Observing and Interacting With Families of the Children in Your Setting

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  I observed at a licensed day care center in Chicago. Over the past couple of weeks, I interacted with two parents. I will first begin by discussing my experience with the two parents. The first parent shared with me that she is very involved with the program. She volunteers frequently and is actively engaged with her child's learning development. This parent stated that parent involvement and positive relationships with the staff is extremely important. She engages with art activities (a few that she suggested), field trips, and assist with decorating the center especially for specific holidays. This parent also shared with me of the importance of daily communication with her children's teachers. She always inquire about her children's day. She ensure she asks and receive the topic/theme so that she can reinforce the learning at home. I then asked this parent about her thoughts/feelings about the importance of assessments. This particular parent stated that "Assessing children is very critical. It could scope out if there is a child is experiencing learning difficulties." I also had the opportunity of asking the parent if she's aware of the assessment procedures at the center, she stated that she's aware of her children being assessed by their teacher but that's all she's aware of. 
  
  
  The second parent that I interacted with is also involved with the center's program. This parent is apart of the center's parent committee. There is a monthly meeting where the parents are encouraged to expressed their thoughts, ideas, suggestions, as well as how to improve on the center's mission and goals. This parent stated that the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming which makes her feel comfortable and provides reassurance of her child's well being. I also asked this parent if she's aware of the assessment process of the center's. The parent responded "Yes I am. In fact, my child was assessed by his teacher and the results stated he needed to be monitored and re-screened 4-6 weeks." She explained that when she received the results, she was a little nervous. After the assessment was administered again, her child did not score well and she was informed that her child will be referred. This parent stated that her intuition informed her that her child was not meeting specific developmental goal, however, she assumed he would grow out of it. This parent expressed that she received early intervention because she can notice a change in her son's language now that he receives speech therapy services for him. 
  
  
  One insight that I gained from the interaction with the two parents is that building a positive relationship with the teacher's and other staff personnel is an important factor for enhancing a child's development. Both parents were engaged with the center's program in their own unique way. Another insight or idea that I gained is that I believe it would be beneficial for all parents to be knowledgeable of the assessment process. Even if there child is developmentally on track, he/she should be informed about the process. One way this could be occur could be holding a mandatory meeting based on the parents schedule. For instance, maybe there could be a morning session for the parents that work the afternoon and vice versa. I believe that all parents should be aware of the procedures. I also believe that it's important for parents to be knowledgeable regarding assessments because early intervention if needed, could assist children meet their developmental potential and have a successful learning experience.

Observing and talking with the Program Director(s) and other Administrative Staff

One person I had an opportunity to work with is the Executive Director. She oversees all three day care centers. I had the chance to visit the three centers and received a more in depth look at the day care center process for screening children for developmental delays. The Executive Director expressed that each center keeps a computer record of "each and every child that enrolls in the centers assessment details". I was shown the template that is used at the centers. The template consisted of each child's name, enrollment date, screening date, results, if the child need to be monitored/re-screened, if a child already have an IEP and/or if a referral is needed. The Executive Director explained that the centers are federally funded and there are specific requirements that must be met in regards to assessment screenings. For instance, the CPS program requires all children to be screened within 30-45 days of enrollment. If a child is screened and does not score within a specific range then the child must be re-screened in 4-6 weeks after the initial screening. After the second screening and if the results still indicates delays then the child referred. This step involves the permission of the parents/guardians to allow a professional (social worker) to come to the site and observe the child in his/her classroom. The social worker then consults with the teacher regarding activities/strategies to help the child meet his/her developmental potential. The social worker also set up a meeting with the parent/guardian to discuss the findings from the observation. If further services are needed, the social worker set up therapy services with a CPS school that is in range of the child's home. All the data that is collected, dates and results are placed in the computer, and documents are kept in each child's CPS folder.

Another individual that I worked with was an administrative assistant/teacher of one of the centers. She allowed me to review the assessment tool that the center uses which was Ages and Stages. In the assessment  box, the assessments were separated by ages. The Administrative Assistant/teacher pretty much communicated the same screening process as the Executive Director. However, the Administrative Assistant/teacher provided more details regarding provisions that are made within the classroom. For instance, she shared that when completing a lesson plan, activities are created for students that requires more learning assistance to meet their learning needs. These activities differs from one child to another. For instance, one student requires language development while another requires cognitive activities. She also expressed that one of her students goes to speech therapy sessions twice a week at a CPS school.

During these interactions, I understand more of the importance of assessing for developmental delays. These critical time frames are a necessity to ensure developmental growth. As a teacher, it is important to use reliable assessment tools for assessing children because accurate results will provide children with any necessary services if needed.