|
|
McMinnville resident Mandy Markham was suffering from severe depression. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a mother any more. She was not able to cope with her then 4-year-old daughter, Mercedes. Her life couldn't be more different now. In 2003 she was named the Oregon Head Start Association Parent of the Year. Then Region X Head Start Parent of the Year. And finally first runner-up for National Head Start Association Parent of the Year. For Markham, Head Start has not just been a learning experience for her children, but for the whole family. Helping the children
"Mercedes and her speech disability started it," she said, smiling now at the thought. "We went to ESD, had her tested and got a referral for her to go to Head Start. We did not qualify with income, but we did qualify through her disability." Her daughter's speech impairment was so pronounced that even her family had a difficult time understanding her. "She went to Head Start for a year before she went on to school," Markham said. "They brought a speech therapist into the class. By the end of six months, we fully understood her." Head Start recognized Mercedes had other difficulties and recommended she be sent to a doctor for further testing. "Her cognitive testing was so low, the doctor said he would have to test her as if she were deaf and dumb," Markham said, shaking her head. But Mercedes now reads at an eighth-grade level, even though she just completed the fifth grade. The other three Markham children soon followed Mercedes to Head Start. Thanks to a bout with viral stomatitis, Royce had difficulty speaking. The disease had left him with a speech impairment and asthma. "He took speech therapy in school. He was very self conscience. Head Start took great measures to make him feel comfortable and confident." "Rather than singling him out for speech therapy, they brought the therapist into the class and had her work with all the children in the group," Markham said. Royce, who is starting the fourth grade, tested second-highest in his class on standardized state exams this past school year. Then came Che', who went to Head Start with an unspecified seizure disorder. He has memory problems linked to his illness. "When Che' left Head Start, he could count to 20 and knew his ABC's," she said. He jumped six reading levels this (past) year, thanks to the base that Head Start provides. He believed he could do anything, thanks to Head Start." Finally there was Elias, who has a hip condition. "Because he sees his brothers and sisters with homework, he asks his visiting tutor for homework. "He has journals in which he practices his drawing and writing. He can write his own name, count to 20 and say his ABC's." Elias will be starting kindergarten this fall. "In Head Start," Markham said, "there are no disabilities, only abilities. They teach kids to work together ... teach them learning skills and life skills ... to use their words rather than being physical ... social experience .... about eating healthy and how to choose what is good for you." Overcoming her problems
"The teacher would come in our home," she said. "That saved my life. "She just motivated me and encouraged me, helped me to go to college, to set goals. She got me the college application and made me feel that I was a human of value." Markham also took advantage of programs Head Start offers for parents. "We did parenting classes through Head Start, it was the best help I got. They come into your home role modeling appropriate behavior," she said. Her husband, Gary, used the parent meetings as a means to get her out of the house and involved. The tactic worked well. "We became very involved when Gary was a policy council alternate," she said. "He would come home and tell me if I would get up and go I wouldn't have to cook dinner." Head Start provides meals and child care for parents who participate in the parent meetings. "That's when our real involvement began," she said. Thanks to the program, Markham is about to receive her associate's degree and begin work on her bachelor's degree. Her husband now works for Head Start. A musician, he also volunteers for the program, playing his guitar and singing to the children. He now hopes to go into the field of music therapy. Though her last child has graduated from the program, Markham plans on continuing her involvement. "I am going to advocate for Head Start," she said. "I was appointed last October to work on the government affairs committee — a national committee. I was appointed by national Head Start President Ron Herndon, who is from Portland." She said, "Our county is the only one in the nation that has three people serving Head Start nationally, two on the board and me on the committee." The board members are Yvonne Roberts and Shari Shell. Learning as a model
"We look at the whole family and we see ourselves as a human development program," said Michael Eichman, director of Head Start of Yamhill County. "We are a learning organization. Everybody is modeling as a learner." Carolyn Sauers, family services coordinator, said, "It provides support to the family to help them help themselves and their children. It's healthy to see everybody in a learning role. "We encourage people to grow and to learn. We create a learning ethic." Eichman echoed that, saying, "The program's focus is to enrich the lives of the children, and not only in a school setting, but in the home environment as well. We served 227 children and their families last year. "We see parents as the primary teachers of their children. It helps the child and the parent to have a teacher sit down with the child. It teaches the parents how to teach children, too, and it is an opportunity to become engaged with whoever is teaching their child and be a partner." Most Head Start students have a much higher rate of completing high school, going to college and staying married than counterparts from the same socio-economic background, Eichman said. Markham agrees. "It provides confidence for kids and makes parents secure in their parenting skills," she said. |
||
|
||||
