A Training Guide for the Head Start Learning Community
Leading the Way: Disabilities Services and the Management Team

Developed by Education Development Center, Inc. for the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

This technical guide is one of a series that includes the foundation guide written for all Head Start staff, parents, and consultants: Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start.

The following three modules are designed to be used sequentially, as each one builds on the previous.

Module 1 - Identifying Shared Responsibilities

The first module helps participants identify how their current roles and collaboration practices as a team affect children with disabilities and their families, and the critical points where coordination among members of the management team must take place.

Module 2 - A Look at ADA and 504

This module explains laws that govern disabilities services policy and practice in Head Start and equips management teams to evaluate facilities and services and identify strategies for reasonable accommodation. The module also addresses ways to adapt employment practices so that they reflect the rights and protections afforded to persons with disabilities.

Module 3 - Collaborating with LEA's

Participants are provided with information and tools to improve relationships with Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and other community organizations, to ensure quality services to children with disabilities and their families.

Each training guide in this series also offers ideas for Continued Professional Development and a Resource section.

The authors of this guide recommend that prior to this training, the program use a tool to help Head Start staff, specialists, and families create a common vision for inclusion, since the management team can not develop a vision for disabilities services in isolation. The activity "A Vision for Our Program", from the Foundation Guide Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start, offers one way to accomplish this.

This training guide also has an accompanying video tape called "Shining Bright/Getting Together." The video provides useful illustrations of a Head Start program's efforts to collaborate with a local school district to better serve preschoolers with significant disabilities in an inclusive program. Each grantee and delegate agency has been sent one copy of this video. Information on purchasing additional copies is available by contacting Brookes Publishing Company Customer Service at 800-638-3775.

Available from:
Fax your request for the training guide to the Head Start Publications Management Center at 703-683-5769.

A Foundation Training Guide for the Head Start Learning Community
Setting the Stage: Including Children with Disabilities in Head Start

Developed by Education Development Center, Inc., for the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This Foundation Guide is the first in a series of training guides in the area of Disability Services. Four additional guides are under development. The titles in this series are as follows: 1) Leading the Way: A Guide for the Head Start Management Team; 2) Supporting Children with Challenging Behaviors: Relationships are Key; 3) Translating the IEP into Classroom Practice; and 4) Including Children with Significant Disabilities.

The purpose of this training guide is to assist staff, parents, and consultants in their efforts to include children with disabilities in Head Start programs. The manual is divided into five sections: Three training Modules, a section on Continuing Professional Development, and Resources to learn more about the key issues presented in the guide.

The content of each module is as follows:

Module 1, There’s Room for All of Us, explores with participants how their own feelings and perceptions influence how they respond to children with disabilities and their families. Participants also explore how to apply the basic principles of inclusion in their own Head Start programs.

Module 2, Communication Counts, helps participants recognize the ways in which communication fosters or hinders a child or family’s sense of belonging. Participants learn communication techniques that convey respect and promote inclusion.

Module 3, Making it Work!, provides an overview of the laws and regulations regarding the rights of individuals with disabilities; integrates the laws with the underlying principles of inclusion; and explores the role of staff in applying this knowledge to their individual programs.

Each module begins with organizational strategies for the trainer: Learning Outcomes summarize the skills to be acquired; Key Concepts describe the critical points; Background Information summarizes the rationale for the module; Activities includes specific training steps and techniques; and Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice is useful for on-going training in each area.

The modules offer two different training styles: workshops suitable for groups of 10 - 25 participants; and "coaching sessions" designed for 1-3 staff members under the guidance of a coach - a Head Start director, coordinator, teacher, or outside consultant - permitting greater individual flexibility and an opportunity to work on actual challenges in individual programs.

In addition to the discussion topics, this training manual provides a variety of reflective experiences, interactive activities, and handouts to guide your training sessions. There are helpful tips for trainers throughout the modules. The section on Continuing Professional Development provides suggestions to extend the material learned in the training to the workplace. Finally, the Resources section lists books, journals, audiovisual materials, and organizations related to the key concepts presented in the guide.

Available from:

Head Start programs may fax a request to the Head Start
Publication Management Center to receive a copy of the training guide:
Fax: (703)683-5769