Policy Council Minutes April 12, 2021
Submitted on: June 10, 2021Mini Training: Management Wheel-Program Planning
The Policy Council approved to have a mini training 15 minutes prior to the start of the regular Policy Council meeting. The mini training presented was on Program Planning in Head Start. Ms. Shannon Vaughn, Interim Head Start Director, explained that program planning is an on-going cycle of planning, implementation and evaluation. It promotes continuous quality improvement and allows programs to work toward the achievement of positive outcomes for children and families. Ms. Patrice Hawthorne, Family Partnership Facilitator, reviewed and explained the Management Systems Wheel. She informed the Policy Council that the management wheel is a visual representation of the 12-program management, planning, and oversight systems that are critical to high-quality service delivery (See Attachment). All stakeholders, Board of Directors, Policy Council, staff, parents and members of the community play a major role our program’s planning cycle. Through this cycle our program develops goals, objectives and expected outcomes. It is our responsibility to monitor and evaluate progress toward our program goals, inclusive of school readiness and PFCE goals.
Members Present: Brittany Lyle, Sylvia Vandross, Corine Schrieber, Dorett Gunter, LaShun Martin, Chaquanna Smith, Kanisha Davis, Donnittia Robinson, Lisa Butler
Members Absent: Tiffany Norris, Malcolm Wiley, Rovanda Dunlap, Lily Farciert, Sharterria Rucker, Millicent Glenn, Bethany Stokes, Leslie Witschi, Lashell Davis, Bretani Robinson
Excused Absence: Sandra Harrison
The meeting was called to order by Dorett Gunter, Chair. A quorum was met.
MINUTES:
- The minutes from the last meeting were reviewed by the Policy Council (See Attachment). Donnittia Robinson made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Sylvia Vandross seconded the motion. Motion carried.
PERSONNEL REPORT:
There was no report for this month.
SELF-ASSESSMENT PLAN UPDATE:
The Self-Assessment Plan Update was presented by Shannon Vaughn, Interim Head Start Director. We are in the process of creating a self-assessment plan that will allow us to look at data on a continuous cycle. The self-assessment will allow us to monitor data on a basis. Findings will be documented in a self-assessment report and will be presented quarterly. We will need to create teams which are made up of our Board of Directors, Policy Council, staff, parents and members of the community. Teams will participate in the self-assessment process quarterly and will assist our program in identifying areas of strengths, weaknesses and areas needing improvement. The Office of Head Start require programs to monitor and track data from each service area throughout the year. Ms. Vaughn explained that we are putting an action plan in place and will share with the Policy Council and the Board of Directors at next month’s meeting. We are asking for both entities to review the plan so that their input is provided in program planning. We want to make sure that everyone is on the same page with our self-assessment plan. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to approve the Self-Assessment Plan Update as presented. Lisa Butler seconded the motion. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF CHILD OUTCOMES UPDATE:
The Child Outcomes Update was given by Shannon Vaughn, Interim Head Start Director. Ms. Vaughn provided a copy of the Child Outcomes report. (See attachment). Ms. Vaughn explained that we are reporting on period 2 which is Fall, Winter and Spring for Head Start and Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer for Early Head Start. We have seen some regression in some of the children. This is due to our program moving from in-person to virtual instruction. Virtual learning has caused some regression in scores not only for Head Start and Early Head Start children but for school districts as well. Ms. Vaughn asked the Policy Council if they had any specific questions about child outcomes. She informed the council that one of the main areas that we are seeing regression is in the area of Approaches to Learning. Approaches to learning is more accessible in a classroom setting. The virtual platform unlike face to face instruction has made this difficult to measure. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to approve the Child Outcomes Update. Donnittia Robinson seconded the motion. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF FAMILY OUTCOMES UPDATE:
The Family Outcomes Update was provided by Patrice Hawthorne, Family Partnership Facilitator. Ms. Hawthorne explained that family outcomes is tracked at three quarters throughout the year. Our Family Advocate staff works closely with our HS and EHS families. The information shared with the Policy Council is from our second quarter, December through February. 92% of families are engaged in the family partnership building process. The number of referrals is 20%. We have seen a slight increase in the number of referrals due to challenges and unforeseen circumstances. 98% of families are in a goal setting process. We will continue to work with families throughout the year to meet set goals. 27% of set goals have been completed. 30% of families are making gains on goals. Ms. Hawthorne discussed that we are seeing progress across each of the 7 PFCE categories from the 1st quarter and 2nd quarter. The two categories having the highest increase are Positive Parent/Child Relationships and Family Connections to Peers and Community. We attribute our successes to staff that are working closely with our families to identify needed resources and supports. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to approve the Family Outcomes report as presented. Donnittia Robinson seconded the motion. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF TRIPLE P PLAN:
Triple P Plan was presented by Shannon Vaughn, Interim Head Start Director. Ms. Vaughn explained that this is our 3rd year implementing the Triple P curriculum. We currently have a partnership with Greenville First Steps who certifies staff to become Certified Triple P Practitioners. We now have two in-house certified Triple P Practitioners. We have created an action plan to help us see who is responsible and their role in carrying out the implementation of the curriculum. Ms. Hawthorne informed the Policy Council that we are working together to ensure that families have an opportunity to participate. One of the challenges that we see is that data from parent participants are not always provided to us due to First Steps collecting data from program participants. We are working with First Steps on collecting and sharing participant data. We are now averaging 10 parents per Triple P session. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to approve the Triple P action plan as presented. Sylvia Vandross seconded the motion. Motion carried.
APPROVAL OF PARENT ACTIVITY FUND UPDATE:
The Parent Activity Fund update was provided to the Policy Council by Patrice Hawthorne, Family Partnership Facilitator. Ms. Hawthorne explained that the parent funds were approved by the Policy Council at the beginning of the school year. These funds are set aside to allow Parent Committees to have an opportunity to make purchases for educational activities and resources. Due to COVID 19, we are unable to meet face to face and provide center activities as normal. We are identifying strategies to safely engage families and to continue our efforts in providing educational trainings and activities. The Policy Council was informed that we would like to provide parents an opportunity to participate in a Recruitment Resource Fair. The fair will be held at each Head Start center and will allow parents to drive through and receive information on Head Start and Early Head Start enrollment, recruitment and the importance of child attendance. Additional information will be made available for families from selected community service providers. We will continue to find ways to engage families and to provide educational opportunities. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to approve the Parent Activity Fund Update as presented. Lisa Butler seconded the motion. Motion carried.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
The Director’s report was given by Shannon Vaughn, Interim Head Start Director. Ms. Vaughn informed the council on the decrease in classroom virtual observations. We are still doing assessment in our classrooms even though they are virtual. Ms. Vaughn mentioned that we are required to meet 10% of children having a disability or special needs. We are currently at 8.2% of having enrolled children with a disability or special needs. This may be due to enrollment being down. We will be submitting a disabilities waiver to the Regional Office and the OHS. We are still having staff that are having positive COVID test results. We are continuing to take necessary precautions to prevent the number of cases that we are seeing in our centers. We will continue to monitor so that we can bring our children back face to face. We are at 30.92% in in-kind. An in-kind waiver was submitted last month. This waiver request is due to our program not being able to meet the in-kind dollars for our program due to limited face to face contact. We applaud our parents on their success stories that they have shared with our staff. Our Family Advocate team are continuing to assist families with meeting goals and are following up with families through on-going case management. We are making CDL training a priority. We need more CDL bus drivers. Attendance is still low. Families have opted not to participate in Zoom. Some families are waiting for us to open back up face to face. The Office of Head Start wants us to be at full enrollment in the fall. Hopefully with vaccinations things will be much better. Ms. Vaughn thanked the Policy Council for their participation and for all that they do. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to accept the Director’s report as presented. Lisa Hall seconded the motion. Motion carried.
BUDGET REVIEW:
The Budget Review was provided by Doris Pitchford, Director of Business & Finance. The Policy Council received copies of the financial reports, CACFP and credit card expenditure reports. We have spent 63% of Head Start funds and 64% of Early Head Start funds. We are where we need to be at this time of the year. Ms. Pitchford asked the Policy Council if they had any questions about any of the statements. After discussion, Brittany Lyle made a motion to approve the Budget Review as presented. Lisa Hall seconded the motion. Motion carried.
No further business, meeting adjourned.
Recorded by Brittany Lyle, Secretary
Dorett Gunter, Chair