During the Head Start In-Service training held last week, Ikeya said, “Sometimes we need to make sure that we do not go below the average attendance of 85 percent; and that is where everyone is involved.
That’s where we work with parents to find out why the children cannot go to school and what we can do to help.”
The Head Start Program is being funded for 509 children all over Palau. “And we have to make sure that that 509 is being met every day,” added Ikeya. “But the challenge is that some of the children are not coming to school. That’s why we ask support from parents to help us talk with the children to stay in school.” Ikeya stressed that parents and Head Start Program staff need to support each other in terms of providing services and working with the developmental growth of the children. “We need to find out the best thing to do and how our program can support the parents and vice versa.”
Head Start caters to kids who are three to five years old. “The reason some of the kids are not in school is because the parents try to hold on to them because they think they’re still too young to go to school,” Ikeya explained.
However, she said, this is the age when kids absorb a lot of things.
“And this is where their learning is constantly growing. That’s why we tell parents that Head Start is a regulated program. And that our staffs are well trained and qualified to teach the children.”
To make sure that parents are well-informed about the Head Start services, Ikeya said they hold parent orientations. “This is where we go out and invite parents to come visit us. We present all the services we offer, including education service, developmental, health, transportation and family and community.
Head Start has 28 teachers, 21 assistant teachers, 15 cooks, 10 bus drivers and four bus monitors who work together to make sure that they provide the best services to the children.
Depending on the size of the classroom, classes have 11 to 20 children. Head Start offers part-day sessions, where the child needs to get at least 3 ½ hours in the classroom. Some classes are double sessions. And best of all, Ikeya said, they provide free services.
