Raising children is full of risks and rewards. In our world where telecommunications reign, protecting our kids as well as ourselves from unsavory individuals has become challenging in ways few might have anticipated twenty years ago. Now we have a whole new threat to family privacy in the form of the Head Start Family Assessment Tool.
The public schools are having parents complete assessments that go into some very personal realms. It is basically a data collection tool that establishes such personal items as the income and economic standing of the parents. They are going to ask about the educational background of the parent, and might even begin to bully parents into pursuing further education if they are not college graduates.
The assessor is going to speak to these parents about goal setting and educational priorities within the home. In fact, in many instances they will basically require the parents to set goals for both themselves and the student, and will keep tabs on the progress. This is extremely intrusive, essentially allowing strangers to establish a plan for someone they do not know, and initiate some formal consequence for failing to keep to the plan.
The next intrusive data collection will involve medical information on all family members, including grandparents. They are very likely to want to know if there were complications during the pregnancy or birth of the child. Do not be surprised if they go so far as to insist on knowing the Apgar scores.
Home visits are always part of these assessments as well. You had better believe that these school administrators are going to be making judgments about the parents based on the style of housing, as well as other aspects of the environment. Calls to CPS are not uncommon after home visits.
These assessments must be completed within ninety days of enrolling a child into the Head Start program. If you intend to send your child to public school, then the Head Start program is practically a requirement. This is especially true if you are a working parent with a child in daycare.
Parents who stay home with their child may be able to get around all of these intrusions by simply keeping their kids home until kindergarten. This is an ideal option, as a child should stay with their parent as long as possible. Be aware, however, of neighbors who might be likely to get into the affairs of others, and report a parent for not having their child in school at what they deem to be the proper age.
For some people these programs might be a good thing, but parents should be aware of just how deep into their lives school administrators can get. Young people who are considering having children should know that programs such as this are out there. It is something to be considered when deciding how their children will be educated.
The public schools are having parents complete assessments that go into some very personal realms. It is basically a data collection tool that establishes such personal items as the income and economic standing of the parents. They are going to ask about the educational background of the parent, and might even begin to bully parents into pursuing further education if they are not college graduates.
The assessor is going to speak to these parents about goal setting and educational priorities within the home. In fact, in many instances they will basically require the parents to set goals for both themselves and the student, and will keep tabs on the progress. This is extremely intrusive, essentially allowing strangers to establish a plan for someone they do not know, and initiate some formal consequence for failing to keep to the plan.
The next intrusive data collection will involve medical information on all family members, including grandparents. They are very likely to want to know if there were complications during the pregnancy or birth of the child. Do not be surprised if they go so far as to insist on knowing the Apgar scores.
Home visits are always part of these assessments as well. You had better believe that these school administrators are going to be making judgments about the parents based on the style of housing, as well as other aspects of the environment. Calls to CPS are not uncommon after home visits.
These assessments must be completed within ninety days of enrolling a child into the Head Start program. If you intend to send your child to public school, then the Head Start program is practically a requirement. This is especially true if you are a working parent with a child in daycare.
Parents who stay home with their child may be able to get around all of these intrusions by simply keeping their kids home until kindergarten. This is an ideal option, as a child should stay with their parent as long as possible. Be aware, however, of neighbors who might be likely to get into the affairs of others, and report a parent for not having their child in school at what they deem to be the proper age.
For some people these programs might be a good thing, but parents should be aware of just how deep into their lives school administrators can get. Young people who are considering having children should know that programs such as this are out there. It is something to be considered when deciding how their children will be educated.
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