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Show THE THUNDERBIRD SUSC TUESDAY JANUARY 3, 1989 PAGE 11 SUSCs Head Start continues to offer quality day care BY socially. A mental health professional is KATHLEEN MIDGLEY Free available to provide training to staff and parents. Parent involvement is very important to the program, said Higbee, and it is strongly recommended that parents get involved with their child in the class. Parents have several opportunities to help their children in the classroom. They can share their talents through musical and dramatic activities. Parental help can even be as simple as reading stories or making lunches. Higbee said it is not a requirement for parents to volunteer, but it is greatly appreciated when they do. which aids children in gaining confidence, is available at the SUSC Head Start program. The program was begun in fall 1984 under the direction of Virginia Higbee, executive director of Community Support Services, and Jane Nelson. Program directors note that the program has been going strong ever since. SUSCs Head Start program is designed to help children of families increase social, intellectual, physical and emotional development. It is not an ABC, kind of school, said Higbee. She noted that the program prepares children for life. To insure that children enrolled in the program have equal opportunities, the program adopted performance standards in 1975. These standards include guidelines in education, health, parental involvement and social services. Children are introduced to the concept of numbers and words, said Higbee. Signs are placed on items to increase word-objeassociation. We are not trying to duplicate kindergarten, Higbee said. Children learn to recognize and write their own first names, she noted, as well as learn left to right progression. Child health care is a vital part of Head Start. Since many preschool families have children of never seen a doctor or dentist, Head Start provides each child with a health care program including medical, dental, mental health and nutritional services. The children are given physicals, dental and eye exams. (In addition,) if dental work needs to be done and the parents cannot afford it, Head Start will pay for the work, Higbee said. Head Start also recognizes the importance of psychological services to children and provides the service to SUSCs child care nursery center is a popular place for kids to spend theday arid provides and encourage development emotionally youngsters with social, intellectual, physical and emotional development. - i day-car- e, low-inco- T-2-- 3 ct low-inco- MASQUE CLUB PRESENTS Tm SOMEWHAT ANNUAL L FEATURING THE INCREDIBLE "MUSIC HALL MAGIC AND THE "LABORS OF LOVE' 3 JAN. 1114, 1989 AUD 108 8:00 P.M. GENERAL ADMISSION Parents are given help through the program as well. Head Start assists families in providing services that will build upon the individual strengths of families, so they can meet their own needs. Head Start personnel help the families to meet their needs through community outreach, referrals, family needs assessment, information about available community resources and how to use them, and emergency assistance and crisis intervention. Children also gain social development through the program by learning to make choices. Having a choice gives the kids power, Higbee said. Children must also face the consequences when they make decisions. By having consequences, children learn what decision-makin- g is all about, said Higbee. Children learn to share and develop other social skills through participating in group activities as well. When working together, they learn to respect others property. They are also given an awareness of other cultures and handicaps. To qualify for the Head Start program, families must fill out an application indicating their family size and income. Acceptance is granted on a needs assessment basis. There is no typical family who always qualifies, said Higbee. We have families from parents in their teens to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Research obtained from other federal programs indicates that similar programs are helping children educationally, at least until the third grade. At that time, kids seem to fall behind. Higbee said this is probably due to the fact that the parents of the children are not educated enough to help them once the children reach that level. . Including. Head Start programs located in Escalante and Hurricane,' there are 56 children involved- in the program in southern Utah. |