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Navajo nation Head Start
The DCD also entered into a partnership with the Navajo Nation
Department of Head Start
3
(NNDOHS), allowing Head Start offices
to tap into the OnSat satellite networking system using local loop
wireless connectivity. In turn, Head Start installed wireless access
points at each Chapter to provide a local wireless loop, enabling
Head Start offices and other organizations to access the Internet via
the Chapter/OnSat network. Communication possibilities now
extend beyond local facilities to the entire Chapter region.
The NNDOHS is one of the largest Head Start organizations in the
US today, with five agency offices. The central administration is
located in the heart of Navajo land at Window Rock, Arizona.
Currently, 4 013 children aged between three and five years are
enrolled in 205 Head Start centres and Home Base programmes.
Each year the birth-to-five-years population increases, and with it the
need to increase the number of accredited, technically capable teach-
ers and facilities providing Head Start and Early Head Start services.
NNDOHS is taking on several initiatives to improve services to
children, families, and communities. The I Care Curriculum aims
to involve parents in the classroom as volunteers as well as in the
home; the Fatherhood Initiative aims to empower the role of fathers
in families; STEPS Literacy is a curriculum designed to enhance
language and literacy skills and improve teaching performance in
the classroom; Positive Child Outcomes is a framework intended
for Head Start programmes to design ongoing assessments through-
out the child’s enrollment in Head Start. The Head Start Family
Information System (HSFIS) is a set of tools via the Chapter/OnSat
satellite and wireless network, which aid the NNDOHS in moni-
toring and assessing the progress of each enrollee. The entire Dine’
College Curriculum is undergoing revision to incorporate these
initiatives.
NNDOHS is working with staff and parents in Early Childhood
Development classes at Dine’ College, University of New Mexico,
San Juan College, Highlands University, Coconino Community
College, Northern Arizona University, Fort Lewis College, and
Northland Pioneer College. But staff and parents seeking to benefit
from higher education programmes face the major issues of trans-
port, financial aid and family support.
A collaborative process among the Navajo nation’s schools system
identified literacy as the most vital area in need of improvement.
The Department of Head Start served 6 436 Head Start families, of
which 515 were identified as needing education or literacy assis-
tance. Fathers in the STEPS programme are being encouraged to
read to their children regularly.
Professional development is also a critical need in many schools.
Teachers have begun to create individualized, three-year professional
development plans. The Department of Head Start’s 2000-2001
Programme Information Report indicated a total of 167 teachers,
369 teaching assistants and 58 home-based teachers. But only 33
teaching staff had associate degrees in early childhood education,
while 128 staff members had Child Development Associate (CDA)
credentials, and many others are working towards a CDA or intend
to do so. A high percentage of NNDOHS teachers’ assistants are
also young parents, and it is imperative to improve their qualifica-
tions without them having to leave their children in order to attend
classes that are often over four hours’ drive away.
Next steps for Head Start
NNDOHS has dedicated its energies over the past two years to
closing the digital divide, committing more than USD1 million to
providing broadband connectivity and satellite technology to all
Head Start sites. This would have cost over USD10 million had
When the Navajo nation began its satellite and wireless
technology project a few years ago, 22 per cent of its people
had telephones, 15 per cent had computers, and 10 per cent
had Internet access. Unemployment was around 50 per cent.
Now, satellite and wireless communications connect all the
Navajo nation’s community centres, other facilities and many
homes.
Community centres, called Chapters, give the Navajo nation
free access to computers and the Internet for distance learning
and communication. Many Navajo nation people are develop-
ing new e-commerce opportunities that are in turn creating
jobs.
One of the most important developments is that of a two-way
communication stream between the people of the Navajo nation
and their government. This was achieved despite the fact that
some Navajo nation sites are so remote that solar power had to
be used.
The Navajo Nation ICT Community Development objectives are:
• Provide a stable telecommunications environment
• Increase the visibility of technology projects in the commu-
nity and stimulate participation by community members
• Catalyze increasing technology-related activities throughout
the Navajo nation
• Provide Chapter staff with the skills and knowledge to make
the transition to self-governance
• Provide training in technology-related fields for regional tech-
nology professionals
• Establish regional support centres to provide training for
Chapter staff and community members in surrounding
Chapters
• Form a group of community information gatherers to create
a database of community resources and statistics
• Develop and offer leadership and management skills train-
ing opportunities for Chapter staff in finance, property
management, personnel management, government develop-
ment, and land use planning
• Retain the skilled workforce on the Navajo nation and spur
the emergence of a viable technology job market
• Provide an online business site for local entrepreneurs to
market their products
• Promote self-sustainability of technology projects.
In order to meet these goals, the Navajo nation Division of
Community Development (DCD) understood that it must first
establish a single, connected network providing stable Internet
delivery services for the Chapters. If some Chapters were
connected and others left out, then the digital divide would only
widen in the Navajo nation.
The DCD, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
(BMGF), initiated the technology plan by installing at least two
computers at each Chapter and establishing seven regional train-
ing labs across the Navajo nation. Computers and labs are
networked locally and connected to the Internet by the OnSat
Native American Service’s two-way broadband satellite network.
Training was provided by both the DCD and BMGF, to establish
or enhance basic technology skills for chapter employees relat-
ing to application usage, Internet browsing and searching, e-mail
usage, and website maintenance.
In order to increase visibility and participation, the DCD estab-
lished websites for all 110 Navajo nation Chapters, incorporating
e-commerce functionality so community members can buy and
sell products and services over the Internet.