New Head Start Leaders Converge in Atlanta
Led by the theme of "Reimagine-Innovate-Stimulate-Energize", 120 new Head Start directors from across the U.S. engaged with training and technical assistance staff and representatives from the Office of Head Start in Atlanta this month. The four-day New Directors Academy (NDA) was led by the UMass Donahue Institute’s 
(NCPMFO).
“These new leaders were hired to run a Head Start program and many may not understand all of what this means,” said John Williams. “They may be from outside the Head Start arena where we know more and more people are coming from. The New Directors Academy is an opportunity to share the logic of Head Start.”
Over four days of interactive learning included:
Systems thinking for quality outcomes for children and families.
- Preserving institutional knowledge
- Mindfulness in listening and acting
- When data is collected, organized, ordered and given meaning, and when can it be acted on
- Organizational culture
- Leadership's impact on team performance
- Empowering a generationally diverse workforce
- Case study review and discussion (a day in the life)
The academy also provided the leaders with an opportunity to express their needs for their work via a safe forum with their peers. They also created Transformational Action Plans for their agencies which will be developed and executed in tandem with Head Regional training and technical staff. (The Donahue Institute provides this assistance to the New England Region of Head Start grant recipients.)
“The ultimate goal of the academy, besides imparting Head Start management knowledge concepts, was to provide these new directors with foundational knowledge and help them understand the importance of developing a support network. We are building a learning community of leaders, that values outside, non-Head Start experiences. It’s a community like this that can also reduce leadership turnover rates,” Williams added.
June 18, 2024
