Does your school have a family engagement room? Bellaire Elementary School in Omaha does--it's in one of 11 school districts that have come together to find ways to better connect with families and support children from birth, thanks to a $2.5 million tax measure in their region of Nebraska called "The Superintendents' Early Childhood Plan". 

They've started by targeting 10 schools with high concentrations of poverty, and the funding means they've been able to hire staff for a variety of new roles, according to a report from EdSurge, including  "...home visitors and family facilitators to connect families to schools, educational facilitators to help teachers collaborate and coaches to help train them in their new roles."

Home visitors, for example, might reach out to families with certain risk factors before a child is even born, modeling how to read aloud to a baby or help the parents with an issue that's causing stress. On a very practical level, schools are also learning to be more welcoming to families with very young children--offering a bathroom with a changing table, for example.

The program also includes professional development for teachers and work on improving the transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten. Overall, reports EdSurge, schools are being tasked with "thinking creatively about how to break down barriers between families and schools, between early childhood programs and elementary schools, and between teachers in different grades." Read more.

Truth be told, we had to look at a map to be sure we knew where Estonia is (between Finland and Latvia). But, small as it is, this country has been in the spotlight lately, out-performing major European countries, such as the UK, and scoring well above the U.S. when it comes to the international PISA reading and math tests given to 15-year-olds.  (PISA stands for Program for International Student Assessment.) 

According to a BBC news analysis, the foundation for Estonia's success is the country's investment in high-quality early education. Almost every child starts in a "Kindergarten" program beginning at age 3, and there they are expected to learn through play. It's not about early academics--it's about "making sure as many [children] as possible are emotionally and physically ready to learn." The result: a smaller gap between rich and poor by the time they are teenagers.   Read more.

Kids need more activity, but sports or other "result-oriented" games may not be the answer. According to a report from the UK, recent research not only supports the idea that physical movement has a positive effect on learning, but suggests that dancing is particularly beneficial.

"[Dance] has a positive effect on social interaction, group spirit and sense of empowerment" and can even serve to connect students when they don't have a common spoken language. Read more.

...but parents need to encourage activity, too--and they're not

Canadian researchers wanted to know how kids' activity at home compared to their activity levels at school, especially when the weather was cold or rainy--or even just overcast. The study was ambitious: it included fifth graders from 60 schools and they wore pedometers and recorded their activity levels from March to June. (Fifth graders were chosen because the researchers see this as a critical age for developing lifelong habits.)

The results: Children were less active at home than they would have been at school. Researchers encourage parents to "bundle up their kids and send them out to play" or, if that's not practical, to find ways to be physically active in an indoor setting such as going to a skating rink in the winter. Read more.

The experts at Erikson Early Math are always thinking about how you can introduce math concepts to young children--including those whose native language isn't English. In an "oldie but goodie" from their website, they offer six ideas for the classroom teacher, starting with using gestures. In fact, they found that many educators at a workshop had spontaneously been using the same movements, such as using a circle motion to indicate "all together."

Another important tip: be careful about the non-math terms you're using. They offer  this example: "Mary bought eight oranges. Then she bought three apples. How many pieces of fruit did she buy?"  Say the experts: "While food words are often safe to use, the association between oranges, apples and fruit might not be immediately obvious." Read more. 

If you're interested in learning more about math in the early childhood classroom, check out Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know, published by Erikson. It's available from Erikson, amazon and other online sellers.

For the Long Island Head Start positions listed below

Email resumes to humanresources@liheadstart.org or fax 631-758-2953

Full-Time Teacher

Full-Time Teacher Assistant

Full-Time Teacher Aide

Full-Time Teacher I (Infant/Toddler)

Full-Time Teacher II (Infant/Toddler)

Full-Time Family Educator/Home Visitor--Bilingual

Full-Time Family Advocate

Food Transporter

Long Island Head Start, various locations

Mental Health Consultant

EHS-CCP Mental Health Consultant

Family Community Partnership Specialist

EHS-CCP Disabilities Services Consultant (Birth to 2)

Long Island Head Start, Central Administration, Patchogue

• Your name
• Your position
• Your e-mail and phone number

• The name of your school and the town it's located in. You can include your web address, if you have one.
• A very brief description of the position or positions you want to fill. (For example: "Part-time Teacher Assistant" or "Full-time Pre-K Teacher."
• Information about how potential applicants should contact your for details or to apply. (For example: "Call Jane Smith at 631-xxx-xxxx" or "Send e-mail to jane.smith@schoolname.org")