 [How Are Even Start Services Funded?] |
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 [What Inservice Training Do Even Start Staff Receive?] |
National Evaluation of The Even Start Family Literacy Program, 1998
Chapter 4
On average, an Even Start project in 1996-97 was staffed by ten persons whose salaries were paid by Even Start: one administrator, three to four instructors, one to two instructional aides, one family specialist, one support service provider, one evaluator, and one "other" staffer (Exhibit 4.5). The "average" staff composition of Even Start projects as a whole has not changed appreciably since 1994-95, although staffing patterns at individual projects vary widely.
Exhibit 4.5: Number of Even Start Paid Staff and Their Assignments (1996-97)
|
Staff |
Average Across All Projects |
Median |
Range in 90% of Projects |
|
Administrator |
1.1 |
1 |
0-2 |
|
Instructor |
3.5 |
3 |
1-7 |
|
Aide |
1.8 |
1 |
0-4 |
|
Family specialist |
1.4 |
1 |
0-3 |
|
Support service provider |
1.1 |
0 |
0-3 |
|
Evaluator |
0.8 |
1 |
0-1 |
|
Other |
0.7 |
0 |
0-2 |
|
Total |
10.3 |
9 |
4-17 |
|
Note: This exhibit includes staff who were paid totally or partially with Even Start funds. The numbers do not include staff who were paid solely with local matching or collaborating agency funds. In many Even Start projects, individual staff members perform multiple roles and functions. To avoid duplicating staff counts, project directors were asked to count each Even Start staff member only once, in his or her primary assignment area. Median is the number below which 50 percent of projects fall. Exhibit reads: The average number of administrators paid by any federal Even Start funds was 1.1 per project in 1996-97. |
To supplement their paid instructional staff resources, the typical Even Start project had six to seven volunteers: two in adult education; one to two in parenting education; and three to four in early childhood education. The typical Even Start project had nearly four volunteers and two paid instructors teaching early childhood education, indicating that projects allocated more of their own staff resources to this area than to adult and parenting education services. As discussed earlier in this chapter, educational programs for children younger than 3 years tended to be scarce in many Even Start communities. This places a greater responsibility on Even Start projects to provide staff resources for their infant and toddler programs.
In 1996-97, 51 percent of Even Start paid instructors had a bachelor's degree, and 24 percent had a master's degree (Exhibit 4.6). These percentages are virtually identical to those reported in three years prior, indicating overall that Even Start projects continue to be staffed by highly educated instructors.
The educational backgrounds of aides have also remained fairly consistent across four years. In 1996-97, the largest group of aides (73 percent) was educated at the high school level, including those who had received a GED. Twelve percent of aides had earned an associate's degree, and 9 percent had earned a bachelor's degree. In addition to their academic degrees, 34 percent of Even Start instructors and 22 percent of aides had received special teaching certifications or endorsements, including the Child Development Associates' (CDA) certificate.
In terms of work experience relevant to Even Start services, 26 percent of instructors and 8 percent of aides had more than 10 years of professional experience. However, for both teachers and aides, the largest category was one to five years of teaching experience (42 percent and 55 percent, respectively), mirroring the work history pattern reported in two prior years.
Exhibit 4.6: Academic Degrees and Years of Experience of Even Start Instructors and Aides (1996-97)
|
Percent of Instructors |
Percent of Aides |
|
|
Highest Level of Education Completed |
||
|
Did not complete HS diploma or GED |
0% |
4% |
|
High school diploma or GED |
14% |
73% |
|
AA |
9% |
12% |
|
BA/BS |
51% |
9% |
|
MA/MS/MEd |
24% |
1% |
|
PhD/EdD |
1% |
0% |
|
Special certification or endorsements (including CDA) |
34% |
22% |
|
Years of Experience |
||
|
Less than 1 year |
6% |
19% |
|
1-5 years |
42% |
55% |
|
6-10 years |
26% |
18% |
|
More than 10 years |
26% |
8% |
|
Note: The percentages represent the percentages of staff in each category, averaged across 603 projects in the 1996-97 evaluation. Exhibit reads: In 1996-97, 14 percent of instructors who were paid by Even Start funds had only completed high school or had a GED. |
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[How Are Even Start Services Funded?] |
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[What Inservice Training Do Even Start Staff Receive?] |