8th Head Start conference takes off

By Cassie Dlg Fejeran
Special to the Saipan Tribune

Delegates from the United States, territories, and freely associated states descended on the CNMI beginning yesterday for the 8th Annual Outer Pacific Head Start Conference, which the CNMI is hosting for the first time.

Head Start teachers from American Samoa, Chuuk, Guam, Hawaii, Kosrae, Palau, Pohnpei, Marshall Islands, United States, Yap, and the CNMI were on hand to attend yesterday’s opening ceremonies for the conference at the Marianas High School.

The conference is being held to provide Region IX Head Start entities and partners more understanding and knowledge of the Head Start Performance Standards in the Pacific region. This quality training aims to provide the best quality education for the children within the Pacific region.

Milaneta P. Tinitali, OPHDA president from American Samoa, stressed the importance of the workshop for all educators in Early Childhood Development.

“Head Start has been providing quality comprehensive services to the children and families in the Pacific region for 20 years. This conference will be a good opportunity for us to come together to share, to learn from each other. When you nurture the children well, when they become adults they become productive citizens and they will in return give back to the community. That’s why it’s important that all people who work with young children understand child development. Early childhood is not like elementary. It does not only deal with cognitive development but it deals with the physical, the emotional, the social skills and it’s very important that the teachers understand the families,” she said.

The workshop consists of enhancing communication skills, health tracking and monitoring, family services, building resilience in kids, fatherhood initiative, governance and shared decision making, and current data and trends on parental rights.

The concurrent workshops will run throughout the three days of the conference. Pacific Head Start educators, along with parents involved in providing trainings, will lead the workshops.

“This is a happy and a sad association, because of the impact of the Compact. There’s a shift in management in the RMI and FSM will be no longer under the management of the Region IX Head Start. It makes me very sad because, who knows, this might be the last time they will become members. Yesterday, there was dedication and commitment to strengthen the association so that there will be advocacy among us for the children here in the Pacific region,” said Tinitali.