I am a certified prevention specialist (in a grant-funded position) who provides in-kind consultation and education to communities and schools about what actions and programs make a difference in preventing problems experienced by youth problems that include school failure, juvenile crime, teen pregnancy, violence, and substance abuse.

Three years ago, I began serving as a community volunteer on the Fayette County Head Start Policy Council to gain a better understanding of the federally funded program. Since preschool programs are recognized as prevention programs and the Head Start Program is considered to be a very effective preschool program, I wanted to find out experientially why it was effective.

At the same time, I also served on a state funded Pre-K Council in another county and became well aware of the differences between the state funded Pre-K Program and the federally funded Head Start Program.

The level of my volunteer involvement with the Fayette County Head Start Program (and their Pre-K Program) included in excess of several hundred hours in the past four years and has included performing classroom teacher observations, serving on an internal monitoring committee and, as a Policy Council member, ongoing monitoring of the budget and expenditures.

What I learned from the director, Irma Ellington, and the teachers and staff was invaluable and provided me with the necessary knowledge base to understand what does or does not makes up an effective preschool program. While we occasionally hear about poorly operated Head Start Programs, I know for a fact that the Fayette County Head Start Program is viewed as a model program for the southeastern United States.

Other facts about the Fayette County Head Start Program include:

Fayette County Head Start is one of only 149 accredited early childhood programs in Georgia, according to the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs. Considering there are 159 counties in the state, this averages to less than one accredited preschool program (private and public) per county!

Seeking accreditation was a local decision since funding sources for Head Start and the Pre-K Program do not require accreditation. To be accredited the program had to meet very strict criteria in 10 areas including staff qualifications, curriculum, administration, physical environment, staffing ratios, interaction among staff and children and more.

The Head Start Program has to meet 256 strict federal performance standards in the components of education, health, social services, parent involvement, disabilities services, administration, and financial/property management.

External evaluations are conducted and the Fayette County Head Start Program is recognized as one of the most outstanding Head Start Programs in the southeastern United States due to its ability to consistently meet nearly all or all of the performance standards. The program met 100 percent of the strict education performance standards at the last evaluation.

The education performance standards, as one component, requires the program to be individualized and meet a child where he is developmentally. Using continuous progress instruction, the child proceeds through a defined hierarchy of skills and is tested at each level to assess readiness to advance to the next level. The prevention research shows that this type of program shows consistent positive effects on students' academic achievement.

Twenty-two years ago, I taught in an out-of-state elementary school that followed the continuous progress instruction model. In my opinion, it was much easier to teach following this model than the traditional classroom model. Skills could be introduced to the whole class or to groups of students who were at the same level. Each child's individualized education plan followed a defined hierarchy of skills that was closely monitored and students worked independently or in small groups with teacher guidance. Advanced students were not held back and students who needed more time were not left behind, which is a common occurrence in the traditional classroom environment despite conscientious and competent teachers.

Needs assessment data indicated that in 1996 there were 5,534 children in Fayette County below age 4 (The 1998 Georgia County Guide). Although the research confirms that children who attend preschool programs that meet specific criteria in addressing the social, emotional, educational, and physical needs of a child, such as those offered through Head Start or the Pre-K Program or similar program, truly do have a head start in school, many parents are not aware of either program despite ongoing distribution of information about the program.

The performance standards for the state-funded Pre-K Program are not as intensive as the performance standards for the Head Start Program, but the Head Start director operates both programs following the highest level of performance.

Because both programs are operated at an exceptionally high level of cost-effectiveness, lead teachers with state teacher certification are hired without taking away from the programming component.

Many school systems in Georgia, operating Pre-K Programs, decided against offering the state-funded Pre-K Program after the dollars per child was reduced several years ago. With a significant reduction in the amount of dollars received per child, school systems offering Pre-K Programs could no longer continue operating high level programs without supplementing the budget with local county dollars or reducing teacher requirements.

The Fayette County School System offers a state Pre-K Program limited to children with special needs. In addition to the state Pre-K Program operated at the Fayette County Head State facility, several private day care centers offer the state-funded Pre-K Program in the county. These programs are available to any 4-year-old, provided there is an opening.

The citizens of Fayette County need to thank the director, teachers and staff at the Fayette County Head Start Program for their dedication and commitment to providing a quality program to the children in Fayette County!