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Head Start Standards as they apply to Title I Preschools

Education and Early Childhood Development

  1. Child Development and Education Approach for All Children
    1. In order to help children gain the skills and confidence necessary to be prepared to succeed in their present environment and with later responsibilities in school and life, a Title I preschool’s approach to child development and education must--
      1. Be developmentally and linguistically appropriate, recognizing that children have individual preferences and individual patterns of development as well as different ability levels, cultures, ages, and learning styles;
      2. Provide an environment of acceptance that supports and respects each child’s gender, culture, language, and ethnicity; and
      3. In center-based settings, provide a balanced daily program of staff- directed and child-initiated activities, including individual and small group activities.
    2. Parents must be--
      1. Invited to become integrally involved in the development of the program’s curriculum and approach to child development and education; and
      2. Provided opportunities to increase their child observation skills and to share assessments with staff that will help plan the learning experiences.
    3. Title I preschools must support social and emotional development by--
      1. Encouraging development which enhances each child’s strengths by
        1. Building trust;
        2. Fostering independence;
        3. Setting consistent limits and realistic expectations;
        4. Encouraging respect for the feelings and rights of others; and
        5. Supporting and respecting the home language and culture of each child in ways that support the child’s health and well- being; and
      2. Allowing routines and transitions to occur in a timely, predictable and unrushed manner according to each child’s needs.
    4. Title I preschools must provide for the development of each child’s cognitive and language skills by--
      1. Supporting each child’s learning, using various strategies, including experimentation, inquiry, observation, play, and exploration;
      2.  Providing opportunities for creative self-expression through activities such as art, music, movement, and dialogue;
      3. Promoting interaction and language use among children and between children and adults; and
      4. Supporting emerging literacy and numeracy development through materials and activities according to the developmental level of each child.
    5. In center-based settings, Title I preschools must promote each child’s physical growth by--
      1. Providing sufficient time, indoor and outdoor space, equipment, materials, and adult guidance for active play or movement that support the development of large muscle skills;
      2. Providing appropriate time, space, equipment, materials and adult guidance for the development of small-motor skills according to each child’s developmental level; and
      3. Providing an appropriate environment and adult guidance for the participation of children with special needs
  2. Child Development and Education Approach for Infants and Toddlers
    1. Title I programs that include infants and toddlers must provide an environment for infants and toddlers which encourages--
      1. The development of secure relationships in out-of-home care settings for infants and toddlers by having a limited number of consistent caregivers over as extended a period of time as possible. Staff caregivers must be able to understand the child’s family’s culture and, whenever possible, speak the child’s language;
      2. Trust and emotional security so that each child can explore his or her environment according to his or her developmental level; and
      3. Opportunities for each child to explore a variety of sensory and motor experiences with support and stimulation from staff caregivers or family members.
    2. Title I programs that include infants and toddlers must support the social and emotional development of these children by providing and environment that--
      1. Encourages the development of self-knowledge, self-awareness, autonomy, and self-expression; and
      2. Supports the emerging communication skills of infants and toddlers by providing daily opportunities for each child to listen and express himself or herself freely.
    3. Title I programs that include infants and toddlers must provide an environment that promotes the physical development of these children by--
      1.  Providing opportunities for small-motor development that encourage the control and coordination of small, specialized motions, using the eyes, mouth, hands, and feet;
      2. Supporting the development of the new-found physical skills of infants and toddlers such as grasping, pulling, pushing, crawling, walking, and climbing; and
      3. Allowing and enabling children to independently use toilet facilities when it is developmentally appropriate and when efforts to encourage toilet training are supported by the parents.
  3. Child Development and Education Approach for Preschoolers
    1. Title I preschools, in collaboration with the parents, must develop or select a curriculum that is adapted for each group and applied consistently in the program and that--
      1. Supports each child’s individual pattern of development and learning;
      2. Provides for the development of cognitive skills by encouraging each child to organize his or her experiences, to understand concepts, and to develop age appropriate skills in literacy, numeracy, reasoning, problem solving and decision-making, which form a foundation for school success;
      3. Integrates all educational aspects of the health, nutrition, and mental health services into program activities;
      4. Ensures that the program environment helps children develop emotional security and faculty in social relationships;
      5. Enhances each child’s understanding of self as an individual and as a member of a group;
      6. Provides each child with opportunities for success to help develop feeling of competence, self-esteem, and positive attitudes toward learning; and
      7. Provides individual, small group, and large group activities both indoors and outdoors.
    2. Staff must use a variety of strategies to promote and support children’s learning and assessment of each child’s individual strengths and needs.