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If you work in Head Start, you’ve likely seen this story before. A rockstar home visitor, a phenomenal teacher, a go-to family advocate. This person is talented, reliable, beloved—and gets promoted. Suddenly, they’re a manager. And just like that, the skillset that got them the job… isn’t enough to succeed in the job. They are

At every step, our mission has been the same: to help programs learn and improve so they can better serve children and families. Today, with the Acorn Learning name, that’s still what we’re here to do: Deliver high-quality learning experiences to support strong programs across the country.

Dear Head Start/Early Head Start Director, Welcome to your new world! As of August 2024, the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) are different. They are updated. They are revised. They are new. And, they are, as you well know, your [new] responsibility. Times have changed and so have the standards and expectations. Staff health

Are We Good At Data?? This is a million-dollar question for Head Start and Early Head Start managers and directors. Literally. Millions of dollars in federal grant money depend on program leadership taking full responsibility for data and being very, very good at it. In my role as CEO of Acorn Evaluation I travel quite

Hello Head Start/Early Head Start Director and Manager, I’ve been spending time recently with lots of you talking about data, compiling a series of videos for our Head Start Data Essentials course offered in partnership with the National Head Start Association. These conversations are fascinating to me. I’ve been inspired, frustrated, and most of all, motivated to