I
immersed myself in the early childhood field because I recognized early on what
a blessing it is to teach and learn from young children. Young children have so
much to offer and they are a joy to be around. As a scholar practitioner, it is
my responsibility to be knowledgeable and understand the importance of program
evaluations and keep my staff and families (stakeholders) informed about the
process. I will make the necessary decisions such as delegating tasks to help
the evaluation process become more effective and successful.
When
leading program evaluations, the biggest barrier I foresee is family
involvement/engagement. I have over twenty
years of experience as a preschool teacher and have discerned that most
families do not understand nor do they have information about the assessment
process, data driven decisions, or program evaluations. I find that the reason
families do not understand is because they are not given the opportunity to be
involved in these tasks however, as valuable stakeholders in early childhood
programs, families have the right and should be involved in decisions and
program evaluations. Engaging families should be a shared responsibility (Weiss,
Lopez, & Stark, 2011) within school districts, and early childhood
programs.
My
responsibility to minimize this barrier is to intentionally encourage families
to actively engage in their children’s educational learning. I will design my
curriculum with family engagement as a component, implement family workshops,
and share information with families regarding school readiness, student
achievement, outcomes, and goals (Weiss, Lopez, & Stark, 2011). The purpose
is to collaborate with families, share information, encourage families to join
school boards, parent- teacher organizations, and provide families with
resources to help their children succeed.
Reference:
Weiss, H. B., Lopez, M. E., & Stark, D. R.
(2011). Breaking new ground: Data systems transform family engagement in
education [Issue brief]. Harvard Research Family Project. Retrieved from
http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-
publications/breaking-new-ground-data-systems-transform-family-engagement-
in-education2%20
