Starting in 2011, the national Head Start Policy Council wants all teaching positions filled by individuals with bachelor and associate degrees.
Currently, all local Head Start sessions are administered by assistant teachers or those who have yet to get a degree.
The local Head Start has 30 assistant teachers and three child development supervisors.
Board of Education Chairwoman Lucy Blanco-Maratita yesterday said the proposed actions to address the national requirement for the Head Start program will be carefully reviewed by BOE’s fiscal and personnel affairs committee.
Blanco-Maratita said the 2011 mandate is the first step in fully complying with the 2013 deadline set for all CNMI teachers to become highly qualified — they must have degrees, pass the Praxis tests and obtain valid certifications.
She wasn’t sure of the “consequences” of non-compliance with the national Head Start requirement, but she is optimistic that the CNMI can beat the deadline.
“We’re not anticipating that we can’t do it. We’re very optimistic with this challenge and [the Public School System] and the board will do its best to address this concern,” she told Variety.
Last school year, the local Head Start reduced the number of its students from 579 to 462 as a result of the decline in local matching funds for the program.
Every year, Head Start gets $1.7 million in federal funds, but the local matching fund has decreased from almost $700,000 to $350,000.
Blanco-Maratita said this affects their ability to provide higher compensation for Head Start personnel.
“We will look into all possible areas in our allocation that would help meet the needs of our Head Start program,” she said, adding that BOE’s fiscal and personnel affairs committee is expected to identify “financial solutions.”
This school year, the program serves 454 families.
Head Start is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.
