Special to El Rrun-Rrun
After going through the summer getting crossed signals, parents of children attending the county's 57 head start centers now know that –unlike the public schools – they will be given an option of face-to-face and distance learning instruction starting Monday.
That decision by Neighborhoods In Need Of Services (NINOS) Executive/Head Start Director Manuela Rendon has Cameron County Commissioners Court and County Judge Eddie Treviño debating whether – as Rendon claims – Head Start is nothing more than a day care or whether it is a federal educational and child developmental program.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Joey Lopez said that he made information provided by the federal government on Head Start to Treviño so he can determine whether his and school districts' medical authorities' order on the delayed face-to-face instruction are being violated by Rendon's decision.
"We'll see what happens," Lopez said late Friday. "The judge is looking into it now."
Later, it was learned that the NINOS administration assured Treviño that they had taken all the safety precautions necessary, an assertion that drew some skepticism from Lopez.
"These are infants and children," he said. "We haven't started the regular schools with big kids. How can they assure that they will follow directions? The judge told them that if there is one case of covid infection he'll shut them all down."
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The Brownsville Independent School District, in contrast, will begin the 2020-2021 school with virtual learning beginning August 25 – based on the Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Commissioners Court, and Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez mandate – and school buildings remain closed to students until September 8, 2020.
That schedule may change depending on the levels of COVID-19 infection in the community.
The BISD model allowed parents to commit to distance learning two weeks before the start of the school year. Parents who chose distance learning and want for their child to switch to face to face learning need to wait until the end of the marking period to change to face-to-face learning. Or, if they want, they can do face-to-face half a day and distance learning the other the other half.
Teachers and staff were instructed to wear long-sleeved scrubs as a part of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Parents of the county's 57 HS centers will have those option starting August 25, according to the Family Services department of (NINOS), which runs the Head Start centers across the county.
The parents who choose face-to-face instruction will be provided a packet of instructions to prepare their child to an environment where their temperature will be taken, they will be required to wear a mask, wash their hands with soap frequently, and use a hula hoop to teach them to maintain a social distance.
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"We are also going to instruct the parent to teach their kids not to be afraid of teachers wearing face masks and we'll try to teach them to keep a social distance with hula hoops," a NINOS administrator said.
Those who choose for their children to stay at home will do so through their personal computers if they have one or can wait until the face-to-face instruction is implemented at all centers.
Head Start centers across Cameron County – and across the country – take children 0-4 who are taught learning through play, creative expression and guided activity.
Staff and paraprofessionals got the news of the face-to-face, virtual learning options Thursday during a 1 p.m. meeting. Unlike students, most Head Start centers have required the teachers and supportive staff to attend to the work site in person. A spokesperson said that the centers would follow the CDC guidelines and state orders on social distancing and the opening of schools.
Some staff members and educators have have expressed fear that they might be exposed to COVID-19 because of previously reported positive cases there.
"Do they think that kids under four years of age are going to sit still for social distance and not playing with other kids?," one commenter asked. "The staff has to change diapers on some of them. How are they going to do that without going near them and touch them? How about feeding them their bottles? Manuela (Rendon) is using little kids like guinea pigs. I think that they are so anxious to protect their federal funding they are rushing into this before the public schools."
Meanwhile, when asked about the apparent disconnect between the local school district and the Head Start centers, NINOS Executive Director Amalia Rendon is said to have explained that the Head Starts were day care centers and not educational facilities. That seems to go against the arrangement she made with the BISD Superintendent Carl Montoya to have the district co-teach with Head Starts.
The national office of Head Start and Early Head Start recommends that the centers stay in continuous communications with the parents to encourage their participation in their cognitive and social development. Distancing, they advise, should not mean isolation.
The program is funded by the US Department of Health & Human Services local regional office in Dallas, and it operates four grants: Head Start, Early Head Start, TDA, and T/TA. The service area covers born through four (4) years of age.
Head Start children receive services that include educational, nutritional, dental health, transitional, and special services. Some of those services have been stopped in Cameron County due to the viral crisis. One of the criteria for receiving Head Start services is that the families must meet federal income poverty guidelines.
The COVID-19 crisis has forced some of the centers to stop distributing meals, diapers and formula while observing social distancing guidelines against the virus. Parents are encouraged to contact the workers at their center to see what support and other activities they will provide for young children and their parents.
After going through the summer getting crossed signals, parents of children attending the county's 57 head start centers now know that –unlike the public schools – they will be given an option of face-to-face and distance learning instruction starting Monday.
That decision by Neighborhoods In Need Of Services (NINOS) Executive/Head Start Director Manuela Rendon has Cameron County Commissioners Court and County Judge Eddie Treviño debating whether – as Rendon claims – Head Start is nothing more than a day care or whether it is a federal educational and child developmental program.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Joey Lopez said that he made information provided by the federal government on Head Start to Treviño so he can determine whether his and school districts' medical authorities' order on the delayed face-to-face instruction are being violated by Rendon's decision.
"We'll see what happens," Lopez said late Friday. "The judge is looking into it now."
Later, it was learned that the NINOS administration assured Treviño that they had taken all the safety precautions necessary, an assertion that drew some skepticism from Lopez.
"These are infants and children," he said. "We haven't started the regular schools with big kids. How can they assure that they will follow directions? The judge told them that if there is one case of covid infection he'll shut them all down."
The Brownsville Independent School District, in contrast, will begin the 2020-2021 school with virtual learning beginning August 25 – based on the Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Commissioners Court, and Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez mandate – and school buildings remain closed to students until September 8, 2020.That schedule may change depending on the levels of COVID-19 infection in the community.
The BISD model allowed parents to commit to distance learning two weeks before the start of the school year. Parents who chose distance learning and want for their child to switch to face to face learning need to wait until the end of the marking period to change to face-to-face learning. Or, if they want, they can do face-to-face half a day and distance learning the other the other half.
Teachers and staff were instructed to wear long-sleeved scrubs as a part of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Parents of the county's 57 HS centers will have those option starting August 25, according to the Family Services department of (NINOS), which runs the Head Start centers across the county.
The parents who choose face-to-face instruction will be provided a packet of instructions to prepare their child to an environment where their temperature will be taken, they will be required to wear a mask, wash their hands with soap frequently, and use a hula hoop to teach them to maintain a social distance.
"We are also going to instruct the parent to teach their kids not to be afraid of teachers wearing face masks and we'll try to teach them to keep a social distance with hula hoops," a NINOS administrator said.
Those who choose for their children to stay at home will do so through their personal computers if they have one or can wait until the face-to-face instruction is implemented at all centers.
Head Start centers across Cameron County – and across the country – take children 0-4 who are taught learning through play, creative expression and guided activity.
Staff and paraprofessionals got the news of the face-to-face, virtual learning options Thursday during a 1 p.m. meeting. Unlike students, most Head Start centers have required the teachers and supportive staff to attend to the work site in person. A spokesperson said that the centers would follow the CDC guidelines and state orders on social distancing and the opening of schools.
Some staff members and educators have have expressed fear that they might be exposed to COVID-19 because of previously reported positive cases there.
"Do they think that kids under four years of age are going to sit still for social distance and not playing with other kids?," one commenter asked. "The staff has to change diapers on some of them. How are they going to do that without going near them and touch them? How about feeding them their bottles? Manuela (Rendon) is using little kids like guinea pigs. I think that they are so anxious to protect their federal funding they are rushing into this before the public schools."
Meanwhile, when asked about the apparent disconnect between the local school district and the Head Start centers, NINOS Executive Director Amalia Rendon is said to have explained that the Head Starts were day care centers and not educational facilities. That seems to go against the arrangement she made with the BISD Superintendent Carl Montoya to have the district co-teach with Head Starts.
The national office of Head Start and Early Head Start recommends that the centers stay in continuous communications with the parents to encourage their participation in their cognitive and social development. Distancing, they advise, should not mean isolation.
The program is funded by the US Department of Health & Human Services local regional office in Dallas, and it operates four grants: Head Start, Early Head Start, TDA, and T/TA. The service area covers born through four (4) years of age.
Head Start children receive services that include educational, nutritional, dental health, transitional, and special services. Some of those services have been stopped in Cameron County due to the viral crisis. One of the criteria for receiving Head Start services is that the families must meet federal income poverty guidelines.
The COVID-19 crisis has forced some of the centers to stop distributing meals, diapers and formula while observing social distancing guidelines against the virus. Parents are encouraged to contact the workers at their center to see what support and other activities they will provide for young children and their parents.