| The WSOS Press - December 2003 / January 2004 |
Local teacher survey shows Head Start kids do well in public school
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| Children, above, currently enrolled at the Genoa Child Development Center work on a project on the computer. Children from the center who joined the public school in the last two years have done well in math, especially. |
Area educator finds Head Start helps children
The 17 children in the 2002-03 first grade class in the Genoa school district who came from Head Start programs operated by WSOS Community Action Commission Inc. performed better than many of their peers in the first grade. This is according to data collected by David Hitchen, director of special education for Genoa schools.
Hitchens said he was interested and curious about the performance of the children who came from the Head Start classroom at the Genoa Child Development Center.
"I think Head Start does a really good job," Hitchen said, "and I wanted to see if I was right. The former Head Start kids outperformed their classmates, especially in math."
Of the 17 students who were in Head Start classrooms in 2000-01, four were using Individual Education Plans (IEPs), yet only two earned less than 70 percent in Language Arts at the end of the school year. Another 2 earned less than 80 percent in math. Up to 93 percent of the 17 students earned a C or better in math while about 79 percent earned a C or better in Language Arts. In social development, the students also held their own with their non-Head Start peers. They were scored on 21 different social development tasks. Among those tasks, there were only 10 unsatisfactory marks - less than 1 %. "While this is a very small survey, it makes us feel good that the children we prepared for elementary school have had such a good start," said Jacquie Wells, director of Child Development at WSOS. "We know we do good work with the children, so it is gratifying to see that an independent source can confirm this. The result in the classroom is indisputable. We hope the children can maintain their success."
The Genoa center is one of 18 centers that WSOS operates in its four-county service area.
For more information on WSOS Child Development programs, call 1-800-775-9767.
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Board member profile
Kelly Borders joins WSOS Board of Directors to learn how to help others
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| KELLY BORDERS |
Full name: Kelly Marie Borders
Address: Bowling Green Ohio.
Family: Husband Bill; son Trea, 6; daughters, Crishtianna, 5, Kiersten, 3, and Marrissa, 1.
Occupation: Kelly is a stay-at-home Mom.
Board Status: She was elected as the low-income representative for Wood County. Her term begins January 2004.
Goal as a board member: Kelly said she wants to be more involved in her daughter Kiersten's preschool education. Serving on the board gives her an opportunity to learn more and understand the organization that operates the program that serves her daughter.
Hobbies/Interests: She has a myriad of interests and activities. She loves to go camping, and enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities including gardening. When she's indoors, she likes to crochet and work with computers.
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Ottawa County seniors celebrate at Annual Fall Festival
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| Jeanne Letterhos, above left, plays her toy keyboard at the "Toot Your Own Horn" contest while Delores Peterson, above right, plays her "pocacello." |
More than 350 senior citizens in Ottawa County gathered in November at the Camp Perry recreation hall to celebrate fall to the theme of, "And the Band Played On." This is the third year for what has become an annual event, which is sponsored by Magruder Hospital, The News Herald and WSOS.
Students from the Port Clinton High School Key Club served lunch, which was prepared by the Travelers Restaurant in Port Clinton.
Entertainment consisted of a contest entitled "Toot Your Own Horn," which garnered contestants from amongst the seniors. There were the Danbury Senior Center Choir, Delores Peterson of Port Clinton and her "pocabella," the Latte Ladies, who did a kazoo presentation; Jeanne Letterhos, who performed on a toy keyboard; and Teresa Rollo and the girls who sang songs familiar to the audience. Jim Baker of Port Clinton was a performer and accompanist on keyboard while Cathy Gilloghy of Magruder Hospital was the Mistress of Ceremonies
"We are very pleased with the attendance," said Senior Programs Asst. Director Steve Peterson. "The community has really supported this activity. I must say thank you to our partners for their support and hard work to make this a success each year."
WSOS operates five senior centers in Ottawa County: Danbury, Genoa, Oak Harbor, Port Clinton and Put-in- Bay.
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Director's Corner
Early Head Start the bright star in Child Development programs
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| JACQUIE WELLS |
To say 2003 has been a challenging year for Child Development would be to make an understatement. The year has been rife with budget cuts, which has led to staff layoffs, which has created much uncertainty and insecurity among staff.
Amongst all the budgetary issues, the Early Head Start grant was a shining light for us. Early Head Start is new and we are excited. It allows us to serve infants, toddlers and pregnant women.
The new program will provide childcare services to families of 60 infants and toddlers in Wood, Sandusky and Ottawa counties. The pregnant women will be served in Seneca County.
The families of the infants and toddlers will be served at childcare centers in the community. There will also be direct services at the Oak Harbor Child Development Center, Jordan Family Development Center in Bowling Green and the Fremont Family Development Center.
The pregnant women will be provided with education and referral services.
The last six months has also seen the merging of our department with Family Services to better serve families. As the new Family Development department, we will be led now by Vice President of Family Development, Cheryl Denny. Jacquie Wells will be the new Director for Early Child hood and Family Services, but several other jobs have new job descriptions and titles. Also, some people have been relocated to different jobs.
Information on the new personnel and job titles will be available by January 5 when the new department and its adjustments take effect. We look forward to making better progress in 2004.
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ODOD assistant chief visits with WSOS
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| Cheryl Denny, above right, discusses a point with Amy Kuhns, left, during a break of the presentations WSOS directors made to Kuhns in November. |
Amy Kuhns, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Development, visited WSOS in November to learn more about how Ohio's community action agencies operate.
"I wanted to understand the kinds of things that the CAs are involved in," Kuhns told the Leadership Team at WSOS CAC Inc. during her visit.
Directors of the programs at WSOS made presentations to Kuhns that explained each of the programs in their departments.
"It is obvious from the information you've provided me with that you do a lot of valuable work," she told the directors. "You do so much!"
Kuhns was named assistant director earlier this year and her visit to WSOS was part of an effort to get a grasp of those funds for which her office is responsible.
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More than 1,000 WSOS children and their families attended a Christmas party organized by the After School Program, Child Development and the Workforce Investment Act Youth Program.
The families had dinner, viewed a presentation of the programs and each child received a gift from Santa.
The Christmas spirit found the children and families of the Rossford Child Development Center recently when their Family Fun Night was almost ruined because the skating rink owner failed to open the facility for them.
When more than 80 children and their families and Santa found themselves locked out of the rink, Walbridge Mayor Dan Wilyenski and the Walbridge Police Department joined the effort to find the rink's owner, but to no avail. Eventually, the Walbridge Library opened its doors and allowed the group to visit with Santa. "Thanks to them, it was not totally ruined for the children," Center Manager Michelle Gorsuch said. "The mayor, police department and the library were wonderful. We can't thank them enough." |
Familiar Face
Patti Perkins gets much personal satisfaction and rewards from her job at WSOS
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| PATTI PERKINS |
Full name: Patricia "Patti" Ann Perkins.
Address: Tiffin, Ohio.
Family: Fiance Gary; daughter, Jeanne and her husband Eric; Grandson Bradley, 5; Mom Rosemary; eight brothers and sisters; and many nephews and nieces.
Occupation: Patti is currently the Center manager at the Tiffin Learning Center. However, she started her relationship with WSOS as a Head Start parent in 1975. In 1979, she was hired as a home visitor and has held several positions including Assistant Director of Child Development programs in Seneca County, a position she held until it was eliminated due to the program's recent financial woes.
Favorite part of the job: She enjoys her job because she cannot think of any other job where she would receive the satisfaction and personal rewards she gets from working with the dedicated people of WSOS and from her involvement with the children and families of WSOS.
Goals: Patti plans to continue her education in early childhood education. "There are always new things to learn," she said.
Hobbies/Interestss: Her favorite hobby is spending time with her family and that includes the extended family, and she loves to shop. She and her mom have a reputation in the family to uphold. "We are the `shop `til you drop' duo," she explained.
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