Are you a parent ? Were you or are you a HS/EHS parent?
I am a parent to 3 wonderful children and all of them went through EHS and two of them went through HS. My kids went to a couple different EHS locations, and my twins went to Brattain Head Start for three years. My son would have went through Head Start but he needed extra support so the EEP program through EC Cares was a better option for him.
I started my career in Head Start as a SEEKER, which if you have not heard of it, it is a parent volunteer program where you can get hired as staff. Anyway, I started off as an aide and quickly became a teacher the next year. I was a teacher for two years after that. I worked 3 years at the Park site in Springfield and I am now on year 4 and just started working as a Head Teacher at Saint Thomas Extended day.
Are you from Oregon?
I was born and raised in Springfield, Oregon.
What surprised you most about HS?
How much support I had when I was a parent in Head Start, and even now that I am working at Head Start. If it was not for some of my kids’ teachers I would not be working for Head Start right now. They told me about the SEEKERS program and I was skeptical, but I did it and here I am! I had so much support through out my journey. I also had some stuff going on in my life and my children’s teachers helped me through it, even when I did not think I would be able to get through it at all. Even if I just needed someone to talk to the teachers always listened and cared about not just my child, but my needs too.
