retention and

morale building strategies are being

examined for implementation. The

program also continues to work with

the T & TA Specialist to learn more

about practice based coaching and

implementation within the EHS/HS

classrooms. The education staff have

expressed that this program seems to

offer teachers greater support. The

program also plans to conduct another

compensation survey to examine

AVANCE’s salary scale in

comparison to other like

organizations. In addition, AVANCE

has decided to merge its center

operations department with education.

Both departments will be overseen by

the Director of Education and Center

Operations. This change will increase

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opportunities for more effective

communication and standardized

processes and systems to better

support teachers. In addition, the

program added additional training

responsibilities to a Manager of

Center Operations. She is a Texas

state registered trainer.

Objective #2: Implement an

online portal and WebEx for

communication and sharing of

information with Policy Council

members. Once implemented,

members will increase their access

and utilization of the portal. By year

5, 100% of the PC members will

utilize the portal.

Expected Outcomes: Greater

participation & increased

communication


Tracking Progress: Meeting Minutes

Progress: The online portal was

established; however, in July errors

were discovered with the system and

it is being rebuilt. The program plans

to train the new Policy Council

parents on the portal system this fall.

The program believes that using the

online portal and WebEx system will

improve communication with the

Policy Council members and reduce

printing costs. Members will be able

to log-in to a secure system and

access communications from OHS,

monthly program reports, and other

relative documents. Utilization of

the WebEx system will allow for

centers located far from the

administrative office to participate in

Policy Council meetings at their

centers located in their immediate

community.

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Program Goal #4: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. EHS/HS will use a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process to measure the progression of children

and families, develop new and innovative strategies, ensure safety and high quality of all areas of service delivery, and demonstrate overall program

achievements to its stakeholders.

Objective #1: Fully

transition from PROMIS electronic

database to CAP60, as measured by

full utilization of the program. Year

1-Completion of Set up and Training

by program staff, Year 2-

Implementation and training and

generation of 50% of the database

reports, Year 3-Generation of 75% of

the database reports and Years- 4-5

Generation of 100% of

the database reports.

Expected Outcomes: More

comprehensive & user friendly data

collection process


Tracking Progress: Cap60 Reports

Progress: The program is now

generating more reports from CAP 60

and each component continues to

learn about the programs capabilities.

The program was utilized to generate

the PIRs and reports for the

AVANCE’s internal data committee.

The Cap60 program allows the

agency to track additional non Head

Start funded support services

provided to EHS/HS families.

Objective #2: AVANCE

educates parents and staff about the

importance of generating in-kind and

volunteer activities, as measured by

increased in-kind/volunteer hours-

10% yearly

Expected Outcome: Increased levels

of in-kind and volunteer hours

Data Tools and Methods for

Tracking Progress: Monthly Reports

Progress: The program met its in-

kind obligation for the grant;

however, the amount did not increase

by 10% during the second year. The

program will continue work on

increasing volunteer hours. To assist

with the goal, the inkind manager

increased the level of training

provided and also assigned each

center a minimum quota for the

inkind and volunteer time. Centers

and departments will be encouraged

to meet and exceed the quotas for

their areas.

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Program Goal #5: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. EHS/HS will expand its functional partnerships and strategic alliances to gain additional resources needed

to offer high quality education and support services, connect children and families to services and opportunities, and educate the local, state, and

national affiliates about AVANCE’s programs and success.

Objective #1: Collaborate

with ISDs and Early Childhood

Intervention (ECI) programs to

increase the number of children

enrolled in the EHS/HS programs

with a disability as identified by

ECI/Local Education Agency (LEA).

Increase by 10% at the end of each

year. Based on the ECI and local

school district eligibility

requirements, we do not feel it is

realistic to expect an increase of 10%

each year; however, we will strive to

increase the number of children

meeting special education

requirements on a yearly basis.

Expected Outcome: Increased

number of children with IEPs/IFSPs


Tracking Progress: IEPs/IFSPs

Progress: The program experienced

a slight increase in the number of

children with IEPs/IFSPs this past

school year. In 2016-2017, the

program had 102 children and

IEPs/IFSPs and 145 children that

received community based therapy

services, many of which did not

qualify for special services through

ECI or the LEA. The program

requested and received a waiver for

the special education requirement.

This past year, the local area school

district has been under investigation

for failing to provide special

education services to children in need.

As a result, the district developed an

improvement plan. AVANCE hopes

that the improvement plan will benefit

Head Start children with suspected or

confirmed disabilities.

Objective #2: Expand the

number of 0-5 EHS/HS centers in

collaboration with a local school

district or childcare center. Year 1-

Explore the idea with ISDs/Childcare

centers; Year 2-Plan and Sign

Contract; Years 3-5-Open a new

center each year.

Expected Outcome: Smoother

transition for families and cost

sharing of space and resources


Tracking Progress: MOU

Agreements

Progress: Unfortunately, the

program’s current wait list at existing

centers and lack of funding did not

allow for expansion to a new site this

school year. AVANCE-Houston

remains in Spring ISD’s 5 year

strategic plan for expanding pre-k

services. Currently, there are no

definitive plans to collaborate with

childcare programs or ISDs; however,

the program will continue to partner

with Spring ISD, Houston ISD, and

CY-Fair ISD and explore

opportunities for future partnerships.

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School Readiness

For 2017-2018, the program will focus on implementing practices for ensuring the teachers are following the curriculum and

maintaining the fidelity of its curriculum. The AVANCE-Houston School Readiness Goals were updated to align with the Head Start

Early Learning Outcomes Framework. The School Readiness Advisory Committee revised School Readiness Goals and presented

them to the Board and Policy Council for review and approval. The goals were shared with all stakeholders, including the parents.

The Education team continues implementing the Practice-Based Coaching and Conscious Discipline this school year.

a. Changes in Child Assessment- The CIRCLE Progress Monitoring tool will replace the GOLD assessment for the Head Start

program beginning 2017-2018 school year.

b. Changes in Curriculum- Change of curriculum for the Home-Based program is recommended for 2018. The Family Outcomes

Specialist is working with curriculum manager for a Parent Curriculum. See Appendix B-School Readiness Goals and

Curriculum Alignment

c. Changes in staff-child interaction Tools- There are no updates or significant changes in

this area. The addition of the Classroom Observation Tool for EHS classrooms will occur in October, 2017.

d. Progress of children and program towards achieving school readiness in each of the 5 domains. Specific examples noted

below:

1. Approaches to Learning

Head Start: The GOLD assessment incorporates the Approaches to Learning domain in its Social-Emotional and Cognitive

areas of Development and Learning. The 4 year old children showed an increase of 38% in Social-Emotional area and a 48%

increase in the Cognitive area at the end of the year.

Early Head Start: The 1-2 year old children showed an increase of 52% in Social-Emotional area and a 68% increase in the

Cognitive area at the end of the year.

Home-Based: The 1-2 year old children showed an increase of 43% in Social-Emotional area and a 55% increase in the

Cognitive area at the end of the year.

2. Social and Emotional Development

Head Start: The 4 year old children showed a 38% increase in the Social Emotional area of the GOLD assessment at the end

of the year.

Early Head Start: The 1-2 year old children showed a 52% increase in the Social Emotional area of the GOLD assessment at

the end of the year.

Home-Based: The 1-2 year old children showed a 43% increase in the Social Emotional area of the GOLD assessment at the

end of the year.

3. Language and Literacy

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Head Start: The 4 year old children showed a 40 % increase in Language and a 78% increase in Literacy in the GOLD

assessment at the end of the year.

Early Head Start: The 1-2 year old children showed a 67 % increase in Language and a 136% increase in Literacy in the

GOLD assessment at the end of the year.

Home-Based: The 1-2 year old children showed a 42 % increase in Language and a 93% increase in Literacy in the GOLD


4. Cognition The GOLD assessment incorporates the Cognition Domain in its Cognitive and Mathematics areas.

Head Start: The 4 year old children showed a 48% increase in the Cognitive area of GOLD and a 60% increase in the

mathematics area of GOLD at the end of the year.

Early Head Start: The 1-2 year old children showed a 49% increase in the Cognitive area of GOLD and a 70% increase in the


Home-Based: The 1-2 year old children showed a 25% increase in the Cognitive area of GOLD and a 31% increase in the


5. Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development

Head Start: The 4 year old children showed a 36% increase in the Physical (Fine & Gross Motor) area of the GOLD


Early Head Start: Children showed a 35% increase in the Physical (Fine & Gross Motor) area of the GOLD assessment at the

end of the year.

Home-Based: Children showed a 23% increase in the Physical (Fine & Gross Motor) area of the GOLD assessment at the end

of the year.

f. Describe program improvements implemented in response to child assessment and other data. Examples noted below:

In response to the relatively lower scores in GOLD Physical Development (Fine Motor) scores, the program provided training

Summer Training sessions entitled “Fine Motor in the Classroom” and “Encouraging Creativity in Young Children through Process

Art” both for EHS and HS classrooms. Similarly, in order to increase children’s scores in Social and Emotional Development, the

program provided a Conscious Discipline training session for all program teaching staff.

In response to the Annual Teacher Survey of 2017, the program provided training sessions addressing several areas that

teachers indicated they wanted training on – Child Development, Developmentally Appropriate Activities, Classroom Management

(transitions), and Social-Emotional development.

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Parent Family Community Engagement

During the 2016-2017 school year, the program developed the following goal with objectives that we developed from parent feedback,

School Readiness Advisory Committee, self assessment, family interest surveys, PROMIS data, the Program Information Report

(PIR), and community assessment data. The program will continue to focus on increasing parent, family and community engagement

during 2017-2018. Priorities will center on parent engagement activities, school readiness, and support of families achievement of

personal goals and objectives.

PFCE GOALS

Goal #1: Parent Family and Community Engagement will increase parent participation through involvement contracts and

agreements in order to positively impact school readiness and family self-sufficiency.

Goal #2: Parent Family and Community Engagement will increase parents’ ability to gain employment and achieve family self-

sufficiency.

OBJECTIVES

Objective #1: Improve parental awareness of school readiness activities and community services

Expected Outcome: Parents will demonstrate awareness of school readiness activities and community services through their feedback

regarding school readiness and their level of involvement with the program.

Progress: Through parent surveys, parents have expressed a greater understanding of school readiness goals. Parents have received

the school readiness goals aligned with activities for them to reference in supporting their child’s development.

Objective #2: Parents will commit to volunteering and participating in school activities

Expected Outcome: The program will increase its level of parent volunteers and the rates of in-kind will increase.

Progress: Family Development Workers shared a variety of volunteer opportunities with Parents during the enrollment

process. Parents were encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities, as well as, create their own. Parents were also encouraged

to list ways in which they would volunteer and participate during the program year. This document was signed and a record was kept

on file. We have found that by having the parents list their volunteer and participation goals, we were able to increase the number of

volunteer hours at the center and increase parent participation. Additionally, participation in Parent Orientation continues to increase.

Objective #3: Increase parents’ knowledge of school readiness will receive information on school readiness goals and the framework

on a monthly basis.

Expected Outcome: Parents will be better able to support their children’s learning at home and in the classroom.

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Progress: Families continue to receive monthly information on the school readiness goals and framework.

Objective #4: Parents will be connected to resources to obtain the services that they need.

Expected Outcome: Parents will increase their odds of achieving their personal goals and becoming more self-sufficient.

Progress: The current processes and procedures are currently under revision. As a result of staff comparison, we have identified

ways to improve and expedite our referral process; as well as, increase goal achievement.

Objective #5: Staff will increase their knowledge of community resources and establish formal and informal agreements.

Expected Outcome: The program staff will have a better understanding of available resources in the community and increase the

number of successful referrals made for services.

Progress: This is an ongoing goal. AVANCE will continue to cultivate partnerships with outside resources that will be beneficial to

our families. Additionally, these partners will provide resource information to our Support Service Staff on a monthly basis, during

our monthly staff meetings. A list of both formal and informal partnerships will be maintained by the Support Service Department and

will be accessible to all staff.

Measurement: Increased parental participation in center and program activities, and a mid and year-end comparison reports to

monitor parent services, & PIR data.

2. Identify the data, tools, or methods for PFCE Goals/Objectives. Overall the PFCE data sources have remained the same;

however, the program continues to work towards full implementation of CAP60. In addition, the program will continued to examine

in-kind documentation of parent volunteer activities and hours and PIR data.

PFCE Data Sources

Family Partnership Agreements Training satisfaction surveys

Information from community & self-

assessments

Parent surveys of program

effectiveness/interests/needs

Cap60 Database In-kind Reports

Family Outcomes PIR data

The data sources listed above are utilized by program staff to determine progress on program PFCE goals and objectives.

3. Aggregated program data related to family progress analyzed in support of school ready goals. There are no updates or

significant changes in this area.

4. Describe program data related to family progress that also supports children’s school readiness. The CQI process included

parent summits to obtain feedback from parents concerning their understanding of school readiness and knowledge of strategies to

support their children’s learning. In addition, the program also utilized self-assessment parent surveys to gain the parents’ perspective.

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For example, parents expressed satisfaction with the child’s teacher as evidenced by the following comments: “ I love that my child is

learning.” “ I love that the Teacher loves my child.” Over 66% of the parents surveyed rated their general satisfaction with the

program as excellent. As a result of parent feedback, the staff partnered with community organizations to facilitate the parent

summit. During the last summit, the local library was brought in to provide education on the importance of literacy and demonstrate

how to read to young children. Another interest that parents express year after year, is health and nutrition. Through a partnership

with Ortho-Tek, parents receive education on healthy eating and the importance of physical activity. As in the previous year, the

program has seen a decline in overweight and obese children.

5. Describe how program progress toward PFCE goals and/or objectives is communicated to families. Parents are informed of

their individual progress on PFCE goals and objectives by their Family Development Workers. The program shares information about

its overall progress through reports related to self-assessment, school readiness advisory committee, the annual report, and through the

Policy Council, which relays information to the Parent Committees. The PFCE goal of increasing the rate of employment was shared

with parents. Parents were also informed of the program’s ability to measure families’ income gains.

EHS/HS 5-Year Program Goals, School Readiness Goals, PFCE …€¦ · 2016-2017 GOLD Progress...

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