GULF COAST COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSOCIATION
Head Start/Early Head Start Support Services Monthly Narrative May 2025
LEADERSHIPACTIVITIES
• Child andAdult Care Food Program (CACFP) TheApril 2025 Child andAdult Care Food Program (CACFP) claim was completed and submitted to theTexas Department ofAgriculture (TDA) for reimbursement. InApril there were 22 food service days for the month. There were 17 eligible sites and 1,518 eligible children. The number of meals provided: 7,754 breakfasts; 7,894 lunches and 23,458 PM snacks served.
Expected reimbursement for the month is $84,099.78.
• Teacher Appreciation Week Teacher Appreciation Week was held May 5–9 to celebrate and recognize the incredible dedication of our GCCSAHead Start and Early Head Start teachers.
This year’s theme, “Best of the West!”, honored the hardworking spirit and commitment of our educators. Each teacher received a small token of appreciation as a gesture of thanks for the meaningful impact they make in the lives of our children every day.
• GCCSA May 2025 Story Time – was led by Head Start/Early Head Start Support Services Associate, Ms. Geneva Bautista. She read “Cam the Pig on a Farm So Big” by Shelly and Joseph Rollins to our children and staff. Through the story, children joyfully explored farm life through the eyes of a curious and courageous piglet who loves to learn and try new things. Earlier in the month, collaboration teacher Professor Jason Fletcher delighted classrooms with a reading of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss, perfectly capturing the spirit of celebration as we marked the ending of another wonderful school year.
• Region IV – Meal Observation - Ms. Veronica Howard, Regional Program Specialist for Child Nutrition, returned this month to conduct a site visit at our Reveille Head Start Center. We are pleased to report that there were no areas of non-compliance identified during her visit.
During the technical assistance meeting, Ms. Howard recommended the following: Update the Special Diet Meal Production Record
Add the special diet section to the weekly production record to ensure proper documentation and tracking of dietary accommodations
We appreciate Ms. Howard’s continued support and guidance as we work to maintain excellence in our child nutrition services.
• School Readiness Goals meetings with Center Administrators coninued to review and analyze data to determine the needs of each individual child and completion report
• Health & Nutrition Manager Karla Lamberti has submitted her resignation, which was accepted with regret. Karla will be pursuing an exciting opportunity to teach English to students in Spain, as she begins the next chapter of her career in education. We thank Karla for her contributions to our program and wish her all the best in this new and enriching journey abroad.
• Summer Professional Development Planning – planning meetings are in full swing! Dates for professional development have been scheduled to held July 21 – 25 with 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”.
• Child DevelopmentAdvisory Committee – met this month. The School Readiness Goals were reviewed bythe committee and approved. Please see attachment: 5C 2025-2026 Early Head Start & Head Start School Readiness Goals.docx
• CHILD DEVELOPMENT (CD) Early Head Start: Threes: Theme 8“Amazing Critters”- Week 1- Crawling Critters- This week the children will focus on crawling critters, such as ants, spiders, caterpillars, and beetles.
Week 2- Flying Critters- This week the children will continue learning about small critters. Their focus will be our flying friends, such as butterflies, bees, mosquitoes, flies, and ladybugs.
Week 3- Hopping Critters- This week the children will focus on critters that jump and hop. We will explore grasshoppers, crickets, and frogs.
Week 4- Scaly and Slithering- The study of small creatures, takes us to scaly and slithering critters this week. We will focus on lizards, chameleons, snakes, iguanas, and worms. Theme 9- “Animals”- Week 1ZooAnimals- This week the children will focus on zoo animals that originate from a variety of nature environments (jungle, forest, prairie, ocean).
• Toddlers: Theme- 8 “Traditional Tales” - Week 3- Three Billy Goats Gruff- This week the children will learn about the Three Billy Goats Gruff. This is a great tale of cooperation among siblings. Week 4- The Gingerbread Man- This week the children will learn about the Gingerbread Man and will participate in activities that spring from this classic story. Theme 9 “Traditional Songs”- Week 1- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star- This week the children sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and participate in activities that spring from the song's lyrics.Week 2- Itsy Bitsy Spider- This week the children will sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and participate in activities that spring from the song’s lyrics. Week 3- The Wheels on the Bus- This week the children will sing “The Wheels on the Bus” and participate in activities that spring from the song’s lyrics. • Infants: Teachers implemented theActivity Trackers Card to plan activities according to each child’s individual needs in both Infant classrooms.
• Raul Yzaguirre The May Theme at Raul was “Water” Investigation 1: Why Investigate water? Investigation 2: What are the different ways we use water? Investigation 3: How can water change? Investigation 4: How does water help people and the environment? • Collaboration Campuses: HISD collaboration sites utilize several curriculums. The primary curriculum is Savvas, Three Cheers for Pre-K. Theme 9: Earth, Moon, and Sky” What do we see in the natural world around us? Each week students will explore activities to broaden their higher order thinking and connection to the real world. Week 1- “How does the earth help a tree grow?” Week 2 – “What we see in the sky?” Week 3 “How can we describe the moon?” Week 4: “What do astronauts do?”
• ReginaAlmaguer participated on the Raul talent show. Please follow the link to hear and see her performance: IMG_2241 - Raul Singer Regina Almaguer.MOV Roselin Pineda also participated in the Raul talent show. Enjoy her performance: MOV_7098 - Raul Talent Show - Roselin Pineda.mov
• Stand-Alone Curriculum: Head Start Stand-Alone sites implement the Frogstreet Pre-K curriculum. May theme was Theme 9 “Changes/ Cambios”. Sub themes students studied: Week 1: “Earth Changes/La Tierra cambia” Week 2: Nurturing Earth/ “La Tierra nos nutre” Week 3: “Before and Now/Antes y ahora” Week 4: “Transitions and celebrations”
• Plans have been finalized for the TeacherAppreciation Week (May 5 – 11). The Child Development team in collaboration with the CenterAdministrators and Operation Support have planned some exciting events! TeacherAppreciation was a wonderful event, marked by high engagement and genuine happiness.
• Child Development provided guidance, support, and encouragement to educators pursuing advancing their careers and contributing to their profession. (Child DevelopmentAssociate Credential (CDA), walkthroughs, mentoring, and coaching.)
• Child Development Specialists provided teaching teams with individual activities and support.
• Child Development provided guidance, support, and encouragement to walkthroughs, mentoring, and coaching.
• Child Development Specialists provided teaching teams with individual activities and support.
• The Child Development Team completed Spring CLASS Observation and analyzed the data to determinate the next steps for summer professional Development.
• End of the Year (EOY) children’s assessment data were completed this month on all children enrolled in the program.
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 of continuous,accessible healthcareandhealthinsurance coverage. Currently the Head Start enrollment is at 1267and 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 bythe Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program. EPSDT is a partoftheMedicaidagency.TexasHealthSteps isourstate’s
• 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 Health and Nutrition and Special Services team hosted their Spring Health and Mental Health ServicesAdvisory Committee meeting on May 20th .
• Health Specialist monitor and complete vision and hearing screenings needed for new and returning students Spring parent notices are sent home for required documentation needed.
• The Health and NutritionTeam and have completed their spring folder reviews and the NutritionTeam have completed their spring heights and weights.
• The Health and Nutrition Manager and Health Specialist hosted individual meetings with the centers staff to review their Manage by Information Report.
• Region 4 Nutrition Specialist completed a lunch meal observation at Reveille, there were no findings.
• The 1st round of internal audits were completed, 8 schools had no findings Bastian, Early Head Start, Garden Villa HS, Lockhart, Raul Houston, Reveille, Richey Road, and Rucker.
• The 2nd round of audits were conducted and 8 schools had no findings, Bastian, Codwell, Garden Villa, Lockhart, Raul Houston, Richey Road, Rucker, Woodson.
• The 3rd round of internal audits is currently in process.
Pasadena Head Start Transition Program participants.
Raul Ysaguirre Head Start Transition Program participants.
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 May 2025, it was determined 99 Head Start children and 7 Early Head Start children are enrolled in the program that are identified with disabilities
Seventy-six (76) children are identified with a speech impairment, 17 withAutism, 11 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 EducationAgency (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.
As of the end of May 2025, the Special Services Department has 122 suspected children enrolled in our Head Start program and 8 suspected children enrolled in our Early Head Start program. 84 children have suspected speech concerns, 10 children have suspectedAutism, 7 children have suspected social emotional concerns, and 28 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 May 2025, the Special Services Department obtained and attended 1 new MDT meeting reports from the agency’s content areas for a total of 32 meetings year to date.
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.”
The Special Services Department and other ContentArea Departments completed the ChildBuilder’s Stand Strong Stay Safe Program for the second time this year. The program focused on teaching our students assertiveness and emotional literacy skills they need to build positive communities, stand up for themselves, and get help when faced with unsafe situations. Through age-appropriate lessons, our students are prepared to recognize and report bullying, abuse, and neglect.
New Hire Orientation: There were no new hires for the month of May.
CPR/First Aid: There were 2 (two) classes held on May 02, 2025 with the following staff attending: one (1) Assistant Center Administrator; one (1) Special Services Manager; one (1) Nutrition Specialist; eight (8) family Services Specialists; two (2) Cook/Custodians; two (2) Custodians and twenty-three (23) Teaching staffs.
Site Observation Report – May 2025: The Site Observation Summary Chart outlines the center visits conducted during May 2025 by the Health & Nutrition and Support Services Associate, Child Development & Special Services Managers, 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 Meetings:
Health Services Advisory Committee Meeting – was held this month. The end of the year health report was shared at this meeting.
Specialists’ Outcomes Meeting: Specialists held their regular and final quarterly meeting for this school year. Children’s progress was discussed and identified returning children who will continue to need support.
HS/EHS Professional Development: There was no professional development this month.
UPCOMINGACTIVITIES/EVENTS/TRAINING HOSTED BY DEPARTMENT:
June 6
June 13
July 21 – 22
Last Day of school for Head Start Teachers and Cook/Custodians
Last Day of school for Early Head Start Teachers and Cook/Custodians
Professional Development Institute
July 23 -25 Head Start/Early Head Start Professional Development
UPCOMING CONFERENCES TRAININGS HOSTED OUTSIDE OF GCCSA:
June 12 Nutrition Program – University of Houston BOUNCE
June 19
July 7 – 18
Juneteenth Holiday
Child DevelopmentAssociate (CDA) Certification Classes
July 29 SHINEAssist Training – Management & Specialists
July 30 SHINEAssist Training – Teachers
July 31 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.
