Head Start Fall 2020 Options

Total Community Action, Incorporated (TCA)Head Start Program announces Fall 2020 service options for families, aligned with Louisiana Department of Education Early Childhood Education Strong Start 2020.

TCA will offer families five options of services for the Fall Session, beginning week of September 14, 2020. Our goal is to provide choices that meet the needs of our children and families, while being responsive to the public health conditions.

  • Home Based Virtual Early Head Start
  • Center Based Respite Early Head Start
  • Center Based Hybrid Head Start
  • Center Based Virtual Head Start
  • Center Based Respite Head Start

TCA enrolled families are asked to make a commitment to a program options via online or mail survey by August 28, 2020. To see a detailed decriptions of your options please see below. 

Click Here to Complete Survey 

You can also complete your survey by phone by contacting TCA Parent Liaison @ 504-459-4800. Llamae para espanol 504-459-4800.

TCA  2020 Head Start & Early Head Start
Journey to Excellence: Access to Success
COVID-19 Pandemic –Service Options
 September 14, 2020 – November 13, 2020

Phase II Safer At Home: The majority of children will attend centers on hybrid service model with remote learning on two-three days a week Some small (groups of 8-10), in-person/center respite services may be provided as needed.  

TCA is offering four options for the 2020-21 program year. Our goal is to provide choices for our families, while being responsive to the public health conditions. The Home Based and Virtual options are designed to account for the potential changing COVID-19 contagion level in our community- allowing for more days of in-person services when there are minimal and controlled levels of COVID 19 and moving to more Home based learning if the outbreaks of virus are present.

Early Head Start Options

TCA Early Head Start will provide two service models in Phases I, II, and III.   

  • Home Based Virtual Early Head Start

The first model is Homebased Virtual.  In this model, the majority of the children are receiving educational services virtually. Homebased Virtual entails children and their families receiving high-quality home-based virtual early learning educational supports, with infants/toddlers and their families working along with their teacher to achieve essential developmental milestones in physical development, social & emotional development, language & literacy, and cognition and mathematics. Teachers promote the parent’s role as the child’s first teacher through experiences focused on the parent-child relationship and, as appropriate, the family’s traditions, culture, values, and belief. Teachers will work weekly with parents and their children. Together, the teachers and parents collaborate, think, and plan about the child.

  • Early Head Start Center Based Respite

EHS Center Based Respite model will be available for families for whom center based services are necessary to support the parent’s education or employment. TCA will utilize the ERSEA criteria to validate eligibility for respite. These infants and toddlers will attend the center daily.  Children attending the center will receive 6 hours of full day instructions, in an environment the invites children to observe, and explore at their own pace.

Head Start Options

TCA will provide three service models in Phase II. In center based virtual and center based hybrid Student Wi-Fi capable tablets will be issued to families in need in accordance with TCA technology and media guidelines. Parents will be provided support through training, conferencing, and weekly check ins from the child’s learning team.  Regardless of the method of instruction materials and learning Apps will be provided to non-English speaking families in the home language and English.

  • Center Based Virtual Head Start

In this model preschoolers will receive developmentally appropriate services will be delivered daily whether using digital or non-digital platforms following the Creative Curriculum for Preschool scope and sequence plan. Teaching teams will create daily lessons and activities for children ages 3 to 5 to encourage and support the developmentally appropriate time of 1 ½ to 2 hours of computer- generated learning. The center based virtual learning schedule is not intended to advise parents to create a regimented daily schedule that mirrors the regular center schedule, but rather, a consistent flow of the day that fits into the family routine to include spending time with their child each day talking about how they are feeling, reading books, and playing games.

  • Center Based Hybrid Head Start

In this model preschoolers will receive direct center based classroom instruction (2) or (3) days a week and center based virtual instruction (3) or (2) days a week.  The hybrid schedule incorporates 5 to 6 hours of center based learning and a center based virtual learning time frame of 1 ½ to 2 hours.  Lessons and activities include teacher- directed, partner and child independent play opportunities.  The Creative Curriculum Monthly Investigation “Study” will be used following a nine-week scope and sequence learning and activity outline. Classroom ratios of 10: 2 and small groups 5:1 will be required to ensure compliance with health and safety protocols.

  • Center Based Respite Head Start

Center Based Respite model will be available for families for whom center based services are necessary to support the parent’s education or employment. TCA will utilize the ERSEA criteria to validate eligibility for respite. Limited whole group classroom and outdoor interactions will be offered.  Teachers will incorporate developmentally designed activities and plans for children ages 3 to 5 years to include 6 to 8 hours of daily teacher directed, parallel and independent child play opportunities addressing all learning domains for Kindergarten readiness. Classroom ratios of 10: 2 and small groups 5:1 will be required to ensure compliance with health and safety protocols.

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