Examples of Contribution to the Education of ELs: In her role as Community Assistant for Migrant Head Start (MHS) in Thermal, Ms. Christina works tirelessly to meet all the needs of the children as well as their families. Her formal duties encompass serving as a liaison between parents and community resources so that migrant children ages birth – five years learn, succeed, and thrive, but it is her extraordinary service that sets her apart. Families served through Migrant Head Start are among the neediest in the state. Families are low-income, hardworking and extremely mobile, especially through specific harvest cycles. All children served are Latino with Spanish identified as the primary language. Like the families, Christina’s family …show more content…
MHS provides a foundation for early childhood education, parental awareness, and training of child health to ensure an environment of responsive care leading to school-readiness. The heart of Head Start is comprehensive, culturally competent, and developmentally appropriate child development services. MHS ensures that individualized services are delivered to each child based on their needs in the key developmental domains in preparation for school readiness. Christina understands that if basic needs are not met, children cannot fully access educational and language literacy opportunities. The outstanding support services Christina provides reinforces Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s statement that, “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a bulwark against poverty and a building block of development. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education, a basic human right. Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.” Through Christina’s diligent efforts obstacles to literacy development are …show more content…
Adams clearly understands and works diligently to support evidence-based practices. The Migrant Head Start program is built on the foundation of research-proven best practices. Numerous research studies have noted the importance of a quality preschool experience in preparing children, especially English Learners, for comprehensive schooling success. Research consistently demonstrates that the more children know about language literacy before they attend school, the better equipped they are to succeed at reading. A report released recently by the Legislative Analyst’s Office confirms that Early Childhood Education is a critical part of K-12 reform. Investing in early childhood education can close California’s educational achievement gap for school populations previously under-served. Thirty years of research and experience have validated the belief that children’s education can be more effective by strengthening the role and responsibility of parents and by ensuring that families have meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at school and at