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Head Start Manager Credential

Head Start Manager Credential

Online • Live • 20 PD Hrs

The Head Start Manager Credential is designed for general management and will provide learners with information on a number of topics—ranging from becoming an advocate in the Head Start community to innovating within the program. This course will help leaders expand Head Start’s reach beyond the program and directly impact their communities!

Overview

Are you a leader in the Head Start community looking to expand your impact and drive innovation within the program? Look no further than the Head Start Manager Credential course!

Designed specifically for general management, this course offers an engaging and interactive online professional learning experience that focuses on building essential business and leadership skills. With a focus on leadership, change, and innovation, you'll learn everything you need to take your career to the next level. In addition to one in-person session and eight live-virtual sessions, this program also features presentations, case studies, personal assessments, individual and group exercises, and special projects. With the Head Start Manager Credential, you'll develop a deeper understanding of the early childhood field and gain the confidence and capability to tackle new challenges. Plus, with the help of professional coaching, you'll create a personalized action plan to guide your progress.

Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to enhance your leadership skills and drive positive change within your organization.

Start Date: 

Pre-registration is open! This course will be available starting March 2023. New cohorts will be accepted annually in the Fall and Spring.

Course Level: 

Intermediate

Requirements/Prerequisites:

None

Target Audience:

Instruction and Effective Practice, Leadership and Management, Program Operations, and Support Services

Course Meeting Times:

  • Required meetings for the Spring 2023 term on Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on March 8 & 22, April 5, 9 & 26, and May 3, 17 & 31.
  • After completion, learners will be eligible to attend an exclusive general management session at NHSA’s National Head Start  Conference (registration included) that further accelerates your development as a leader and enables you to network with NHSA staff, business professionals, and your cohort peers.

Completion Timeline/Duration: 

Four months

Head Start Alignment:

This course supports programs in meeting Part 1302—Program Operations requirements that covers the full range of operations from enrolling eligible children and providing program services to those children and their families, to managing programs to ensure staff are qualified and supported to effectively provide services. This part also focuses on using data through ongoing program improvement to ensure high-quality service.

Specifically 1302.31 Teaching and the learning environment, 1302.33 Child screenings and assessments, 1302 Subpart D—Health Program Services, and 1302 Subpart I—Human Resources Management.

Registration Rates

Member Rate:
$2995

Regular Rate:
$3995

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Download the Syllabus 

Includes:

Online, Self-Paced Content
Live Coaching from Facilitator
Access to a National Cohort of Peers

20 Hours of Course Material

6 Months of Access to Course

Video Content
Discussion Forums
Digital Badge
Certificate of Completion with PD Hours
24/7 Access to Transcript

Facilitator

Kristina Ellis

Kristina Ellis

Kristina is director of The Academy at NHSA. As a Head Start alum, Kristina’s interest in early childhood stems from a rich background in social services work and her commitment to early childhood education and family engagement. Before NHSA, Kristina worked for CAP Tulsa, one of the largest anti-poverty nonprofits in Oklahoma and a nationally recognized provider of research-based, high-quality early childhood education for low-income children.

Course Author

Team NHSA

Team NHSA

With nearly 50 years of experience, research, and advocacy work, The Academy Team at NHSA has used the highest standards to create this course to support the professional growth and development of Head Start and Early Head Start staff and leadership across the country.

Lesson Instructors

Dr. Deborah Bergeron

Dr. Deborah Bergeron

Dr. B served as director of the Office of Head Start from 2018-21. From 2019-21 she broadened her leadership as director of the Office of Early Childhood Development in the Administration for Children and Families. Known as "Dr. B" to former students and teachers, she spent three decades in pre-K–12 public education as a classroom teacher and school administrator. She currently serves as deputy director for Community Engagement and Innovation at the National Head Start Association.

Ann Linehan

Ann Linehan

Ann recently retired from her position as the deputy director of the Office of Head Start. She began her federal career in 1992 in Region I as the Head Start Regional Program Manager responsible for Head Start programs in New England. Before joining the federal government, she was the executive director of a non-profit agency for nearly a decade that provided Head Start and child care services in eight communities in Massachusetts.

Amirh Moore

Amirh Moore

Amirh Moore is the senior associate of government affairs and advocacy at the National Head Start Association (NHSA) who works alongside the government affairs team leading their advocacy efforts. Starting at NHSA as a fall intern, then a summer associate, and now working full time, she is well-versed in the makings of NHSA. Amirh graduated from Howard University with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2019. She also worked for three years as an assistant teacher at various Head Start programs in New Haven, Connecticut. In this position, she was able to get a first-hand experience of the impact of Head Star

Dr. Kimberly Johnson

Dr. Kimberly Johnson

Children’s author and educator, Dr. Kimberly P. Johnson grew up in Shelby, NC. She is the author of 24 children’s books. Dr. Johnson received her doctorate in Curriculum, Teaching, and Leadership from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She holds a master’s degree from Clemson University, in Youth Development and Leadership, an Early Childhood Education Degree and a Communications Degree from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She completed her postdoctoral work in the Advanced Leadership Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She recently completed a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell University. She is currently teaching at Clemson University–she teaches Creative Activities for Youth, Designing Effective Youth Programs, Youth and Family, and Working with Diverse Youth. Dr. Johnson also teaches Creative Writing for Social Change at Clinton College and is a course facilitator for the Leading Learning, Managing Evidence and Leading with Equity and Excellence courses at Harvard University in the Graduate School of Education.

Zuly Vazquez

Zuly Vazquez

Zuly is the Manager of Early Head Start Professional Learning Programs at NHSA. She has worked with Head Start, and Early Head Start programs for over a decade, specializing in training, mentoring, coaching, facilitation, curriculum implementation, and management. She worked for several years in the classroom, providing high-quality education to children from different cultures, traditions, and ethnicities. She is a former EHS/HS parent. She has vast experience supporting and providing technical assistance to teachers, family child care providers, education specialists, and families in large EHS/HS programs in Florida and Georgia. Over her career, she designed a supplemental Christian early childhood curriculum, bilingual online lessons, and classroom observation tools and has facilitated early childhood education courses in English and Spanish at the college level. As an active early childhood advocate, she is a board member of her local NAEYC affiliate and Family Child Care Home Alliance of Georgia. She is a senior advisor of Latinas United for the Children of America.

Kisha McCray

Kisha McCray

Kisha is the vice president of community impact at the Maryland Food Bank and manager of effective practice at The National Head Start Association. In 2005, she began her journey working as an early childhood teacher and in 2007 she discovered her love for Head Start. McCray has spent years advocating for early childhood education and early intervention services through working for Early Head Start, Head Start, and other agencies that support pregnant mothers and the birth through five population and their families. Within the last few years she has completed Head Start University's Program Design and Management Credential, Yale School of Management Women’s Leadership Program and UCLA's New Director Mentor program.

Dina Fox

Dina Fox

Dina Fox is a strength-based executive coach and trainer who uses a holistic approach to her leadership. She supports individuals, teams, and organizations in all stages of career growth and development. She also believes that everyone is on a different path and it’s her job to create a coaching experience that blends both the social and emotional journey along with science-based fundamentals for successful outcomes. Fox is an energetic and empathetic leader with over 20 years’ experience within the nonprofit sector. She has expert knowledge in coaching, training, mentorship, strategic planning and organizational culture.

Kisha McCray

Kisha McCray

Kisha is the vice president of community impact at the Maryland Food Bank and manager of effective practice at The National Head Start Association. In 2005, she began her journey working as an early childhood teacher and in 2007 she discovered her love for Head Start. McCray has spent years advocating for early childhood education and early intervention services through working for Early Head Start, Head Start, and other agencies that support pregnant mothers and the birth through five population and their families. Within the last few years she has completed Head Start University's Program Design and Management Credential, Yale School of Management Women’s Leadership Program and UCLA's New Director Mentor program.

Victoria Jones

Victoria Jones

Victoria is NHSA's senior director of data. Victoria has prior experience in early childhood education from her five years working at Sesame Street in New York City. Victoria earned her bachelor’s degree from Barnard College at Columbia University and received her master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Paula Margraf

Paula Margraf

Paula has worked on behalf of low-income women, children and their families for over 35 years in public health and Head Start. She retired in March 2022 as the CEO/President of Community Services for Children.

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