Hello,
My name is Melissa McPheeters. I am a Family Support Specialist for a Head Start and ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) Early Learning Center in Tacoma, WA. We serve children and families who are eligible for the free preschool programs, in addition to having Developmental Preschool and Title 1 classrooms. The majority of families in Head Start and ECEAP are low-income and all have one or more risk factors impacting their families.
Our Early Learning Center is a Kids at Hope school, which means we have a culture that we believe that all children are capable of success, with no exceptions. It is incredible to work in a building that emphasizes such a strengths-based perspective.
Some of the work we began this year was around Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resilience/Hope. We presented on these topics to children's parents/guardians over two evenings recently, and hope to make it an annual event. I will post some more details about this over in the Reflections discussion board.
Interested and excited to learn from others in this forum!