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**Individualizing for Children in Head Start**

A brief from the Region 10 and Alaska Native Training and Technical
Assistance Network

January 2006

At the core of good programming for children lies a system for
identifying, planning for, and responding to the strengths and needs of
individual children. This system consists of the subsystems of
screening, assessment, and curriculum, as well as related activities and
processes such as referrals, evaluations, lesson planning, and
interactions with children. This document focuses on the requirements,
process, and tools associated with that individualizing process in Head
Start.

THE ROLE OF PARENTS

The individualizing process often starts with contact with the parents
of Head Start/Early Head Start children. On initial home visits, staff
have the opportunity to ask parents to share information about who cares
for their children, what their children know how to do and like to do,
the health and temperament of the children, and parents' hopes, dreams,
concerns and specific goals for their children. Along with information
about the family -- what it does together, its connections to other
family and the community, its values and traditions, its resources and
stressors -- this information about children will guide staff in
individualizing throughout the child's time in the program. In addition,
there is a role for parental input throughout the individualizing cycle
described here.

SCREENING

Head Start requirements (45 CFR 1304.20(b)) call for developmental,
sensory, and behavioral **screening**, in collaboration with the child's
parent, within 45 calendar days of the child's entry into the program.
The procedures must, to the extent possible, ensure sensitivity to the
child's cultural background, include multiple sources of information,
use standardized and appropriate instruments, and the program must
obtain direct guidance from a mental health or child development
professional on how to use the findings to address identified needs
(1304.20(b)(3)).

In the words of 1308.6(b), "Screening, the first step in the assessment
process, consists of standardized health screening and developmental
screening which includes speech, hearing and vision. It is a brief
process, which can be repeated, and is never used to determine that a
child has a disability. It only indicates that a child may need further
evaluation to determine whether the child has a disability."

"Developmental screening...provides information in three major
developmental areas: visual/motor, language and cognition, and gross
motor/body awareness for use along with observation data, parent
reports, and home visit information."

Several screening tools are available in the areas of social and
emotional development. See Resources below for additional information.

Considerations in choosing a screening instrument include its validity,
reliability, appropriateness for a specific population, cost, domain
coverage, ease of use, available training, and linkage with other tools
the program is using.

If the program or parent has concerns about a potential disability, a
**referral** can be made for further testing to be done by appropriate
professionals.

EVALUATION

When a child is referred, an **evaluation** is then conducted. Certified
professionals with the appropriately-designated agencies will perform a
series of assessments to identify areas of strengths, needs, and
concerns. A team meeting is then held to discuss the results of the
evaluation and determine if the child qualifies for services. If the
child qualifies for specialized services, then, in coordination with the
parents and Head Start staff, an Individual Family Service Plan
(**IFSP**) will be developed for children under the age of 3, and an
IFSP or an Individual Education Plan (**IEP**), depending on state law,
will be developed for children between the ages of 3 to 5. The IEP/IFSP
will identify goals for the child and services to be provided to help
achieve those goals.

ASSESSMENT

**Assessment**, in the words of 1304.3(a), "means the ongoing procedures
used by appropriate qualified personnel throughout the period of a
child's eligibility to identify (i) the child's unique strengths and
needs and the services appropriate to meet those needs; and (ii) the
resources, priorities, and concerns of the family and the supports and
services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the
developmental needs of their child."

In Head Start, the assessment process refers to both the formalized
periodic (usually 3 times a year) assessment that staff conduct, usually
followed by parent conferences or other forms of communication. Staff
also conduct ongoing observation to enable them to continuously adjust
their goals for children, curriculum activities, and scaffolding and
other strategies for supporting children in their progress.

The assessments are based on staff and parent observations, input from
others who may know the child, sometimes the child's own observations,
and evidence such as art work, pictures of block building or
construction, and other materials that may be collected in a portfolio.

There are several assessment tools available that have been
cross-referenced with Head Start **child outcomes**. These assessment
tools should reflect key elements of your state's **early learning
guidelines** as well. Again, a program would want to consider the links
to screening and, particularly, curriculum in its choice of assessment
tools.

LINKS FROM ASSESSMENT TO CURRICULUM

The transition from assessment results to curriculum is not a direct
one. On the basis of the assessment results, **individual learning
plans** for each child should be developed. If the child has gone
through the evaluation process and has had an IEP or IFSP developed,
those documents will contain learning goals and objectives that should
be incorporated in the planning for that child. The individual learning
plans will highlight areas of growth and development across domains.
Once individual children's plans are written, they can be listed
together (usually according to the domains and stages within domains as
identified in the assessment materials) to create a **group profile**,
which creates a picture of focus areas for the curriculum.

CURRICULUM

In 1304.3 (a)(5), "**Curriculum** means a written plan that includes:
(i) The goals for children's development and learning; (ii) The
experiences through which they will achieve these goals; (iii) What
staff and parents do to help children achieve these goals; and (iv) The
materials needed to support the implementation of the curriculum. The
curriculum is consistent with Head Start Program Performance Standards
and is based on sound child development principles about how children
grow and learn."

With children's goals (from the assessment process, and recorded in
individual learning plans and a group profile), experiences, materials,
and contributions of staff, parents, and volunteers in mind, staff can
then construct their **weekly** and **daily lesson plans**, keeping in
mind as well other Head Start regulations calling for a balance of
child-initiated/teacher-directed activities, indoor and outdoor time,
meal times, etc.

OTHER CURRICULUM CONSIDERATIONS

Specific developmental domains, such as literacy, may be highlighted by
national, local, or program initiatives, and call for their own
curriculum focus. Additionally, a program focus on mental health,
personal safety, or other area may warrant the inclusion of other
curricula. The challenge for programs and staff is to make multiple
curricula work both for program and child development purposes and for
the staff, who may be overwhelmed with the expectations that come with
the use of additional curricula.

THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Much of the individualizing for children is revealed in the set-up of
the environment, with both the goals for children and the family
cultures as guidance. The learning environment is also typically
documented/planned in the weekly and daily lesson plans, which reveal
the links from children's goals to staff intentions and plans.

TEACHER -- CHILD INTERACTIONS

The awareness, experience, skills and intentions of the staff, in an
environment of support from the program, are put to use to individualize
for children in a group or home setting. The quality and tone of the
interactions are as important as the activities around which those
interactions take place. It is through these teacher-child interactions,
as well as the child-child and child alone times, that staff observe the
development of the child, guided by the assessment tool.

RESOURCES

*A Look at Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Screening Tools For Head
Start and Early Head Start*, by Philip Printz, Amy Bog, and Mary Ann
Demaree, 2003, Education Development Center, Inc., is available on the
Web at
[http://notes.edc.org/CCF/ccflibrary.nsf/aadb9d70967202f085256e130019026d/[\
]{.underline}4ef7c268ca492cef85256e2f006d178c/\$FILE/screentools.pdf](http://notes.edc.org/CCF/ccflibrary.nsf/aadb9d70967202f085256e130019026d/4ef7c268ca492cef85256e2f006d178c/$FILE/screentools.pdf).

*Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation:
Building an Effective, Accountable System in Programs for Children Birth
through Age 8; Position Statement with Expanded Resources* (November
2003)is based on the 2003 Joint Position Statement of the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National
Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of
Education (NAECS/SDE), is available on the Web at
<http://www.naeyc.org/resources/position_statements/CAPEexpand.pdf>.

*Developmental Screening, Assessment, and Evaluation: Key Elements for
Individualizing Curricula in Early Head Start Programs*, *Technical
Assistance Paper No. 4,* by the Early Head Start National Resource
Center, is available on the Web at
<http://www.headstartinfo.org/publications/ehs_html/final_TAP.htm>.

*Overview of the ASQ:SE*, available on the Web at
<http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/squires-asqse/ASQ-SE_Overview.pdf>,
contains a description of selected social-emotional assessment
instruments.

*Early Head Start Tip Sheet No. 6*, on screening and assessment, is
available on the Web at
<http://www.headstartinfo.org/infocenter/ehs_tipsheet/tip6.htm>.