Head Start at Drake
University
Drake University Head Start, a Federal grant
program serving 988 children in Polk, Boone,
Story (Ames only), Jasper, Marion and
Warren Counties, underwent their triennial
Federal Review April 17 through April 22. A
team of 12 Reviewers from across the country
visited almost all Head Start and Early Head
Start programs in all counties including
classrooms in the Des Moines Head Start
Delegate. Reviewers observed classrooms
and home visits, and interviewed nearly over
80 staff members.
Drake University is proud to announce that
the Federal Review resulted in no findings.
The agency was told that they had an
exceptional program and were encouraged to
“keep up the good work.”
The mission of Drake University Head Start is,
“Better preparing young children and their
families for life experiences now and in the
future.” Drake University receives over eight
million dollars from the Federal Government
to operate the Head Start programs. A 25%
match in community funds and volunteers is required as a part of this grant.
Teacher Performance
Assessment Consortium
Drake University’s Dean of the School of
Education, Janet McMahill has received an
award of $45,000 from the Iowa Department
of Education for her project, “Teacher
Performance Assessment Consortium.” The
grant is part of a national project, which has
emerged in response to the political and
school level pressure to connect teacher pay
to the performance of their students. To date,
one of the only measures of student success is
the scores reported on standardized
achievement tests. The American Association
of Colleges of Teacher Education, The Council
of Chief State School Officers and Stanford
University have formed a partnership with 20
states to create a body of evidence of
teaching competence providing a vehicle for
systematically examining the assessment data
to improve teacher preparation programs and
provide professional development to
practicing teachers. Iowa is one of the 20
states selected to be involved in a three-year
pilot. To date, the University of Iowa had
been the only Iowa institution that had
agreed to be involved in this worthy but
labor-intensive program.
The receipt of this grant is a wonderful
opportunity for Drake to move forward in
assessment. Project funds will be used for
faculty salaries, materials and travel to
meetings and training aimed at improving
student outcomes, teacher preparation
programs and program effectiveness.
Finally, listed under Recent Awards, you’ll find Jan MacMahill, the Dean of the School of Education who worked with the State of Iowa Department of Education to win $45,000 for “Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium. Also, Ann Murr the Adult Literacy Coordinator worked with Polk County to win $15,000 for “Adult Literacy Center Iowa Virtual Literacy Initiative.”
Congratulations and thanks for everyone’s efforts to further the important role of education!
A pdf of the new newsletter and more information about funding for research and service endeavors is available at Drake University Sponsored Programs Administration.