10/27/08
Elliot S. Volkman
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Early Head Start located on the Ringgold Middle School campus
A program designed to keep teen parents in high school has begun to draw attention from the community for more than just the convenience it provides to young parents. Early Head Start daycare, currently located on the Ringgold Middle School (RMS) campus has drawn concern from parents associated with Ringgold Middle School because of its current location, safety for the Early Head Start children and the students in classrooms surrounding the daycare.
“Early Head Start is a federally funded program for teen mothers and their infants and toddlers,” said Catoosa County Public Schools Communication Specialist Marissa Brower. Ringgold Middle School Council member and parent of a student currently at RMS Vicki Harris said there are currently several issues with the daycare: “safety of the children, moms who have to walk through the bus area, and sending of mixed signals to the eighth grade students,” who are able to see the daycare from their classrooms.
Location issues
Concerns about the location of the daycare began to emerge from RMS parents at the beginning of this school year.
According to Ringgold Middle School Principal Lamar Brown, the situation did not appear to be an issue with parents until the parent analysis visit at the start of the school year. “We brought in 16 parents not affiliated with the school (these individuals are parents of RMS students, but were not employed with the school), putting them in groups of four and each group analyzes a different area of the school,” said Brown.
During the visit, parents sat in on classes, took in depth tours of the school, and got a behind the scenes view of the school. “One group saw that (the location of the Head Start Program) as an issue,” said Brown. He said the matter was reported to the school council, and the members suggested bringing in Catoosa County Public Schools Superintendent Denia Reese. Reese proposed a plan to move the location back to its original placement on the Ringgold High School (RHS) campus, Brown said. The current plan to move the Early Head Start program back to RHS is set for December of 2009.
According to Brower, the daycare program came to reside on RMS grounds because the original daycare trailers located at RHS were condemned and had to be moved. “In 2006, the Catoosa County Public Schools Operations Department and the North Georgia Family Resource Agency determined that the portable classroom that housed the program needed a major renovation due to structural concerns,” stated Brower in a release. The program was moved to RMS because two vacant trailers were available, there were none left over at the high school.
When asked about her feelings toward Early Head Start returning to the RHS campus, Ringgold High School Principal Sharon Vaughn said, “I am certainly not negative toward the Head Start program itself. I think there is a public perception that the Ringgold community has more pregnant teenagers than other places simply because we have the Head Start facility on our campus. Of course, that is not the case. I believe we just do more to meet student needs, and having the facility available is one of our strategies.”
Ringgold Middle School is just one of four schools that houses a Head Start program in Catoosa County. Tiger Creek, West side and Could Springs Elementary schools each have Head Start programs, according to Brower. In addition to Head Start, there are also Lottery-funded preschools, located at Ringgold Primary, Battlefield Primary, Boynton Elementary, Tiger Creek, Woodstation and West Side Elementary schools.
Safety issues
For RMS parents and school council members Donna Jackson, Toni Chow and Harris, the main two issues are the well-being of the children in the program and the impressionable minds of middle school students.
On http://www.careerdepot.org, a statement provided by the Head Start Program reads, “Children who attend Head Start participate in a variety of educational activities. … and enjoy playing indoors and outdoors in a safe setting.”
The Head Start program is located between the eighth-graders’ wing, across from the track and a stone’s throw away from the public tennis courts. The tennis court and track are only open to the public after 5 p.m. according to Brower. According to Brown, Ringgold Middle School was not informed that there were three registered sex offenders less than a two minute walk from the school, one of whom is registered for child molestation. Reese and Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers were aware of the situation.
Statements from school system representatives indicate the situation is under control. “According to Georgia law, a sex offender cannot live within a certain distance of a school or playground, and at no time may that individual step on the school property or the playground,” said Brower on behalf of Superintendent Reese. “This is a law enforcement issue and is monitored by the Sheriff’s Department.”
The law preventing a registered offender from living 1,000 feet from a school was overturned in 2007 and later reinstated, but allowed those individuals who had previously lived within 1,000 feet to remain there. “If a parent determines that a registered sex offender has moved into their neighborhood, the school system will provide bus transportation to ensure the student’s safety coming to school and going home,” said Brower. According to Summers, there have been no reported issues with a registered offender repeating a crime. “We are aware of where they are, and we do sporadic checks on the area and yearly check to see if they are still living there,” said Summers. “We can’t tell the community where they are as a law enforcement agency due to privacy issues, but it is public record, and a citizen may do so.”
Brown indicated the middle school is fully secured. “We have student resource officers on campus, who are deputies with the sheriff department,” said Brown. “We have all of our doors locked, and students and teachers are advised not to open the doors for anyone.” RMS has a process for all visitors requiring them to sign in at the front office, and according to Brown, Early Head Start has a similar process.
Emergency situations
In January of 2008, a suspicious package found at RHS caused the two schools to have to evacuate, and transport the Head Start children using their buses. “When additional programs are housed on our school campus, the program is included in the GEMA approved safety plan for the school,” said Brower. “There is no additional burden for the school, and the program does not take resources away from the schools’ students in an emergency situation.” Reese additionally said, “When the school system can partner with state and federal agencies, at no additional cost to the local taxpayer and no additional burden to the school, to provide programs that prepare preschool children for success in school, I believe it is a good use of extra space in our facilities.”
On the other hand, Brown said that in cases like the bomb threat that the middle school would be and has been responsible for using their buses to help evacuate the children from the Head Start program to another location.
“There should be other options; they shouldn’t have to deal with it if there was a tragedy,” said Jackson.
Another safety concern includes the fact that buses run in the general area of the program, which may cause an issue for the children and their parents. “It’s just a walk away from the buses; high school seniors drive in the area, and there have been cases where the child would get sick and have to be brought back to the high school with the mother during class,” said Jackson. “I applaud the mothers for going back to school; it’s just not a safe location.” According to director of the local Head Start programs Rebecca Hunter, “the area is fenced in, and there is no way they (the children) could get out.”
There are other daycare programs located near the Head Start program; however, they are not fully federally funded. Gingerbread House Child Care has a waiting list and has a government food program, and Schoolzin, Schoolzout Christian Learning Center has a 10 percent vacancy and accepts child care assistance, which pays for half of the services.
“It needs to be moved from where it’s at; there is space available at county offices not much further away,” said Harris. In addition, county offices located across the street have reported vacancies.
In August of this year, Gov. Perdue issued a state budget cut that also affected the Head Start Program. “We would like to have more centers, but we are waiting for more funding,” said Hunter. “We have only had a 1 percent cost of living allowance increase in the last six years and have had cuts the past three years.”
Moral issue for students and parents
Safety for the children and students is among one of the largest concerns, but there is another issue which contradicts abstinence teachings in Catoosa County according to parents. “If we are going to teach abstinence in school, seeing the children around is counterproductive,” said Chow.
The eighth grade and gifted student classes surround the daycare at the middle school, where there have been reports of distractions to teachers and students.
“My daughter came home one day and told me how cute they were all bundled up in their winter jackets,” said Jackson. “It just says if you want a kid they can stay here for free.”
The Catoosa County Board of Education Web site contains a statement that it is mandatory that schools teach students about sex and AIDS. “Parents have the prime responsibility to assist their children in developing moral values,” the Web site states.
“I really do care for the kids and children,” said Chow. “But once you become a parent you’re not just a high school student, you must care for the safety of those children.
The current plan from the Catoosa County Board of Education to move the daycare from the Ringgold Middle School campus a short distance back to Ringgold High School can be found in this article online at http://www.catoosanews.com.
On the web:
Catoosa County Board of Education Sex Education policy
Statistical information on condoms
Where you can see registered sex offenders in your area
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