GULF COAST COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSOCIATION
Head Start/Early Head Start Support Services Monthly Narrative April 2025
LEADERSHIPACTIVITIES
• Child andAdult Care Food Program (CACFP) The March 2025 Child andAdult Care Food Program (CACFP) claim was completed and submitted to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) for reimbursement. In march there were 16 food service days for the month. There were 17 eligible sites and 1,518 eligible children. The number of meals provided: 5,701 breakfasts; 5,691 lunches and 16,885 PM snacks served.
Expected reimbursement for the month is $60,860.65.
• FocusArea 1 (FA1) April was an exciting month! The FA1 monitoring review was administered by theAdministration for Children and FamiliesApril 7 – 9. The Office of Head Start respondedApril 11 and determined that our program meets all applicable Head Start Performance Standards, laws, regulations and policy requirements, compliant in every area.
• Region IV – Meal Observation was held this month. The observation was done at the Pasadena Head Start Center. Ms. Veronica Howard, Program Specialist,ChildNutrition reportedthemealsmet all requirements and the family style meal service went smoothly.
• Fatherhood Event – the last Fatherhood event was held this month. The event had a spring theme. Sixty-three father figures and seventy-one children attended. Kudos to Reveille who had the highest father and child attendance (25%) Enjoy the photos: Fatherhood Photos 4.16.2025
• GCCSA April 2025 Story Time – was read by Head Start/Early Head Start Child Development Specialist, Ms. Stephanie Gray. She read to the children and staff “The Magic of Me My Magical Choices” by Becky Cummings. This rhyming book showed the children the different choices they can make in their lives.
• Children’s Middle of the Year (MOY) Assessment meetings with Center Administrators coninued to review and analyze data to determine the needs of each individual child
• TANS – The Department ofAgriculture held its monthly update meeting on the new TexasAutomated Nutrition System (TANS).
• Week of the Young Child: GCCSAcelebrated Week of the Young Child with the children enrolled in our Head Start and Early Head Start program. Children experienced Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thusday and Family Friday with lots of activities and fun. The management team visited every site and read to the children “Teamwork makes the Tree Work”!
• Summer Professional Development Planning – planning meetings are in full swing! Dates for professional development have been scheduled to held July 21 – 35 with additional training throughout the summer break including the Child Development Associate credential classes.
SPECIALSERVICES (SS):
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Sixty-eight (68) children are identified with a speech impairment, 13 withAutism, 10 with Non-Categorical Early Childhood , 1 with Other Health Impairment and 1 with Orthopedic Impairment. IDEAis a law that makes available free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children who are identified with a disability. The Local Education Agency (LEA) holds the authority to identify children with disabilities. Please see the “Identified Children Per Campus” chart showing the number of children with disabilities indicated above.
Suspected Children Per Campus
EHS - 9
CODWELL - 6
GARDEN VILLA ELEM - 8
KELSO - 6
PASADENA - 25
GCCSA Disabilities and Mental Health Providers Services - (Advance Plus,Angels of Care, Personal Touch, Eaden Counseling, Providential Counseling,ANC-D Psychological Services and Marshall Counseling Services) Personal Touch Therapy conducted a staff training titled “Speech and Language Development Milestones”.ANC-D conducted a staff training titled “Good Morning. I’m Ready for the day.”
DEPARTMENTACCOMPLISHMENTS:
New Hire Orientation: New Hire Orientation was held the week of April 21 – 25, 2025. There were eight (8) new hires that came on board. Please welcome Alexandra Luna, Teacher Aide; Raquel Rios, Teacher III, Yaretzzi Salazar, Teacher Aide; Lorena Borja Garcia, Cook/Custodian; Nidia Vela, Cook/Custodian; Erika Badillo, Cook/Custodian Floater; Gabriela Herrera, Cook/Custodian Floater and Luis Najera, Cook/Custodian Floater. We welcome all our new staff.
BASTIAN - 9
FOSTER - 2
GARDEN VILLA HS - 13
LOCKHART - 3
PATTERSON - 13
As of the end of April 2025, the Special Services Department has 145 suspected children enrolled in our Head Start program and 9 suspected children enrolled in our Early Head Start program. 102 children have suspected speech concerns, 13 children have suspectedAutism, 8 children have suspected social emotional concerns, and 30 children with both disability and social emotional concerns. Please see the “Suspected Children Per Campus” chart showing the number of children with suspected disabilities below.
Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings: The department assists with monitoring Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. MDT meetings are held to ensure that children who are enrolled or who have applied are given the opportunity to maximize the benefits of the program. For the month of April 2025, the Special Services Department obtained and attended 2 new MDT meeting reports from the agency’s content areas for a total of 31 meetings year to date.
Houston Area Urban League Meeting: Management team met with the Houston Area Urban League to discuss their invitation to be included in the Texas School Ready (TSR) program. The TSR Comprehensive includes four main components of service delivery to early childhood educators: professional development, coaching, child progress monitoring, and classroom curriculum and materials. Specialists’ Outcomes Meeting: Specialists held their regular quarterly meeting to discuss children’s progress and support needs
DEPARTMENTACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Site ObservationApril 2025 Report: The Site Observation Summary Chart indicates the center visits made by the Health & Nutrition and Support Services Associate, Child Development & Special Services Managers, Child Development, Family Empowerment, Health, Nutrition and Special Services Specialists for the month of April 2025.All GCCSASite visits are required to provide support and meet the needs of children and staff at GCCSAHead Start and Early Head Start Centers.
HS/EHS Professional Development: There was no professional development this month.
UPCOMINGACTIVITIES/EVENTS/TRAINING HOSTED BY DEPARTMENT:
May 2 Measles Education Presentation
May 5 – 9 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7 Professional Development Pasadena HS: CACFPTraining
May 7-8 Specialists’Outcomes’Meetings
May 20 Health & Mental Health ServicesAdvisory Committee Meeting
Community Services/Head StartAssistant Director Meeting
May 21 GCCSAStory Time – “Cam the Pig on a Farm So Big”
May 28 Summer Enrollment Training
UPCOMING CONFERENCES TRAININGS HOSTED OUTSIDE OF GCCSA:
May 1 San Jacinto College Early Childhood EducationAdvisory Committee Meeting
May 22 GCCSA/SHINE ECE Meeting
REQUIRED TRAININGS:
• CDA Training
• Civil Rights Training (annual)
• CLASS and Teacher Success Rubric
• Training for new and returning staff.
• Child Abuse and Neglect Training annually
• CPR & First Aid Training
• Coaching and Mentoring Strategies CD Specialists & Teachers
• ERSEA Training - required annually.
• Food Handlers Certification
• Medication Administration Training
• Orientation for New Employees, Parents & Providers
• Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Health and Safety, Teaching and Learning Environment, Curriculum & Assessment
• Pedestrian Safety at First Parent Upcoming
