My New Job

If you didn't already know, I recently was hired to work at Head Start, a nation-wide, federally funded preschool program for children near or below poverty level. Head Start programs promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.

I am a teacher in the Buffalo Extended Care Site. Traditionally, Head Start was a half day program, but over the years it has evolved to fit the needs of working families. Our site is open from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Today we had some trainings in the morning: Bus Safety, Mandatory Reporter for Child Abuse, and SRAS (forms we have to fill out during home visits). This was followed by a catered lunch for all of Wright County United Way employees and board members, a short program, time to socialize, and door prizes. I actually won a certificate for 4 hours of paid time off!

I enjoyed getting to meet the other teacher, assistant, and aide that will be working at my site. On Monday, we will start working on getting our room set up, lesson planning, and home visits. We also have two more days coming up of trainings. The kids first regular day will be on September 14th.

I am really excited to take all the ideas floating around in my head, combine it with what I have learned in past classrooms and in college to be the very best teacher that I can be. Now reality... I will probably hate my job for the first month or two and then not be sure how much I like it for several more months. That is just the way I am. It takes me forever to really get settled it. I truly hope that the other staff and I can work together like a team because the people you work with can make all the difference.