Reflection: My Practicum Experience At Head Start

Personal Reflection

My final semester at South Dakota State University has been a crazy journey and I gained some very valuable tools during my practicum experience at Head Start. While I was at Head Start, I couldn’t help but compare my experiences to those I had at the campus preschool. As the final section of my portfolio and completion of NAEYC standard 7, I have reflected on the differences and similarities between my two major student teaching experiences.

The first similarity I recognized right away is the sharing of the classroom environment. Head Start had two different classrooms that were shared with three different classes and the preschool classrooms are generally shared between two different classes. The first week I was at Head Start I had the chance to observe the classroom routine and get to know the children, and I quickly realized the

This was a relief, because I was very familiar with the Early Learning standards and I was concerned about having to become accustomed to something completely different. One more similarity I noticed between by two student teaching placements was the emphasis and importance of parent communication and involvement.

During my time student teaching there were also some very clear difference between South and Head Start. The biggest difference is that Head Start is federally funded and the families are not required to pay tuition for their child or any additional services that may be provided, including meals or transportation to and from school. When I student taught at the SDSU preschool many of children were transported back and forth by there parents or another family member, only two children in the classroom I was in were transported back and forth by a parent or