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                                                                                                                                           Lancaster Head Start 04CH4740

Introduction:

Lancaster Head Start is submitting the continuation grant application for fiscal year 2015-2016.

The Lancaster Head Start Program has been in operation for five months. Due to being in

operation for only five months, a full year data was not feasible in order to show a more

thorough assessment of our program. However, this grant application will outline specific

proposed strategies and activities for the next five years based upon the results of the most recent

community-wide needs assessment, ongoing monitoring and our program’s self-assessment.

Section I: Program Design and Approach to Service Delivery

A. Long Range Goals, Objectives and Program Impact

Lancaster Head Start proposed the following long-range goals and objectives to support our

program’s plan to assure ongoing successful outcomes in school readiness and parent, family and

community engagement and health services:

Goal 1: Increase the social and emotional development of school readiness skills of Head

Start children.

Objectives

• Partner with local service providers that have expertise in early childhood behavioral issues.

• Train staff on pertinent social & emotional behavioral concerns identified during the school year.

• Partner with school psychologist to provide strategies and techniques to incorporate in the classrooms

• Provide family education on social & emotional development skills

Timeline: July 2015 and Ongoing

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Goal 2: Increase school readiness and improve learning outcomes in Head Start students.  

Objectives • Continue to train staff on school readiness goals and expectations.

• Enhance curriculum, assessment and data collection to improve instruction.

• Promote literacy among the children and families served by the program.

• Provide training to staff to ensure consistent data collection and improve high quality

instruction.

• Provide teachers outcome data report in a timely manner so that lesson plans can be written to support the areas identified as needing improvements.

• Provide an individualized, responsive and inclusive educational approach for children of all abilities and cultures that promote optimum opportunities for the healthy growth, learning and development of preschoolers.

Timeline: August 2015 and Ongoing

Goal 3: Enhance training, mentoring and evaluation of teachers to ensure teacher and student success. Objectives

• Continue and enhance the internal system of support and teacher mentoring to support new teachers and teachers needing additional support.

• Assess all teachers with the CLASS tool at least twice a year. Utilize the results from

CLASS to develop topics for training and professional development plans.

• Provide high quality supervision, support and training to staff based on the essential competencies needed to provide quality service.

Timeline: Ongoing

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Goal 4: Continue to develop and expand health services, strong family and community partnerships, increased levels of parent involvement and family empowerment to sustain and support child outcomes. Objectives:

• Implement a parent, family and community engagement model that is systemically integrated across the program.

• Provide training to all staff on how to work together as a team to strengthen relationship and communication with families.

• Continue to collaborate with community health providers to ensure that families have access to health care.

• Encourage all families to participate fully in their children’s health needs while enrolled in Head Start.

• Provide professional development to educate families and staff on the influence of physical, oral and mental health on children’s success in school.

• Ensure health and nutrition needs for all children are identified and met for optimum learning and school readiness.

Timeline: August 2015 and Ongoing Goal 5: Ensure the Program Management systems are up to date and effective. Objectives:

• Revise and update the program monitoring plan, utilizing to the maximum the ChildPlus data base.

• Strengthen the system of governance and participation in parent meetings.

Timeline: July 2015 and Ongoing Our program will measure progress towards these goals and evaluate the impact during our

annual self-assessment, PIR reports, reports to the Office of Head Start, continuation application

and strategic planning. Progress will be monitored regularly, maintained and tracked by inputting

the data in ChildPlus. which is considered one of the most effective, comprehensive, and widely

used program management software for Head Start and Early Head Start. By inputting the data

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into ChildPlus, we will be able to track individual and program-wide progress towards school

readiness goals and run reports to quickly identify areas of concerns in: language and literacy

development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches toward learning, physical well-being

and motor development and social and emotional development. The Monitoring Activity Report

in ChildPlus will show staff each monitored performance standard that is scheduled, past due or

has occurred over a period of time. It will also show the percentage of compliance, corrective

action plan status, total number of corrective actions for the monitoring and the number of

indicators that have been addressed. It will also allow our management staff to track performance

standards, CLASS and school readiness and inform staff of the status of programmatic goals and

objectives. In addition to ChildPlus, our staff will also use locally designed tracking forms to

monitor progress and areas of concerns.

B. Service Delivery Lancaster Head Start program provides early childhood education services for 151 Head Start

children. Our program has one center and a total of eight classrooms and operates 180 days a year

from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 pm. Lancaster Head Start is committed to recruiting and selecting children

and families most in need of Head Start services, including a minimum enrollment of 10% of

children with disabilities. Lancaster Head Start program ensures all children are ready for school

and families are ready to support their children’s learning by providing clear and strategic goals

for children and highly qualified and diverse staff. Every child receives a comprehensive

educational program based on his/her strengths and needs. Our curriculum is evidenced-based

and specifically designed to help children develop language and literacy, problem-solving skills,

and learn how to socialize and interact with others. Children are provided with the opportunity to

participate in activities that support math, science, art and language. Lancaster Head Start is

committed to employing classroom teachers that are highly qualified and demonstrate

competencies in early childhood education. All lead Head Start teachers have bachelor’s degrees

or higher in early childhood and hold certified licenses with the South Carolina Department of

Education. All teacher assistants have associate’s degrees or higher in early childhood education

or its equivalent. The teachers receive training to ensure on-going professional development. Our

staff participates in group training sessions, as well as in individual staff development plans

which support his/her own professional growth and educational goal attainment.

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2. Service and recruitment areas

Lancaster County Head Start will recruit children the ages of three and four years old from low-

income families in Lancaster County. Lancaster County has four incorporated communities:

Lancaster, Heath Springs, Kershaw and Indian Land. Currently, the children with the greatest

need live within the city of Lancaster, which is where the largest population of low income

families resides.

3. Funded enrollment

The funded enrollment for the Lancaster Head Start Program is 151 children. At this time there

are no proposed changes in the enrollment.

4. Program option

Lancaster Head Start will continue to provide full-day center-based service to 151 children who

are three and/or four years old by September 1.

5. Facility location

Lancaster Head Start is housed in Southside Early Childhood Center, located at 500 Hampton

Road, Lancaster S.C.

6. Early Head Start

N/A - our program will serve only eligible Head Start children three and four years old by

September 1.

7. Converting Head Start funds to provide Early Head Start

At this time, there is no plan to convert Head Start funds to provide Early Head Start services.

All funds will be used to provide services to eligible Head Start children and families only.

8. Recruitment strategy and selection criteria

Newsletters and fliers are distributed throughout our community at doctor offices, low-income

housing areas, schools, and the local newspaper of the enrollment in our program. An eligibility

point criteria will be utilized to assure that the children most in need enter the program. Our

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program also works collaboratively with Child-find, (a collaboration that has been established in

our community to identify child with disabilities) to assure at least ten percent of the students

enrolled are children with identified disabilities. We also work closely with other agencies which

provide intervention services to children under five years old and staff with them on a regular

basis so we are abreast of other children with disabilities.

9. Engage and actively involve families

During orientation, parents are encouraged to actively participate in the program, even if for

short periods of time. We inform parents of the various resources our program can provide such

as our Parent Resource Center, which is equipped with a wide range of developmentally

appropriate materials, toys, games, storybooks, brochures, magazines and books they can check

out and take home with them. A multimedia computer with internet access is also available to

parents for job searching, preparing resumes and any research they need for school. Also during

the initial enrollment and orientation process, our staff begins building a relationship with

families that support family well-being and strong parent-child relationships. We also send home

fliers and newsletters inviting them to our parent meetings and we provide transportation as well

provide childcare. There will be a FTE Family Service staff to work with the families and an

additional family service staff to provide assistance and support to the families.

10. Meeting the educational needs

This program has employed high qualified early childhood teachers and teacher assistants. We

will provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum called Splash into Pre-K. Splash into Pre-

K is a comprehensive and integrated bilingual early learning program designed to ensure success

for three- and four-year-old learners through the latest research and interactive learning

philosophies. Splash into Pre-K helps teachers build a community of learners using Conscious

Discipline Strategies and includes all the core domains of learning - Emotional, Physical,

Cognitive and Linguistic. Splash into Pre-K also integrates all of the curricular areas including

Reading and Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Health and Art. Splash into Pre-K is

assessment based with strong support for both informal and formal assessment. These Pre-K

assessments are essential for gaining insight into how much children are growing and learning

and allow the teachers to adjust the way they teach to better meet students’ needs. Classroom

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instruction will entail a combination of phonological awareness and alphabetic understanding,

combined with direct instruction mechanisms to incorporate high-quality oral language and print

rich materials into the milieu, especially environmental print, placed at children’s eye level. In

addition, the program ensures that all class environments and materials include diverse

representations with regards to gender, culture, ethnicity, and disability status. Pre- and post-

assessment will be conducted by the teachers to assure children are grasping the content and

recording of anecdotal notes of students’ progression. In addition to emphasis on pre-literacy

skill development, the overall approach has been designed to target overall cognition and general

knowledge. Formal and informal activities, throughout the day, include concepts such as

comparing the size of objects, exploring measurements, accessing and using information,

engaging in problem solving, and games to explore common words such as up, down, under,

over and in. Equally important is the need to teach children to use their senses and body to

explore and master the physical environment, which is closely related to the development of a

positive self-esteem, self- care skills and good health habits. This includes activities to promote

gross motor skills that demonstrate control, balance and coordination, object manipulation, as

well as fine motor skill development inherent in hand-to-eye coordination. Through these daily

activities, children will build relationships and pro-social competencies such as self-control,

respect, responsibility, ability to express feelings, and show concern for others. All aspects of the

program are designed to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards, South Carolina

Childcare Licensing and South Carolina Early Learning Standards.

11. Health, mental health, nutritional, and oral health of children

In collaboration with the parents, we have a local dentist to provide on-site dental screenings,

dental education and follow-ups on children that have dental needs. We stress to parents the

importance of ensuring they have their own healthcare providers and assist parents in obtaining

pediatricians, maintaining updated immunizations, well-child visits and sick visits. We use the

Ages & Stages Social and Emotional assessment to assess the child’s mental health as well as

have our licensed mental health consultant conduct classroom observations and provide

consultation and training to parents. Our registered dietician provides nutrition assessments on

our children and provides nutrition training to staff and parents.

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12. Procedures for transitioning children and parents

Six months prior to the child’s third birthday, a transition meeting is held with the parent, EHS and

Head Start staff to make them aware of the enrollment procedures into the Head Start Program and

overview of the Head Start program. Parents are advised that they will have to make application and

their income will be re-verified to determine if they are still income eligible. Those students

transitioning to kindergarten have information sent home to parents about their registration. The HS

director and elementary principals set up dates for kindergarten open house which provides parent

opportunity to tour the schools, meet the kindergarten teachers and receive information on what to

expect when their child enters kindergarten.

13. Coordination of services under Part B and C of IDEA

An official MOU with part B has been established and all students that have been identified having a

suspected disability or delay are referred to the student assistant team (SAT). The Response to

Intervention (RTI) process begins with high-quality instruction and screening of all children. The

students that struggle in learning are provided with increasing levels of intensity interventions to

accelerate their rate of learning. Progress is closely monitored to assess both the learning rate and

level of performance of individual students. Educational decisions about the intensity and

duration of interventions are based on individual student response to instruction. Part C MOU in

the state of South Carolina has not been signed but there is a letter of agreement for the

coordination of services. Quarterly meetings are held with those agencies that provide part C

services.

C. Approach to School Readiness Lancaster Head Start’s School Readiness Goals are broad statements that articulate knowledge

and skills for infants, toddlers and preschool children. The goals encompass physical

development and health, approaches to learning, language and literacy, social and emotional

development, and cognitive and general knowledge. These goals are aligned with the Head Start

Early Learning Framework and South Carolina Early Learning Standards guidelines and the

expectations of the school districts. Teachers recorded daily anecdotal notes and entered them in

the CORAdvantage data system. The results are compiled, aggregated, analyze three times

during the year (October, February, May). Our Head Start Program goals, as well as our PFCE

goals, also support the School Readiness Goals. The Assessment Indicators are all aligned with

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our readiness goals to provide our program with the necessary data to determine progress being

made towards these goals:

Overall School Readiness Goals  

1. Physical Development & Health To enhance fine motor skills. Your child will:

• develop self-help skills to button, zip, string, pour, etc. • coordinate hand and eye movements ( ex: completing puzzles) • practice using small muscles to complete task (ex. cutting, building) • develop proper hand position while using a pencil, crayon, and scissors • demonstrate writing and drawing with intention and control

To enhance gross motor skills. Your child will: • walk up and down steps • climb up and down without falling • skip and jump without falling • toss and catch a ball or bean bag • be able to follow a path on the ground • be able to stand and balance on one foot and both feet • walk backwards • walk forward on a low balance beam without assistance

2. Social & Emotional Development

Social development: To experience a sense of self. Your child will:

• develop a sense of belonging to a specific family and group • demonstrate independence and confidence • stand up for him/her self • express initiative • distinguish self from others • understand and respect differences • able to share, take turns, and wait for short periods of time

Emotional development: To exhibit a positive attitude and cooperative & pro-social behavior. Your child will:

• demonstrate self-control consistent with his/her development level • practice coping skills and self-control in separating from family • experience and participate in transitions • participate in choice-making and decision-making activities • learn appropriate ways of expressing emotion • work cooperatively with others • be able to separate from parents

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• respect the rights of others • resolve conflicts • expand his/her awareness of self

3. Approaches to Learning

To acquire learning skills and concepts through a supportive classroom environment. Your child will:

Creative arts expression

• participate in creative arts activities that foster imaginative thinking, problem- solving, and self-expression

• participate in musical activities including song, dance, instrumental, movement, games, and self-expression

• participate in multi-sensory art experiences

a) Approaches to learning • show curiosity and desire to learn • demonstrate an interest in exploring • observe and make discoveries • identify names of objects • recall words in a song or finger play • follow simple directions • make up stories • acquire a love of books • put together objects that belong together • repeat alphabets and count to 5

4. Language & Literacy

To develop and expand verbal communication and pre- reading skills. Your child will:

Language development

• recognize his/her name • be exposed to the alphabet letters and sounds they make • be exposed to, develop an understanding of, and demonstrate spoken language

Literacy knowledge & skills

• be exposed to various forms of written language • become aware of the days of the week and months and seasons of the year

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• develop and demonstrate listening skills • recognize pictures on a page • demonstrate knowledge of how to use books (ex. turning page)

5. Cognition & General Knowledge

To expand and develop logical thinking & pre-academic skills. Your child will:

Logic & reasoning

• ask and respond to questions • use creativity and imagination • use words to explain feelings • make up stories • make-believe • identify and understand positional word (behind, in front of, under, beside)

Mathematics knowledge & skills

• recognize and name the basic shapes and basic colors • be exposed to “math vocabulary” such as more, less, large, small, over, under,

around, between, beside, etc. • count to 20

Science knowledge & skills

• practice observation skills • practice classification skills • observe cause and effect in the world around him/her • participate in simple experimentation • practice problem-solving skills

School readiness assessments

CORAdvantage is an observational instrument, targeting a broad range of behaviors and

designed to provide teachers with a more accurate picture of children’s true capabilities than tests

administered in one-time sessions. Using the content areas as a framework, teachers record daily

anecdotes describing what children do and say. As per the requirements outlined in the Head

Start Performance Standards, the plan calls for administration of the COR a minimum of three

times a year. The COR assessment assists teachers in supporting children at every developmental

level including children who are English Language Learners and those with special needs. It also

provides more comprehensive reporting options to guide program planning and staff

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development and in aggregating and analyzing classroom and overall program child-assessment

data. Using the content areas as a framework, teachers record daily anecdotes describing what

children do and say. Children’s COR scores are then employed to assist teachers in the design of

learning opportunities tailored to the child’s individual level of development. The COR is also

used to explain children’s progress to parents during conferences. Instead of giving parents only

abstract scores, teachers share anecdotes illustrating what their children are doing now and how

they will continue to grow. In addition to its alignment with HighScope, the COR has been

aligned with the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework (HSCDELF) and

South Carolina Early Learning Standards.

Developmental Indicators for Assessment of Learning (DIAL-4)

Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-4), an instrument required by

the state for enrollment in prekindergarten programs, is the screening assessment used within 45

days of enrollment and a post assessment is completed at the end of the year. The DIAL-4

provides scores for all five early childhood areas.

• Motor area: Gross motor includes catching, jumping and hopping. Fine motor includes

block building, cutting, copying shapes or letters, writing and a finger-touching task.

• Language area: Includes answering simple questions (name, age, and sex), articulation, naming (expressive) or identifying (receptive), plus tasks such as rhyming and “I Spy.”

• Concepts area: Includes pointing to named body parts, identifying colors, rote counting, identifying concepts in a triad of pictures, and sorting shapes. Also assesses automatic naming of objects, a skill that is associated with potential learning disabilities.

• Self-help development: Targets the child’s development of personal care skills related to dressing, eating and grooming.

• Social development: Looks at the child’s development of social skills with other children and parents, including rule compliance, sharing, self-control, and empathy.

DIAL 4 Results

The results of the DIAL 4 assessment conducted within the first 45 days of the child entering the

program indicated that 20% of the students scored below the ten percentile in Motor; 35 % of the

students scored below the ten percentile in Concept; 20% of the students scored below the ten

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percentile in language and 10% scored below the ten percentile in Social and Emotional

development. Staff development was conducted with the teachers to improve these areas.

Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS) In addition to these child-focused instruments, the program will be evaluated using ECERS

rating scales to provide us an overall measure of the quality of the instructional. The Early

Childhood Environmental Rating Scales (ECERS) is a tool used to assess the quality of

preschool programs, and employed within the South Carolina ABC Child Care Incentive

Program. The assessment has been designed to assess process quality in early childhood settings,

including classroom interactions between staff and children, staff, parents, and other adults,

among the children themselves, and the interactions children have with the many materials and

activities in the environment, as well as those features, such as space, schedule and materials that

support these interactions. Process quality is assessed primarily through observation and has

been found to be more predictive of child outcomes than structural indicators such as staff to

child ratio, group size, and cost of care. Designed with inclusive and culturally sensitive indicators,

the ECERS targets seven environmental domains, and is conducted three times a year:

• Equipment Appropriate Materials Interaction (Staff-Child, Child-Child) • Health & Safety Parents & Staff Educational Skills & Behaviors • Curriculum (Nature, Science, Math)

Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)

Teachers are observed by a reliable observer using theoretical and empirical foundation of the

CLASS assessment instrument. CLASS focuses on effective teacher-child interactions as one

measure of classroom quality. The program has one center and a total of eight classrooms. The

program needs 2 reliable observers to conduct CLASS observations and provide feedback to staff

twice annually. Each reliable observer is responsible for conducting observations across four

classrooms for two observation cycles: fall and winter. To ensure greater reliability of scores, the

program conducts inter-rater reliability observation opportunities both in the classroom setting

and with the use of video. All classrooms will be observed at the beginning of the program year

and will be observed one additional time during the year. Depending on CLASS Observation

scores, teacher tenure and teaching staff needs, additional observations based on professional

development goals and needs could take place throughout the year. The program score goal is a

mid-range score (3,4,5) in all three domains (Emotional Support, Classroom Organization,

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Instructional Support).

CLASS Professional Development

Prior to observations, new classroom staff will participate in a CLASS Overview training session

conducted by a CLASS trainer, Education Coordinator, or CLASS Support Team Member. After

CLASS observations, all classroom staff will be provided opportunities to attend large/small

group and individualized training that is planned from the NCQTL Suites; however additional

focus and training will be provided for staff with scores lower than mid-range in the area of

Instructional Support and below a 5 in the areas of Emotional Support and Classroom

Organization. After the CLASS scores are collected the CLASS Support Team/Education

Specialist will aggregate and analyze the data to share with the center managers and later with

staff. The management staff will use the data to plan the types of professional development that

is needed to address the analysis, i.e., (a) individual coaching and mentoring for targeted staff

and/or (b) professional development training for identified groups or all staff. Practice Based

Coaching (PBC) uses a variety of coaching models that are adaptable to the different needs of a

program. Individual staff, with the input from the observer, will develop a professional

development plan that addresses specific indicators or behavioral markers of CLASS. A variety

of resources, i.e., NCQTL Suites will be used for supporting teachers. In Service Suites, other

activities will be completed online (ECKLC) before next observation and presented to CLASS

observer (2nd round) and to Center Coordinator for staff file; the Education Coordinator will

review file for verification. 100% of CLASS Support Team will become and maintain CLASS

Reliability.

CLASS RESULTS

The first cycle of CLASS observation was conducted in December. CLASS observation

indicated overall the average score 7.0 was found in the areas of Positive Climate; Negative

Climate; Teacher Sensitivity; Behavior Management; Productivity; Instructional Learning

Formula. The lowest areas scoring in the mid-range were Concept development; Quality of

Feedback and Language Modeling. Staff development has been scheduled and conducted to

address these areas as well as modeling in the classrooms by mentor teachers.

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D. Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE)

It is program philosophy to stress the importance of empowering parents as primary caregivers.

To help facilitate the parent-child interaction, several strategies are employed within the

proposed Head Start program. First, home visits are conducted by the teachers two times each

year to formalize and strengthen the partnership between program staff and parents. In addition,

we encourage parent drop-ins at any time in the day, announced or unannounced. During

orientation, parents are encouraged to actively participate in the program, even if for short

periods of time. In addition to these strategies, a Parent Resource Center is on site and is

equipped with a wide range of materials that can be checked out such as: storybooks,

developmentally appropriate games and toys, brochures, and magazines. A multimedia computer

with internet access is also available to parents, along with instruction designed to reduce the fear

of computers for those families having little exposure to digital technology. Also, during the

initial enrollment and orientation process, staff starts building a relationship with families that

will support family well-being, strong parent-child relationships and ongoing learning and

development of parents and children alike. Family Service staff meets with the family to inquire

about what their goals and expectation for themselves and their children. We allow parents to set

their own goals and work collaborative with them in meeting the goals they wants to accomplish.

Family Service staff provides the family a community resource directory of the various agencies

and resources in our community. We advocate for the families with various agencies. We have

monthly parent meetings on such topics as: Healthy families, nutrition, positive discipline,

vehicle safety for children, CPR training, importance of family activities and learning and etc.

We always encourage parents to be proactive in their child’s development and education. We

connect fathers with our local fatherhood program (as a result, two fathers have gained

employment). It is the goal of the program to also promote positive cultural identity and values for

children and families.

Family Engagement School Readiness Goals

1. Parent-Child Relationships To increase parents’ skills in parent child-relations, parents will:

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• Enhance parent-child relationships (attachment parenting, increase nurturing, increased responsiveness to child)

• Enhance their parental knowledge of child development and children’s needs (what is developmentally appropriate)

• Increase infant-parent play interaction • Improve understanding of the parent-child relationship • Increase knowledge and practice of positive parenting strategies( especially discipline,

setting firm limits) • Will learn to parent with confidence and competence

2. Family Development

To enhance parents’ family development skills, parents will:

• Will foster self-sufficiency (skills necessary for employment, access services on own) • Will seek economic self-sufficiency /employment and home environment • Will increase knowledge of community resources/learning opportunities • Will improve physical health, mental health, and healthy family functioning • Will encourage and increase father involvement • Will set family goals • Will work hard to achieve goals • Will advocate for their children, and act on anticipatory guidance and education related to

their own and child’s health • Will obtain an extended social support system • Will respond to crisis and stress with constructive decision making • Decrease family stress • Will attend parent meetings/trainings

3. Literacy and Education To expand and develop literacy skills families will:

• Participate in the 100 Book Challenge (by reading to your child daily and by reading a minimum of 100 books)

• Will visit local and school library • Will obtain a library card (to check out books) • Will visit school and community resource rooms (to borrow age-appropriate

activities/books) • Will complete adult basic education or advance two grade levels (if have no GED) • Will encourage and promote family education and literacy skills • Will increase awareness of literacy and assessment of family’s educational needs • Will participate in functions promoting and enhancing family literacy and education • Will develop and demonstrate strong literacy practices and skills • Will improve family competencies in literacy and education • Will demonstrate self-sufficiency in family’s ability to express needs and seek solutions

and help from educational or literacy-based institutions • Will become empowered by enhancement of literacy and education • Will demonstrate higher self-esteem

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Family Partnership & Community Engagement Results

Even though our program has been in operation for only five months, many family have worked

hard in meeting their goals. Currently, 60% of the families have met their goals in finding

employment or going back to school to receive their GED or furthering their education in post-

secondary education.

E. Governance, Organizational and Management Structure, and Ongoing Oversight

Lancaster County School District Board of Trustees

(1) The Lancaster County School District Board of Trustees consists of seven members elected

from single-member election district. Our State’s constitutional and statutory provisions require

that all officers of the state and its subdivisions be qualified electors – that is, registered to vote –

in their resident precincts. Other statutes require each trustee of Lancaster County School District

to be a resident of the single-member election district he/she represents. Therefore, due to being

elected, the governance composition required by the Office of Head Start is not conducive to our

State’s election process; however, the Chief Financial Officer and School District Attorney are

present at every board meeting.

(2) The Lancaster County School District Board of Trustees receives annual board governance

training on their role and responsibilities and is provided opportunities to review reports and

make informed decisions about program planning, assessment, and the overall operation of the

Head Start program. Our program ensures that all required information are provided to the board

and put on the board agenda for approval as required by regulations.

(3) Delegates’ responsibility

N/A - Lancaster County School District is the grantee of our Head Start Program.

(4)  Composition of the Policy Council and Parent Committees  The Policy Council, which meets on a regular basis, is a formal structure by which parents are

participating in policy making and operation of the program. Our Head Start Policy Council is

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composed of 51% parents of the Early Head Start and Head Start children currently enrolled in

the Early Head Start and Head Start program, plus two community representatives and a

representative from the Lancaster School District Board of Trustees. Information concerning the

programmatic, planning and fiscal management of the program is shared with the Policy Council

for their approval or disapproval. The Policy Council works in partnership with staff to develop

and review plans, self- assessments, and to disapprove or approve funding applications and share

in decision making. The Parent Committee meets on a regular basis and assists staff in

developing policies and activities that are carried out in the program.

(5) Organizational chart of management team and staff structure

Management staff meets bi-weekly to discuss each components and programmatic issues or

concerns. Monthly meetings are held with the entire staff to discuss program goals & objectives,

plans, share information and to assess any program needs or training.

(6)  Criminal record checks and health exams  Criminal record history checks on all new employees are obtained from the State Law

Enforcement Division (SLED) and FBI before staff initial employment. The district considers

the results of all criminal record history checks on an individual basis and determines how the

information impacts the individual’s ability to be an effective employee. All staff files are

reviewed on a regular basis to determine if anyone needs an updated heath assessment and/or

tuberculosis screening. The Education Coordinator use a locally-designed tracking system to

alert staff 60 days in advance of needed health assessments and screenings.  

 

 

 

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(7) Staff qualifications  In order to maintain the high quality of services provided to children and their families, the

program sets specific criteria for education and experience required of all staff, based upon the

requirements of the performance standards:

• Director- has an Ed.S in Educational Leadership • Teachers- Each teacher has at least a bachelor’s degree or higher in early childhood

education and a license certificate in Early Childhood with the South Carolina State

Department of Education

• Teacher assistants- have associate’s degrees in Early Childhood Education or degrees in a related field with coursework equivalent to a major in Early Childhood Education.

• Health Services staff- LPN in nursing

• Nutrition services staff- has a master’s degree and works collaborative with a registered

dietician

• Mental Health Services Staff- has a master’s degree in Professional Counseling and

works collaborative with a licensed mental health consultant

• Family and community partnership staff- has Family Partnership Credential and master’s

degree in Professional Counseling

• Fiscal staff- MBA degree

• Parent Involvement- Ed.S- Education Specialist

• Disability Service- master’s degree

(8) Staff development and planning

As staff is hired into the program, the initial orientation training includes all aspects required by

state licensure, with quarterly update sessions on these and other topics. In addition to a rigorous

understanding of Head Start Regulations and Performance Standards, ongoing professional

development occurs throughout the school year; classroom coaching and mentoring;  didactic

sessions, group discussion, annotated reading groups, and peer support sessions  on various topics

and content areas. Staff attend trainings, conferences and workshops, participate in webinars as

well as utilize the resource of ECLKC.

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(9) Management system

• Program planning- Lancaster Head Start developed a timetable that entails the sequences

of events when activities need to take place such as community assessment, self-

assessment, ongoing monitoring, school readiness aggregation and analyzing

• Internal and external communication- there are several mechanisms by which

communication is carried out in our program both formally and informally.

o Informally: face-to face or telephone….

o Formally through a wide range of ways such as memos, reports, policies &

procedures, trainings, workshops, and staff meetings.

o Electronically by email, text messages, Blackboard connections, website

• Record-keeping and reporting- Lancaster Head Start maintains records and reports

manually with a hard copy on file and as well as electronically. General files are

maintained in locked file cabinet. Accurate minutes are taken at all meetings and a copy

in placed in a notebook.

• Ongoing monitoring- Ongoing monitoring is carried out by staff by different methods,

such as locally designed tracking systems, ChildPlus online data system. Our program is

committed to assuring that we maintain compliance with state and federal regulations in

all performance standards contents areas: Program governance, child health, fiscal

management, ERESA, family and community, health and safety, child development, etc.

Section II: Budget and Budget Justifications

1. Proposed budget The proposed budget was entered in HSES (see budget sheet)

2. Budget narrative and justification A detailed budget narrative and justification were uploaded in HSES

3. Budget narrative for COLA N/A

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4. Financial management system and internal controls All restricted funding sources are accounted for and maintained on our financial system

as a separate fund with its own set of financial reports to insure independence in revenues

and expenditures at all times. The fiscal department has internal controls in place to

monitor and review all payroll new hires, changes, terminations and all expenditures prior

to payment. Also, internal and external audits are conducted annually.

5. Non-federal shares Non-federal shares was uploaded with the budget narrative and justification (see attachment)

6. Administrative cost The administrative cost to operate the program was less than 15% (see budget submitted)

7. Cash and other resources Our program is a part of the CACFP, which is operated through the S.C. Department of Social Services. It is estimated that we will receive a reimbursement of $30,000 during the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

8. Cost allocation between programs N/A – all of the funds allocated to the Head Start Program will be used exclusively for the Head Start Program only.

9. Copy of indirect cost agreement Copy of indirect cost agreement was uploaded in HSES

10. One time cost narrative N/A

11. Explanation of savings to be used for enrollment reductions N/A

12. Use of Head Start funds for initial or ongoing purchase, construction and major renovations N/A