Gov. Patrick Tours Pittsfield Head Start ProgramBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
06:58PM / Friday, May 06, 2011 | |
 After holding a cabinet meeting in Pittsfield Friday, Gov. Deval Patrick visited with children in the Head Start program. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It is an exciting day for the city's Head Start program when on the heels of announcing a $6,600 grant for the program Gov. Deval Patrick got a first-hand look at where that money is going.
After holding a private cabinet meeting Friday Gov. Deval Patrick and his team toured the preschool to see "things that are working."
"We move the cabinet meetings around the commonwealth and try to do them in places where there is an extra benefit of being able to see the things that are working. Here at the Head Start Program in Pittsfield, there are some really exciting things working," Patrick said after his tour. "First of all, the kids are gorgeous and charming and they were very patient in waiting for us to finish our meeting."
Patrick meandered his way from classroom to classroom meeting the children who used their moment with the governor to show him butterflies they painted or plants they are growing. One child successfully lobbied Patrick to tie his shoe and another got a lengthy hug.
"He was having a little meltdown and his teacher was saying that he was just running out of gas. So I told him, 'you know what Josiah, when I feel that way just a hug helps,'" Patrick said of the hug. "I have tried that, by the way, with my staff and they don't seem to respond to me the same way."
The governor went on to stress the importance of early education and stated a future goal of universal preschool. Despite difficult economic times, the state is still focusing on education, Patrick said. Friday morning Patrick announced a $13,000 grant for the Head Start program with $6,600 of it going to Pittsfield.
"We do ourselves and the generation to come a disservice if we aren't investing in the things that make for a stronger commonwealth over time," Patrick said. "We've invested in public education through the Chapter 70 formula at the highest level in the history of the commonwealth even when the bottom was falling out."
The funding is intended for professional development and material upgrades, said Secretary of Education Paul Reville, who also toured the school.
"We're constantly working on upgrading the quality of education in the early years," Reville said.
Department of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins said Pittsfield's Head Start program falls in line with state expectations. |
Head Start has been successful in the county because of parental involvement, Eloise Stevens, Head Start executive director said. Parents help govern the program, work on budgets, and make goals. Family advocates and teachers make home visits and make individual goals for each child.
"We know the children, we know the families and we individualize curriculum so that we meet the needs of every child," Stevens said. "I think another thing that works is we collaborate in Berkshire County with all of the public schools."
State Department of Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins said the way Pittsfield runs the program is right in line with what the state wants.
"In Head Start there is the expectation that there will be a two-generation strategy focusing on the child and the family," Killins said. "They, in fact, have an expectation not only from the state but the federal government to consider the child in the context of the whole community."
Patrick called on leaders to rebuild the sense of community because government can only do so much. It is not just having strong teachers but also a good surrounding that makes the best education, he said.
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