St. Mary of the Angels Head Start a hub of learning

Enter Catholic Charities’ newly opened St. Mary of the Angels Head Start, and visitors instantly wish there were dozens more centers of early childhood education just like it.     Five spacious classrooms, set along the renovated first floor of the former St. Mary of the Angels Elementary School, are beehives of organized chaos, with smiling and curious students cheerfully rotating among colorful independent learning centers serving up art, math, music, literacy, writing, dramatic play and table games.
     Low-slung classroom shelves are stocked with a rotating and modest collection of puzzles, blocks and other manipulatives – as not to overwhelm the youngsters with too many choices – and the students’ coats and book bags hang neatly in oversize cubbies.
     Best of all, rather than continually hushing their students as they walk in single-file lines between their classroom, their cavernous gym and the school cafeteria, Head Start teachers invite their young charges to join them in the singing of a song that deliberately reinforces the previous classroom lesson.
     It is a pre-emptive disciplinary approach that works like a charm, said Jonika Julian, a 14-year education veteran who became the program director at the St. Mary of the Angels Head Start after 10 years as a teaching assistant and family services worker at another Catholic Charities-operated Head Start – El Yo Yo in Uptown New Orleans.
     “We focus on the whole child,” Julian explained. “For example, we realize that if a child comes in hungry, they won’t be able to learn. So not only are we getting them (academically) ready for success in kindergarten, we make sure they’re eating balanced meals; we provide them with breakfast, lunch and a snack.”

Opened in October
     The St. Mary of the Angels Head Start, located across the street from the Catholic church of the same name and the first of its kind in the Upper Ninth Ward area since Katrina, began offering its services in late October following a two-month closure due to Hurricane Isaac. It actually provides two programs under one roof: an Early Head Start program for 16 infants and toddlers, ages 6 weeks to 3 years; and a “regular” Head Start program serving 49 preschoolers, ages 3 to 5. Altogether, Catholic Charities serves 445 children through Head Start and Early Head Start at six locations in Orleans Parish.
     “We learn mostly through play in Head Start,” explained Julian, noting that changing weekly and monthly themes are carried out in each independent learning center, with the teachers following the lead of the children in their care. For example, during the month devoted to the various parts of the body, the students sang songs, read stories, recited vocabulary and played word games associated with the body.
     In addition, their parents were asked to reinforce the information at home by following a few simple lesson plans provided by Head Start.
     “We give the parents a calendar every Monday, and we encourage them to sing nursery rhymes with their kids, or do finger plays (telling a story by making various shapes with the fingers and hands) related to the theme,” Julian said. “So not only are they getting the concept, they’re also working on their fine motor skills, their hand-eye coordination. Everything we do with the kids has a purpose – and it’s fun.”

Home visits compulsory
     Head Start’s holistic educational approach includes visiting parents in the home before and during each year of their child’s enrollment. These home visits, conducted by family services workers, are designed to detect problems Head Start teachers may not be able to spot in the classroom and help refer the family to the needed services.
     The visits also acquaint parents with the detailed teacher assessments conducted regularly on their child throughout the September-through-July school year. Students are assessed in the program’s seven primary areas of educational focus: gross motor skills (skills such as running, jumping and kicking); fine motor skills (manual skills such as cutting with scissors, using tweezers to move objects, stringing beads and lacing); age-appropriate language skills; self help (independent living skills such as tying shoes, buttoning clothes and dining etiquette); pre-writing skills (which begin with tracing lines and circles in preparation for letter, word and sentence formation); cognitive (working with sets, shapes, colors, patterns, numerals and other abstract concepts); and personal-social skills, which when it comes to the very young, says Julian, usually boil down to teaching children how to share, be patient and wait their turn.
     Another standard Head Start offering is the provision of on-site screenings of students’ vision, hearing, speech and developmental milestones, the director added.
     “We try to make sure that before they leave Head Start, if they’re having any issues, we get a handle on them so they can really learn when they get to regular school,” Julian said, advising young parents looking for an early childhood program to first write down their own list of expectations, then visit more than one possibility in person to see if “the vibe” is warm and welcoming.
     “Look for a place that has an open-door policy for parents,” Julian said. “You don’t ever want to go anywhere where you have to make an appointment to observe your child or participate in activities. You also want to look for a place that is actually going to teach your child something. We get a lot of complaints from parents who say, ‘I really want to get my child into Head Start because at the daycare where they are now, my child is just sitting there all day.’”
     Julian said the successful federally-funded program is not just expected to prepare students for kindergarten; it is mandated to do so.
     “That’s one of the unique things about Head Start,” she said. “We have to do it; we love to do it; and it’s happening.”
     St. Mary of the Angels Head Start was made possible through the collaboration of Total Community Action, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, St. Mary of the Angels Parish and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans.