GULF COAST COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSOCIATION
Head Start/Early Head Start Support Services Monthly Narrative June 2025
LEADERSHIPACTIVITIES
• ChildandAdultCareFoodProgram(CACFP) TheMayandJune2025ChildandAdultCareFoodProgram(CACFP) claims were completed and submitted to the Texas Department ofAgriculture (TDA) for reimbursement. In May there were 21 food service days for themonth.There were 17 eligible sites and 1,518 eligiblechildren.The number of meals provided: 6,480 breakfasts; 6,628 lunches and 21,031 PM snacks served.
Expected reimbursement for the month is $72,155.55.
In June there were 7 food service days for the month. There were 15 eligible sites and 1,242 eligible children. The number of meals provided: 435 breakfasts; 421 lunches and 1,834 PM snacks served.
Expected reimbursement for the month is $5,241.42.
• Interviewing Health Specialist and Health & Nutrition Manager Positions: Human Resources team have been actively recruiting for the vacant Health Specialist and Health and Nutrition Manager positions. Interviews have begun and we hope to have those positions filled soon!
• Summer Professional Development Planning – planning meetings continue in full swing as we plan for the Professional Development Institute, July 21 & 22 and the Head Start/Early Head Start Professional Development July 23, 24 & 25. Training will be held at the Community Collective! Head Start & Early Head Start will host additional training throughout the summer break including the Child Development Associate (CDA)credentialing classes.
Our theme this year is “One Team One Trail – Trailblazing New Paths to Success” and Head Start will add to this theme “Saddling Up for Success!
CHILD DEVELOPMENT (CD)
• Early Head Start Frog Street Three-Year-Old Curriculum Theme 4 “Safe and Healthy Me” Week 1 “Safe Me”This week children will explore safety rules, as teachers teach about rules that support their health and safety at home as well as at school. Week 2 “Healthy Me”- This week children will learn why it is important to wash their hands, brush their teeth, have regular doctor visits, take their vitamins, and more. Week 3 “Eating Well” - This week children will learn why it is important to eat foods from all food groups and to eat three meals a day at the same time each day. Week 4 “Active Me” - This week children will learn regular exercise help them to grow, build strong muscles and bones. They will also learn why it is important to get moving.
• Early Head Start Frog Street Toddler Curriculum Theme 10 “Bugs” Week 1 “Mosquitoes and Flies”- This week children will learn about flies and mosquitoes. Week 2- “Ants and Bees”This week children will learn about ants and bees. They will learn how to identify these insects and how to stay safely away from their bites and stings. Week 3 “Caterpillars and Butterflies”- This week children will continue their study of the characteristics of insects. They will learn how caterpillars become butterflies.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT (CD):
• Early Head Start Frog Street Three-Year-Old Curriculum Theme 4 “Safe and Healthy Me” Week 1 “Safe Me”This week children will explore safety rules, as teachers teach about rules that support their health and safety at home as well as at school. Week 2 “Healthy Me”- This week children will learn why it is important to wash their hands, brush their teeth, have regular doctor visits, take their vitamins, and more. Week 3 “Eating Well” - This week children will learn why it is important to eat foods from all food groups and to eat three meals a day at the same time each day. Week 4 “Active Me” - This week children will learn regular exercise help them to grow, build strong muscles and bones. They will also learn why it is important to get moving.
• Early Head Start Frog Street Toddler Curriculum Theme 10 “Bugs” Week 1 “Mosquitoes and Flies”- This week children will learn about flies and mosquitoes. Week 2- “Ants and Bees”- This week children will learn about ants and bees. They will learn how to identify these insects and how to stay safely away from their bites and stings. Week 3 “Caterpillars and Butterflies”- This week children will continue their study of the characteristics of insects. They will learn how caterpillars become butterflies.
• Early Head Start Infant Classrooms the teachers implement “Activity Trackers” for each child and plan for each child according to his or her individual need.
• The Three -Year-Old Frog Street Curriculum Teacher Guides only have 9 Themes. All Themes have been taught to the children. The teachers were given permission by Ms. Trousdale to choose a Theme to repeat with the children.
• The Child Development Specialist continued to provide focused observations, reflection, and feedback opportunities with teaching teams, and discussed teaching practices to increase engagement in the classrooms.
• The Child Development Specialist team completed the CLASS Observation and Spring observation data is documented
• The Child Development team completed and finalized an Inventory and Requisition Tracking System to assess program needs, order, and track inventory at individual sites effectively for the upcoming school year. Individual site inventories are stored in digital version
• End of the Year (EOY) children’s assessment data were completed this month on all children enrolled in the program and discussed with the Center Administrator to review the data and next steps.
• The Child Development Team is diligently preparing for a successful Head Start and Early Head Start Professional Development Week.
HEALTH & NUTRITION (H/N):
• Head Start program requires within 30 calendar days after the child first attends the program, the parent must be consultedtodetermine whether each child has ongoingsources ofcontinuous, accessiblehealthcareandhealthinsurance coverage. Currently the Head Start enrollment is at 1267 and EHS is at full enrollment of 80 Within 45 calendar days after the child first attends the program a program must either obtain or perform evidence-based vision and hearing screenings.
• Within 90 days HS must obtain determinations from health care and oral health care professionals to establish if the child is up to date on a schedule of age-appropriate preventive and primary medical and oral health care. This is based on the well-child visits and dental periodicity schedules as prescribed by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program. EPSDT is a part of the Medicaid agency. Texas Health Steps is our state’s
• The Health & Nutrition Team successfully completed the summer inventory
• The Health Team continued preparations for the upcoming school year by proactively pulling IMMTRAC reports for newly enrolled students, scheduling calibration of hearing equipment, and finalizing SHINE reports from the previous school year
• Nutrition Team continue to host monthly meetings with The Healthy Lunch Box Provider. This gives the Center Administrators an opportunity to provide feedback on the quality of the meals served to our stand-alone centers. The final meeting was held for the current school year.
• The Compliance Department has completed all 3 rounds of CACFP internal audits. Rucker Head Start did not have any findings in all 3 of this school year’s required audits. Codwell, Garden Villa, Raul Ysaguirre- HOU, and Richey had 2 successful audits out of the 3.
SPECIALSERVICES (SS):
Head Start and Early Head Start requires that 10% of the Funded Enrollment includes children with disabilities. Head Start only recognizes children with a disability that are eligible for services under Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).At the end of June 2025, it was determined 13 Head Start children and 4 Early Head Start children are expected to enroll in the program that are identified with disabilities for the program year 2025-2026.
Eight (8) children are identified with a speech impairment, 2 withAutism, 4 with Non-Categorical Early Childhood, 1 with Other Health Impairment, 1 with Intellectual Disability and 1 with Deaf/Blind Disability. 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 EducationAgency (LEA) holds the authority to identify children with disabilities.
As of the end of June 2025, the Special Services Department anticipates 18 suspected children to enroll in our Head Start program and 0 suspected children to enroll in our Early Head Start program. 17 children have suspected speech concerns and 1 child has suspectedAutism
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 June 2025, the Special Services Department obtained and attended 3 new MDT meeting reports from the agency’s content areas for a total of 6 meetings year to date.
GCCSADisabilities and Mental Health Providers Services - (Advance Plus,Angels of Care, Personal Touch, Eaden Counseling, Providential Counseling,ANC-D Psychological Services and Marshall Counseling Services) Providers are working towards ensuring they are cleared to provide services for the upcoming 2025-2026 program year.
DEPARTMENTACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Site Observation Report – June 2025: The Site Observation Summary Chart outlines the center visits conducted during June 2025 by the Special Services Manager and specialists in Child Development, Family Empowerment, Health, Nutrition, and Special Services These visits were carried out across all GCCSA Head Start and Early Head Start Centers to ensure that comprehensive support was provided, addressing the evolving needs of children, families, and staff. Each site observation is an essential component of the agency’s commitment to maintaining high-quality service delivery and fostering continuous improvement.
Specialists’ Outcomes Meeting: Specialists held their regular and final quarterly meeting for this school year. Children’s progress was discussed and identified by returning children who will continue to need support. The final meeting was held this month for the school year.
HS/EHS Professional Development: There was no professional development this month.
New Hire Orientation: There were no new hires for the month of June
CPR/First Aid: There were no CPR classes for the month of June. The next class scheduled is July 31
UPCOMINGACTIVITIES/EVENTS/TRAINING HOSTED BY DEPARTMENT:
July 21 – 22 Professional Development Institute
July 23 -25 Head Start/Early Head Start Professional Development
UPCOMING CONFERENCES TRAININGS HOSTED OUTSIDE OF GCCSA:
July 7 – 18
July 29
July 30
July 31
Child DevelopmentAssociate (CDA) Certification Classes
SHINEAssist Training – Management & Specialists
SHINEAssist Training – Teachers
CPR/First Aide Training
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
• Technology in the Classroom Training
• HS/EHS Policies and Procedures Training: Practice-Based Coaching, Effective Classroom Management.
• CACFP Required Training & Bi- Weekly CACFP & Cook Training Conscience Discipline Training (overview)
• Disability & Mental Health Training & Social Emotional Development for Children
• SIDS/ Shaken Baby training.
Children’s 2024-2025Assessment Reports
EHS
- E-LAP Report Link
EHS E-LAPReport 2024-2025.pdf
HS – CLI Engage Report Links
CLI English Assessments Growth Report.pdf
CLI Spanish Assessments Growth Report.pdf
ClassroomAssessment Scoring System 2024-2025 Reports (CLASS)
Early Head Start CLASS Link
GCCSA CLASS Scoresheet - 2024-2025.xlsm
Head Start CLASS Link
GCCSA CLASS Scoresheet - 2024-2025.xlsm