Thompson School District presents Head Start self‑assessment, outlines improvements for screening, family engagement and staff supports

Thompson School District Director of Early Childhood Lam Carroll presented the district’s annual Head Start self‑assessment to the Board of Education, saying the review covered a November–February data collection period and produced strengths and a set of recommendations for the coming grant cycle.

Carroll said the program’s strengths include connecting families to medical and dental support, strong health and food‑handling practices, a focus on student safety, and “highly qualified” staff who support targeted school readiness in math, literacy and social development. “Student safety is a priority for our program as well as strong community connections and partnerships,” Carroll said.

The self‑assessment identified specific follow‑up work. Carroll said the program will improve vision‑screening follow‑up when families report prior care, retrain staff to restore family‑style meals that were curtailed during COVID, and explore a transportation waiver to allow more students per bus without adding staff. “If you can apply for the waiver and get it … you can put an additional five students on the bus to transport them,” she said, noting the waiver must be applied for through Colorado licensing.

Carroll also described work to streamline early childhood screening and evaluation for special education as universal preschool expands, to refine mental‑health supports and positive behavior intervention training for staff, and to measure the impact of family engagement efforts rather than only participation counts. She said the self‑assessment feeds a quality improvement plan and a new five‑year Head Start grant cycle.

Board members asked about implementation details. Board member Amy Doran asked how much of the early‑childhood seats are filled; Carroll explained that enrollment fills throughout the year and that seats are sometimes held for children who will turn three or who qualify for special education services. Doran and others praised the self‑assessment’s rigor and recommended sharing best practices with other districts.

Carroll said the district also plans to refine fiscal and eligibility policies and to examine staff stressors and supports, and described a planned community celebration during the Week of the Young Child where every enrolled child will receive three books to take home. The board took no formal action at the meeting; staff said the assessment and its recommendations will inform the program’s quality improvement work and the next Head Start grant period.