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Head Start programs are committed to recognizing and respecting the culture and language of the children and their families.
Programs emphasize the strengths of each children’s individual culture and language and holding high expectations for all. Administrators, teachers, providers, caregivers, and families can use these resources to promote a positive experience for all children.
Caregivers and teachers, even when they do not know the home language of children, can use a number of effective strategies throughout the day to support the children’s English language development.
Early Head Start and Head Start programs have a responsibility to ensure that teaching staff have and use key skills known to support language and literacy of children when they are hired, and that they continue to develop and refine their skills. EHS/HS programs are responsible for:...
Research has clearly demonstrated that when staff have strong and clearly articulated expectations for high-quality teaching practices, and the improved systems that support them, children progress optimally. Successful leaders come to work each day with the goal of ensuring that every child learns, thrives, and closes any achievement gap they experience when s/he enters EHS/HS.
Research has found that certain skills and circumstances predict children’s success in learning to read and doing well in school. It has identified language and literacy practices that work best when teaching culturally and linguistically different children. This includes children who speak two or more languages, or dual language learners (DLLs). This body of research supports the Planned Language Approach (PLA).
Children who speak home languages other than English make up at least one third of Head Start enrollment. They speak more than 140 languages and are enrolled in 87 percent of all Head Start programs. All Head Start staff, and policy makers will want to understand what these young dual language learners (DLLs) need in order to thrive in Head Start and beyond. They will also want to know how to support DLL’s development and school readiness skills.
Find tips classroom staff and home visitors can use when they do not speak the languages of the children in their care.
In order for children to close any achievement gap they may have experienced when they entered Head Start or Early Head Start, programs must have clear systems in place that support high-quality instruction. These resources are designed specifically for program leaders.
One-third of the children in Head Start programs are dual language learners (DLLs) who are learning English while also learning their home language. Virtually all of these children will code switch. In other words, they mix two or more languages in the same sentence while speaking. It is important that teachers, home visitors, and other staff understand what code switching is, the role it plays in language development, and how to respond to it.
The Arizona Refugee Head Start Project is a short video that illustrates the benefit of Head Start for refugee children and families. It highlights the collaboration between an Arizona Head Start grantee, a refugee resettlement program, and other agencies to support the unique needs and success of refugee families and their young children.
Explore these resources about indigenous immigrant families and their culture.
HeadStart.gov
official website of the Administration for Children and Families
