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OVERVIEW

Western States Leadership Conference
May 16-17, 2017 | Phoenix, AZ | Black Canyon Conference

With the first comprehensive revisions in more than a generation of Head Start Program Performance Standards, comes the need to consider changes to management practices, including coaching and support for program managers and the use of data to inform continuous quality improvement. 

This year’s Western States Leadership Conference will explore a core component of the revised standards: promoting effective management and continuous improvement of Head Start, where outcomes and impacts are used to demonstrate compliance and quality. 

Features of this two-day training include:

• Creating and sustaining an organizational culture that allows for agility in the face of change.
• Considerations for implementing new regulations.
• Exploring the confluence of public policy and program advancement.

This conference has been specifically designed for teams of three or more persons, with a goal of improving management’s ability to demonstrate the collective impact of the program to internal and external stakeholders. It is highly recommended that an organization’s team include the program director, the lead for school readiness, the lead for family engagement, the lead for compliance/quality assurance and the lead for site-based operations, i.e., the manager/coordinator who oversees center-based operations.

Western States Leadership Agenda

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

1 to 5 pm

Session 1: Creating a Culture of Agility

As a Federally-funded program, change is certain.  Yet Head Start programs often struggle with change and are often playing “defense.”  In this session, we will consider what it will take to become a “Next Generation Organization” where program managers can act proactively rather than reactively.  Topics for discussion include:

• Characteristics of “next generation organizations”
• Head Start common leadership and management practices
• Leadership under the watchful eye of the public
• Hiring for potential

Wednesday, May 17 2017

Session 2: Riding the Public Policy wave in 2017

Leadership teams must keep an eye on the what is happening in Washington DC and their state capitol.  Being astute, engaged and a conduit of information is essential to optimize opportunities in the public sector.   In this session, attendees will hear from a state and national policy expert, as well as explore resources that can be used with colleagues and consumers. Topics will include:

• Federal appropriations and reauthorizations
• The nexus between federal opportunities and state program developments
• Program Innovations in local communities.

Session 3: Taking Data to the Next Level

Programs are collecting a variety of programmatic, child, family and financial data for the purpose of informing key stakeholders.  But what does it mean to share data in the context of the five-year grant?  Participants will be challenged to think about their own 5 year plans and strategies for sharing their success stories with staff, families, governance groups, and the community.  This session will allow for participants to informally share their own story-telling techniques with their peers.

Session 4: Maximizing Impact Through Implementation Strategies

The HSPPS require that programs have procedures for data management and that outcomes and impacts be measured and demonstrated.  While all programs are using data, there are opportunities to improve how our data systems support the articulations of outcomes: “a systematic way to assess the extent to which a program has achieved its intended results.” (From the Compassion Capital Fund National Resource Center (2010)).  Topics for discussion include:

• Planning for data management and outcomes measurement
• Creating indicators of performance for staff, families, children, and the program
• Testing whether indicators work
• Reporting outcomes and impacts to the public