March 29, 2024

Three honored with Region 7 Head Start awards

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Three local individuals with ties to the Matura Head Start program have been honored by the Region 7 Head Start Association.

Julie Lang of Creston was named Administrator of the Year at both the state and regional level, Khy Sherrod, a 2018 Creston High School graduate, was awarded a scholarship as an alumni of the Creston Head Start program (see related story) and Kasey Dredge of Mount Ayr was named on the state level as Family Leader of the Year.

Administrator of the Year

“I was totally surprised,” Lang said. “It was one thing to have the state thing and then a week later find out about being chosen as the regional award winner. I’m just kind of speechless and humbled because I can’t do this on my own. If I didn’t have such a great team and the support that I have, this wouldn’t be possible.”

Lang, who started out as a teacher more than 30 years ago at Trinity Lutheran School, said a divorce led her to the Head Start program.

“I had the opportunity to apply at Head Start and I kind of just kept working up,” she said.

As administrator for the Matura Head Start program, Lang is responsible for writing the grant to secure the funding for the program and making sure the entire program is implemented to the standards the program must follow.

However, she gets the most satisfaction from building and maintaining partnerships within the community, which, along with state and federal funding, she says are critical for providing every opportunity for the children and their families.

“Most everywhere we have classes from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.,” said Lang. “Some of that is done with partnerships with school districts so we’re able to provide those services. They [the students] have breakfast and lunch and a snack if they’re all day. We work with schools and they provide the transportation many times. We are doing those things through partnerships and I think partnerships are really huge and critical to what we do to maximize the resources that we have.”

Taylor Lynch was one of the individuals who nominated Lang. In her nomination form she wrote about how dedicated Lang was to her job and the children and families in the program.

“Julie has gone above and beyond, striving for success within Matura Head Start for all our children, family and staff,” Lynch wrote. “Julie’s pure and genuine heart, also known as her ‘Head Start heart,’ is the core of our program. She truly cares about every individual involved in Head Start from the children, to their families, staff members at all levels, to the volunteers, partnerships/collaborations and community members in each of the communities we serve.”

Family Leader of the Year

Dredge has two children who attend Head Start at Mount Ayr and said she used to volunteer in the classroom at least once a week, but didn’t feel like that would qualify her for such an honor.

“I was kind of blown away when I got the letter,” said Dredge. “I do remember Jody Dolittle saying that she nominated me, but then I kind of forgot about it and didn’t think too much of it.”

To qualify for the Head Start program, families need to meet certain income guidelines.

Dredge said that because she and her husband were self-employed at the time she applied, they qualified for the program.

“At first it felt crappy to be in the Head Start program because you feel like it’s all low income,” said Dredge. “In Mount Ayr, the preschools, as far as 4-year-old preschool, the school and Head Start both go by the same qualifications. They all do the Head Start requirements so they’ll all learn the same stuff.”

She said that at first she had a hard time when people would ask her why her child was in Head Start and not in another preschool program and that those questions somehow made her feel like an outsider, but she loved the program and she loved her child’s teachers so she decided to leave her in the program.

“It’s more about what I felt was good for her and not my social status,” Dredge said, “and the longer I’ve been there and had my kids in it, I realized that’s where I need to be because they need people to advocate for this program. It is a good program and I don’t think people know the difference. I didn’t know the difference when I started, and I don’t think that I should have ever felt ashamed for having my kids in that classroom because it was wonderful for them. It’s not any different. The teachers are all certified the same and they’re teaching the same stuff.”

Dredge is a member of the policy council for Head Start and said the social status issue always bothered her. She does not feel that preschool children should be separated based on their social status. Head Start children are currently segregated in some programs and taught at separate facilities or in separate classrooms, and Dredge would like to see that change.

The program

Head Start is a federally funded program which began in 1965 under the Lyndon B. Johnson administration as part of his war on poverty. Johnson wanted to make sure that low-income families were given the same educational opportunities of more affluent Americans. The program offers comprehensive early childhood education to families who qualify.

Matura Head Start serves 113 children and their families in five counties with classrooms located in Bedford, Creston, Corning, Mount Ayr and Winterset.

The main difference between Head Start and a traditional preschool is the family component.

“If the families are worried about paying bills, getting a job, finding housing appropriate for their family, it’s hard to focus to really be engaged with their child,” said Lang. “Family engagement is really huge in our program, and we want to help them overcome those barriers so they can be more engaged with their child so they’re not having those distractions, so it’s much easier to be engaged.”

Although the Head Start program is specifically geared toward lower income families, Lang feels it should be treated like just another preschool class, and, like Dredge, hopes that perhaps down the road all the kids can be in an integrated setting where they can learn together whether they are low income or not.

“That’s the way it works in kindergarten,” Lang said. “Nobody knows. It shouldn’t be a big deal. The kids really don’t care. Sometimes it’s a bigger deal for parents. A pride thing. I’ve been there and done that. I used Head Start for my last child and had lots of opportunities through Head Start to grow and get myself where I am right now, starting as a teacher and as a family person that enrolls kids and now in my position as the director. Almost 25 years later I’m hugely passionate about what we do here. It is about the kids and the families and doing the best we can, working with our partners, to serve them.”