Steady decline seen in Rota Head Start enrollment

Enrollment at the Head Start program on Rota has been steadily declining over the years, based on the latest community assessment reported to the State Board of Education yesterday.
The Public School System is now reviewing the option of merging the two centers on the island, which cater to a total of 34 children.

Head Start director Melissa Palacios reported to the board yesterday that the program has two centers on Rota: one in Sinapalo and one in Songsong. Each facility accommodates 17 students in two sessions. Two teachers are presently stationed at these centers, Palacios said.

Based on the result of the community assessment for 2013-2014, the analysis and trends of enrollment on Rota indicated a steady decrease of children ages 3-5 years old.

“With two centers operating with less than 17 [students] per session and a zero income eligible waitlist is an indicator that the Municipality of Rota only needs one center,” states the assessment result presented to the board in yesterday’s special meeting.

With this disclosure, board member Marylou Ada questioned the rationale behind keeping the two centers if the numbers do not support it. She also expressed concern about the potential exodus of some Head Start children because of the situation of their non-U.S. citizen parents.

“What’s the alternative plan? Looking at the data, many of them are kids of CW holders. If they have to exit, I am concerned about our enrollment,” said Ada.

In an interview with Palacios yesterday, she told Saipan Tribune that PSS was able to fill all the slots for both centers on Rota in school year 2014-2015. However, in the event that some children are withdrawn from the program, there will be no one to fill the vacant slots on the waitlist, she said.

“As a result of the community assessment and our ongoing effort to recruit children, we just don’t have the numbers on Rota, although we managed to fill the slots for both centers for school year 2014-2015,” said Palacios.

The 2013-2014 community assessment provides updated demographic data and relevant community information to identify the strengths, needs and trends that impact the design and implementation of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

Based on the assessment, among the program goals and objectives is to “merge Songsong and Sinapalo centers due to low enrollment numbers, low waitlisted income eligible children and decrease in population.” The timeline indicated for this goal is July 2014.

The CNMI Head Start program is mandated a yearly enrollment of 462 students. Per child cost in the program amounts to $4,068. However, Palacios said yesterday that the “per child cost” on Rota exceeds that amount due to some factors, including the high utility expenses for two centers and other related operational expenditures.

For Rota BOE member Tanya King, the idea of shutting down one center will be a disservice to the Rota community.

Even board chair Herman T. Guerrero expressed concern about transportation and other issues if one group of children are transferred to the other center. On the issue of CW holder-parents, Guerrero described the discussion as premature at this time, considering that the matter is a national issue.