From the Director

Greetings!

I don‟t know where to begin, so much has happened since December. Calloway

Center had two classrooms to participate in the PNC Grow up Great Guinness World

Book Event, it was a tremendous success! We made it into the Guinness World Book!

We are excited to partner with the Alabama Department of Human Resources to pro-

vide Early Head Start services to children in the Elyton and Cooper Green Housing

communities, the YWCA and one faith based child care facility.

This grant will provide 88 children with early care, 0 -2 years of

age. The program will begin June 1st, information about the rib-

bon cutting will be forthcoming! I am excited and look forward to

expanding the services to the children and families here in Jeffer-

son County!

Recruitment is taking place for the next program year, if you

have not registered your child/children, please contact your Fam-

ily Services Worker to see what you need to do.

We would like to welcome all our new staff members to our

JCCEO family, we look forward to working with you and watching

you reach new heights.

Spring is here which means summer is just around the corner.

We are looking forward to celebrating “Family Day” at the various

centers as well as the closing celebrations. Thanks for allowing us to be part of your

child‟s educational experience. We are so happy you have allowed us to give them the

“Head Start” they deserve!

Jefferson County Committee For Economic Opportunity

Child Development Services Division

Newsletter For and About the JCCEO Head Start-Early Head Start Program and Its Families

Volume 9914, Issue 3 March 2015

JCCEO

Mission Statement

JCCEO seeks to reduce

poverty and help low-

income citizens of Jef-

ferson County, Ala-

bama to meet critical

needs and become self-

sufficient.

Executive Director

Dr. Marquita F. Davis

Associate Director

Patricia A. Schmidt

Carmelita Poindexter

Director, Child Development Services

U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell visited

JCCEO earlier this year. She talked with

the management staff and read a story to

the children in the Arrington Center.

Submitted by Hollis Johnson

Family Engagement Specialist

Your Child Needs You to Be an Active Father Fathers play a critical role in the

development of their children. The

latest research indicates that fa-

thers who are actively involved in

raising their children can make a

positive and lasting difference in

their lives. In contrast, this same

research reveals a number of po-

tentially negative outcomes for

children whose fathers are not

involved. Below are reasons why

your child needs you to be an ac-

tive father. Being an active father:

*Lets your child know that you love

them

*Provides your child with greater

financial resources

*Provides your children with a posi-

tive male role model.

*Helps your child learn important

life skills. Excerpt from The Fatherhood

Movement by Wade Horn, et. al.

Financial Literacy Classes

Mar 16, 23

GEMs Support Group Mtg

Mar 19, Apr 9

Health Services Ad-visory Mtg

Apr 9

Health Fair Apr 10

Male Involvement Retreat

TBA

Week of the Young Child

Apr 12—18

Cluster Transition to Kindergarten Mtgs

Mar & Apr see center calendars

Hello Parents,

Spring is just around the corner and Recruitment Sea-son is already upon us! There is activity throughout the program as we continue to provide quality services for our families and recruit new families for the coming year.

We want to extend a sincere thanks to our community partners who provided Christmas gifts for many of our families.

In January we hosted “An Evening Out with Dad”; even though the weather was cold, we had a few brave dads to bring their young ones out. We really had a good time. Thanks dads for stepping up!

In February we celebrated Healthy Marriage Week with banners at each site and a Healthy Relationship Seminar featuring our own Executive Director, Mar-quita Davis, Ph.D., who chatted with our parents over dinner about healthy communication and “Love Notes”. Thank you Dr. Davis for sharing with us in such a fun and personal way.

We also introduced our Parenting Campaign with weekly handouts distributed agency-wide on topics such as Praise, Single Parenting, and others. One of our community partners, the Family Guidance Center, began facilitating Parenting Sessions in February that will extend through April at every Cluster. Amy McDuffee, the facilitator, will be providing incentives for perfect attendance!

Transition Workshops have begun for those who are transitioning from Head Start to Kindergarten. Don‟t miss the upcoming Parent Meetings; representa-tives from the local school systems will be there to provide essential information and answer your questions about transitioning.

Mr. Williams and Mr. Johnson are preparing for the Male Retreat. Watch for the upcoming dates. The Retreat is always a rich experience for dads, uncles, granddads, and other male role models in our children‟s lives.

The Annual Health Fair will be held on April 23 at the Kingston Center. Every-

one is invited to come. We have great fun every year.

So you see, there is a lot of activity going on. There are so many opportunities for you to be a part of your child‟s Head Start experience. Don‟t miss out on all the fun! We need you to assist with the planning and implementation of all events. Your voice is most important as we explore ways to serve your educa-tional, social, and other needs and interests.

Michelle McAlpine, M.Ed., LPC-S Parent Engagement-Social Services Coordinator, 327-7570

“Most of the es-

sential life skills that children need to survive are learned within the home. Fathers have a unique op-portunity to teach their children valu-able skills that will enable them to grow up to be healthy and pro-ductive adults.”

Page 2

THE JCCEO HEAD START-EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM TAKES THIS OPPORTU-

NITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK ALL OF OUR PARENTS FOR THE VOLUNTEER WORK THEY DO. YOU EACH GET A GOLD STAR.

ShaKendra Watt, mother of Kameron (Sherman Heights Homebased), who is study-ing to be a Dental Hygienist at Fortis Institute. Veronica Ochoa, Jeremy’s mother (Festival) is doing her clinical at Kirkland Clinic. She is a recent graduate of Brown Mackie College CCMA program.

Tamica Jones, Je’Kiahra’s grand-mother and Anita Jones, god– mother of Kamayah at Festival Center are two faithful, industrious volunteers, and we are very appreciative of their support.

Parent Meeting at West Center Street Center was extra special in

February. The American Heart Association and Birmingham Chap-

ter of Links, Inc. came together to

share some interesting recipes de-

signed to tickle the tastebuds and

support good health. Using the

theme “Healthy Eating: Founda-

tions to Healthy Hearts and Healthy

Minds,” parents were encouraged

to get their munchings on with

cooking demonstrations and snack

tastings. How does a smoothie

made with bananas, pineapple,

celery, and spinach sound?

Not too good, but it tasted

delicious! Each parent re-

ceived a gift bag of assorted

nutritious foods, recipes, food

coupons, and gift cards to

take home. Thanks to the

Links Club and American

Heart Association for a great

program!

Kiara Ortiz, mother of Brooklynn (Sherman Heights Homebased), on her new job has a

cashier at McDonald’s restaurant

Courtney McGhee, mother of Charles (Sherman Heights Homebased), on her new job as a cashier supervisor at Western Super-

market.

Summer Ross, Kemari’s mom (Sherman Heights Homebased), on her new job as a

cashier at Big Lots.

LaKeisha Little, Kentrell’s mother (Sherman Heights Homebased), on her new job as a

sales representative at Business Acquisitions.

Karisma Owens, Isaiah’s mom (Festival) has a new job as a cashier at McDonald’s restau-

rant.

Ferlandria Parker, mother of Cardarius (Kingston) on her new job in Housekeeping

Services at Spring Hill Suites and Inns.

Ms. Ellington helped her son Eric and his class make a Gingerbread House at Calloway Center.

West Center Street Parent President April Gaston and Valine Thompson assist with preparation.

Parents sample vegetable smoothie.

Parents received nutritious gift bags for participating.

Page 3

Program co-sponsors members of the Links Club

Parent-Child

School Readi-

ness: Wow!

Look what the

parents and

children are

doing. Par-

ents are help-

ing their chil-

dren learn to

get prepared for home-

work in elementary

school. In Ms. Smith

and Ford‟s class, chil-

dren decorated sea

horses and other ocean

animals during the

theme on „Oceans‟.

They also made their

favorite pets during the

theme on „Pets‟. Many of the children drew a pattern of

their own dogs and cats and cut them out to post on the

wall.

Valentine’s Day: Children, staff and parents celebrated

Valentine‟s Day with classroom parties. Children and

staff wore red and white. Every child received a bag of

goodies to take home.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Ms. Watts and Davis‟ class

toured the North Birmingham Public Library wearing their

Dr. Seuss sweatshirts, designed by Ms. Davis (picture on

pg 6). They enjoyed ice cream and cake upon returning

to the center.

!00 Days: Calloway Center celebrated one hundred days

of school on February 11 with songs, rhymes, math, sci-

ence, music and movement activities. Each class dis-

played a 100 day project outside the classroom.

Reporter Blanche Townsend, teacher aide

Calloway

Cluster

Shush: Ms. Hunting-ton, Shades Cahaba Elementary School librarian, visited Ms. Peterson’s Head Start class to do several activities with the children. First she read a story. Then, she did a listening skills activity with them. The children enjoyed her very much.

Science Education: Dennis Deloach, education specialist, visited the Apple Learner’s in Ms. White and Ivy’s class to conduct an experiment with the children making gases.

Reporter Sonya Henry, teacher

Festival

Cluster

Miranda Thomas, mother of Makenzie invited Doc McStuffing to the Calloway Center as a special birthday treat for Makenzie to enjoy with her class. West Center

Street Cluster

Teacher Ms. Minor and children mak-ing a Gingerbread house.

Page 4

Yea!: The

month of

February

was busy for

the Kingston

Center. We celebrated our NAEYC

Accreditation and had our Valen-

tine‟s Ball on February 12. The chil-

dren also had an enjoyable visit to

the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Reporter Cassandra Frazier, Off. Mgr.

Kingston

Cluster

EHS teacher Ashley Woods dances with Marquise, Elijah and Za’Riyah

Center Manager Ingrid Davidson proudly hoists the NAEYC accreditation certificate during the celebration.

College Trainees: Dr. Guy and her students from Law-son State Commu-nity Col-lege visited the Fair-mont Cen-ter for the 100th Day of School celebra-tion.

Fairmont

Cluster

Scout Representatives: Daisy Scout Jah’nira Cummings was the lucky winner of two tickets to attend the Girl Scouts Women of Distinc-

tion Luncheon at the Harbert Cen-ter. She was accompanied by her mom and Daisy Scout leader, Head Start teacher Shaneal Fuller.

Page 5

St. Joseph’s

Cluster

Blackness:

Without Black

people the world

would be a very

dark place is

what the dra-

matic play at Sherman

Heights Center showed us

during the annual Black His-

tory Month Program. Chil-

dren and staff took on roles to talk about different

inventions and the African Americans who invented

them. The play described what life would be like

without the contributions of people like William Pur-

vis, who invented the fountain pen, or Alexander

Miles, who invented the elevator.

Be Mine: The center also hosted a Val-

entine‟s Day festival in the cafeteria.

Activity stations were set up for children

to enjoy including, make and take arts

and crafts,, face painting, nail polishing,

sticker station and Spin Art. Everyone

had a great time!

Reporter, Nakia Linson-Gaddis, FSW

Sherman

Heights

Historians: Sherman Heights Head Start chil-dren Kyana, Darius, and Amadou play their parts in the Black History program with the help of teacher Ms. Tate; Center Manager Cotelia Hill discusses the play with the children.

Spin Art: Selena used pink paint to create a pretty picture.

Face Time: EHS teacher Kim Thomas paints a valentine on Selena’s face at the Valentine’s Day event.

Our Teachers Are Parents, Too!

Belinda Ramos, Early Head Start and Head Start

program parent, was recently hired as a Head Start

teacher aide. Ms. Ramos has one son, Lowrenzo,

in the Early Head Start program and one son, Mi-

guel, in the Head Start-Pre-K program at the King-

ston Center. She is currently pursuing her CDA,

Child Development Associate credential.

Healthy teachers are a critical component of high quality early childcare programs. JCCEO supports and encourages teach-ing staff to take good care of themselves through regular check-ups. Here, Pharmacist Allana Alexander, a graduate of the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy, secures a cup on the arm of Head Start teacher Louvenia

Hunter to check her blood pressure during a visit to the C. J. Donald Center.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Page 6

West Center Street Policy Council rep. Lola Sterling and children

(top and top right) Ms. Calton Watley, Jeremiah’s grandmother, read to children in Ms. Burroughs and Ellis’ class at West Center Street Center.

(top) Health Dept. rep. Barbara Newman at Calloway Center. (right) Ms. Davis’ special tee shirts at Calloway Center.

Center Point Center learn about lights and shadows from McWane Center rep.

By Kelly Grantham,

Nutrition Coordinator

327 –7500

Nutrition News

WHAT IS SIDS?

Dr. Crystal Spivey

Health Coordinator, 327-7530

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

(SIDS) is the sudden and unexpected

death of an infant younger than 1 year of age for which no exact

cause of death can be determined. Because most SIDS deaths oc-

cur while infants are sleeping in a crib, SIDS is commonly referred to

as “crib death.” However, cribs do not cause SIDS.

Approximately 3,000 babies die of SIDS each year. Even though

researchers don‟t know the exact cause of SIDS, they do know:

Most SIDS deaths occur when a baby is between 2 and 4 months of

age.

African American babies are twice as likely to die of SIDS as other

babies.

More boys die of SIDS than girls.

A SIDS death happens quickly, with no signs of suffering.

More SIDS deaths occur in the colder months.

What You Can Do to Reduce the Risk

of SIDS The Safe Sleep campaign began in 1994

advocating the back sleep position as the

safest position to reduce the risk of SIDS.

Since the campaign was initiated, the num-

ber of infants dying from SIDS decreased

from more than 5,000 to fewer than 3,000

deaths. Below is a list of recommendations

to reduce the risk of SIDS.

Always place your baby on his or her back

to sleep, for naps and at night.

Place your baby on a firm sleep surface,

such as on a safety-approved crib mat-

tress, covered by a fitted sheet.

Keep soft objects, toys and loose bedding out of your baby’s sleep

area.

Do not allow smoking around your baby.

Keep your baby’s sleep area close to, but separate from, where you

and others sleep.

Think about using a clean, dry pacifier when placing the infant down

to sleep.

Do not let your baby overheat during sleep.

Avoid products that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS.

Do not use home heart or breathing monitors to reduce the risk of

SIDS.

Reduce the chance that flat spots will develop on your baby’s head

by providing “Tummy Time” when your baby is awake and someone

is watching.

Finally, remember that most babies are born healthy and stay that

way as they grow. Using these risk-reduction practices helps reduce

your concern about SIDS so you and your family can enjoy your new

baby!

Source: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/SIDS; Safe to Sleep Campaign 1-

800-505-2742

Better Bodies

Therapist Jackie Carr participated in the Read Across America event at Arrington Center, celebrating the 111th birthday of Dr. Seuss.

JCCEO is partnering with the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program during National Nutrition Month. Be on the look out for activities and materials at your centers to learn more about Healthy Drinks and Snacks that pro-tect your body, teeth, and gums.

March is

National Nutrition Month!

Page 7

Willie Pearl Glass

Disabilities Coordi-

nator, 327-7506

FunkFest 2015: Rand B concert May 2,

Legion Field. For ticket information go to

www.funkfesttour.com.

Youth Summer Camps: Birmingham

Parks and Recreation, June 8-July 31.

Call 254-2391 for more information.

Youth First NOBESITY: Expo and 5k

For Kids Race. Race, fun run/walk,

Zumba, children‟s activities and more.

March 21, Regions Field. Co-sponsored

by the Birmingham Junior League. Call

Mayor‟s Office Division of Youth

Services for more information.

By Julia Brown Home Based Home Visitor

Children are just like springtime A breath of fresh air Sunshine Can leave you breathless Cause they are helpless Growing like the flowers Beautiful Children are a gift Wrapped in the finest selection and bows Glowing, shining, warm and carefree Let them grow Nurture their spirit Renew their heart With unconditional love Don‟t Stifle them Allow them to grow, discover With soothing hands, open arms EMBRACE...

The Promise of Community Action Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, im-proves communities, and makes Amer-ica a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedi-

cated to helping people help themselves and each other.

Page 8

JCCEO Head Start-Early Head Start-Pre-K Program

Family Services Resources for You

Going Somewhere? Beginning in 2016 you must have a STAR ID driver’s

license or STAR ID non driver identification card to board commercial flights in

the United States. If you do not have a STAR ID card an unexpired passport is

acceptable. Go online to http:// www.dps.alabama.gov, or call 877-567-1045

for more information.

GED Online: Adult education classes are offered by Lawson State Community

College and the Family Guidance Center for Families in Jefferson County. Call

929-6481 for more information.

Employment Opportunities: Open an account with Alabama Local JobNet-

work to get listings of jobs you qualify for. Job openings will be sent directly to

your email address as new openings are announced. To set up your personal

account, call 877-343-8181 or go to www.metrobirminghamjobs.com FYI.

Birmingham Healthy: 107 Days, a plan for

good health including Zumba line-dancing, aero-

bics, cooking, and financial management activi-

ties sponsored by the Birmingham Parks and

Recreation Board and radio 107.7 FM. Call 254-

2391 for more information.

100% of JCCEO centers are NAEYC accredited. Visit www.naeyc.org to learn more about best practices in childcare for young children.

SAVE GAS, GET PAID!!

COMMUTE SMART BIRMINGHAM

CONTACT JENIESE HOSEY, 205-264-8406

FREE CREDIT REPORT?

(Or is it)

You are entitled to three free credit reports each year (one from each reporting

agency). Make sure you go to annualcreditreport.com to get your free reports. Just

doing a general search online could direct you to one of many copycat sites that will

try to charge you. Although a site may be advertised as “free”, you have to dodge

the “special offers”. Remember, you do not have to provide a credit card number to

get your free credit report. If your credit card or bank account information is re-

quired interpret that as “They are going to charge me for something later”!

Annualcreditreport.com is the only website authorized to fill orders for the free

credit reports you are entitled to by law.

(Consumer.ftc.gov)

Throughout the month of April JCCEO will celebrate National Financial Literacy Month. Check JCCEO.org for a list of events or

Darlena Battle (205) 201-7555 Ext 6316/ Dbattle@JCCEO.org.