Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/yakama-nation-head-start--early-childhood-education-program/5020872/
Not many Program Directors can say their office once served as the classroom they came to every day as a three-year-old child, but my journey in life has taken me from being a student of the Yakama Nation Head Start Early Childhood Education Program to dedicating myself to continuing its success for future generations. As a Program Director, every day requires decisions regarding children, parents, extended families, what curriculum to use, and of course, managing the finances. Making the day-to-day decisions and ensuring the overall health, safety, and well-being of each child served by the Yakama Nation Head Start is made easier by continually reflecting on the impact Head Start has had on me, my family, and the reservation community.My name is Rose Butterfly. I am Yakama, Blackfeet, Colville, and Warm Springs. As a child, I grew up on the Yakama Nation Reservation where I spent a lot of my summers with my grandmothers and great-grandmother in the hills digging roots or in the mountains picking huckleberries. I lived in Wapato, Washington, in Apas Goudy (housing project) with my mom and grandmother until the age of five before my mom and I moved to Yakima, eventually living with my kala (Kuthla-mom’s ...