Dear Head Start/Early Head Start Director,
Welcome to your new world!
As of August 2024, the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) are different. They are updated. They are revised. They are new.
And, they are, as you well know, your [new] responsibility.
Times have changed and so have the standards and expectations. Staff health and wellness are more important than they have ever been.
We see that in this brand-new standard:
1302.93 Staff health and wellness.
(d) A program should cultivate a program-wide culture of wellness that empowers staff as professionals and supports staff to effectively accomplish their job responsibilities in a high-quality manner, in line with the requirement at § 1302.101(a)(2).
Let’s get to work on that one right now, together. Who exactly is responsible for cultivating this culture of wellness, and what does that specifically mean?
In Head Start, one of the most important people with this responsibility is the Center Director. This individual is directly responsible for the quality of their center – reflected by their ability to serve children, engage parents, and satisfy the many requirements of the agency administrators, all while motivating and supervising the staff that work there each day, effectively.
That is a HUGE job. Center Directors need quality training, ongoing support, and professional development that allows them to take responsibility for “cultivating a program-wide culture of wellness.” And currently, things are harder than they have ever been (thus, the new standards).
Successful directors are good at understanding and cultivating a culture of motivation. Motivation is a condition that activates and sustains behavior towards a goal. If the goal (the new standard in the HSPPS) is to ensure staff are “well enough to effectively accomplish their job responsibilities in a high-quality manner”, then, what are the exact behaviors we expect of our staff, and, how do we activate those specific behaviors and sustain them throughout the program year?
These leadership skills – these “cultivation” skills, can be learned. We teach them!
Creating a Culture of Motivation is a two-day, six-hour workshop designed for Head Start and Early Head Start professionals who accept the responsibility to support and improve day-to-day staff wellness. In this engaging, fast paced, and highly effective workshop, learners will:
- Understand the importance of basic need prioritization in the workplace, and how to create a positive and lasting “basic needs” foundation for their staff
- Understand the significance of daily accountability to others, and how to champion and “install” an accountability-based environment within their teams
- Understand the concept of mindset within the unique conditions of Head Start, and how to cultivate a “growth mindset” with their teachers and family advocates
- Understand and implement successful daily management skills and practices that build trust, boost staff wellness and respond to crises effectively
This is an “truth-telling” workshop based on the intense challenges that Center Directors and staff consistently report to our team, that are characteristic of a typical Head Start and/or Early Head Start program. We introduce and discuss skills and solutions that work, and we collaborate together in breakout rooms and group activities to bring them alive.
Explore upcoming workshops at acornlearning.com to learn more, and/or reach out to our team at support@acornevaluation.com to speak to one of our learning consultants, and learn about upcoming webinars.
We look forward to meeting you soon, and cultivating a program-wide culture of wellness together!
