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FOR TEACHER ASSISTANTS Headstart may increase working hours
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Posted on Jun 02 2000
The CNMI Headstart program is looking at increasing the number of working hours for its teacher assistants similar to that of teacher aides in the elementary school level.
The time extension is targeted to take effect next school year as Headstart Program Director Dino Taitano raised concerns that teacher assistants tend to use up their maximum work hours before the school year’s end.
Under the present setup, Head start teacher assistants work four hours a day. In elementary schools, teacher aides average six hours of work on a daily basis.
The program currently has close to 40 teacher assistants spread throughout the 15 Headstart centers in the CNMI. Each center consists of one certified teacher (with BA degree) paired with a teacher aide.
“As far as manning our classrooms, we’re fine because of the nature of the working contract of our teacher assistants. Some of them had to leave the program early before the school year ended. We did not foresee that they would use up all of their hours before today,” said Mr. Taitano.
“There were some who have used up their allotted hours since the beginning of May. So this served as a lesson for us,” he added.
In its FY 2000 budget request, the Headstart program is batting for more funding which would cover for additional two hours of work, five times a week.
CNMI has over 800 three to five-year-olds eligible for the Headstart program.
Yesterday, the community celebrated the 35th Annual Headstart Day which featured various fun-filled activities for the kids in recognition of their hard work during the school year.
May has been designated the Headstart Program Month which focused on the educational, social, medical, dental, nutritional and mental health well being of children.
The program hopes to encourage children share certain needs, and that children of low income families in particular, can benefit from a comprehensive development program to meet those needs.
It is based on the philosophy that a child can benefit most from a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary program to foster development and remedy problems of a child. (MM)
