Update from Illinois State Board of Education-Early Childhood Special Education. Learn more about Response To Intervention (RTI) and strategies for implementation. There will be discussion around meeting the 10% Disability Enrollment Requirement and facilitated discussion with fellow colleagues around current issues and strategies for meeting the new requirements in the 2007 Head Start Act.

Rumblings from DC include a new look or focus on teacher child interactions. Learn what current research is saying about teacher child interactions and it’s impact on child outcomes. Also, learn more about a tool, CLASS, Classroom Assessment Scoring System that OHS is reviewing for use in Head Start Programs. This tool provides administrators with measurements in emotional support, classroom organization and instructional support. Child Outcomes, Illinois Early Learning Standards and data collection keep abreast on state and national happenings.

Facilitated discussion and networking with fellow colleagues around current issues and strategies for meeting the new requirements in the 2007 Head Start Act.

Understanding Homelessness-What are the unique health risks and how will current requirements impact health services? Oral Health Update on special projects and initiatives, panel discussion on strategies for services integration/working as a team-Health and Education. Facilitated discussion with fellow colleagues around current issues and strategies for meeting the new requirements in the 2007 Head Start Act.

Building Financially Fit Families and Staff - Supporting Financial Literacy Financial Literacy is one of the new requirements in the Head Start Act. Money management and consumer skills are important for all households, but are especially critical for low-income families.

This Family Service Institute will be a train the trainers and prepare individuals to take the training back for parent and staff training at the local level. This institute is designed to inform family service staff about the benefits if educating their families and staff on responsible money management, budgeting techniques, payday loans, the credit process, where to seek help if credit problems occur, and how to build savings and investments.

The curriculum you will learn about during the institute is research based and packaged to share with families. It is appropriate for low-income audiences and those with low reading levels, can be used by agency staff with groups of clients or with individuals, can be used as a series or as individual lessons, depending on the agency and client needs, uses hands on activities, and is based on adult learning principles.