HCAP WEEKLY November 18, 2024

Head Start Staff Tuition Assistance Program – Paving Ways for Continuous Growth and Learning

HCAP Head Start & Early Head Start is comprised of the Head Start preschool program for children 3 to 5 years old and the Early Head Start program for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. Maudestie Alvarado has been promoted to HCAP’s newest Head Start & Early Head Start Teacher. She will be responsible for providing a well-balanced, developmentally appropriate curriculum that enhances all aspects of a child’s development along with supervising the assistant teachers, trainees, and volunteer aides in her classroom.

Maudestie first started out at Head Start as an Assistant Teacher Trainee (ATT) in 2022. Through her time as an ATT, she was able to continue her journey in attaining her Child Development Associate credential in 2023 and was promoted to an Assistant Teacher (AT) position.

At Head Start, enriching the lives of children is always at the forefront of the curriculum. With that in mind, Head Start offers a tuition assistance program for all of its staff and incoming trainees who wish to pursue higher education in Early Childhood Education, Human Services, or other job-related fields. Program staff and educators are encouraged to continuously grow in their ability to deliver a greater understanding of children’s and families’ overall needs.

Maudestie is just one of many Head Start employees who have been able to pursue a higher education with the tuition assistance from Head Start. In July of this year, Maudestie received her Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Education from the University of Arizona Global Campus. She shared, “I would not have gone to school if it wasn’t for HCAP’s Tuition Assistance.”

Last month, Maudestie was promoted from AT to Teacher. She shared that she enjoys working with HCAP Head Start because she enjoys the purposeful work and significant impact she makes on the children’s and families’ lives. She also expressed how her schedule allows her to be a full time mom and educator.

Head Start Assistant Director, Suzie Uyeda, shares, “HCAP Head Start always looks to uplift its staff and educators, so we are proud to see Maudestie grow into her new teaching position. Working with Head Start throughout the years and obtaining her degree in Early Childhood Education, she’s displayed such apparent growth, so it is only natural that she would take on her next role as a Teacher with us.”

HCAP welcomes Maudestie to the position, and looks forward to seeing the positive impact she will have on the lives of children and families served by HCAP Head Start & Early Head Start.

Click here to learn more about Head Start and Early Head Start.

Windward ECS Client Reaches 90-Day Employment Milestone

Marcia first sought services at The Windward District Service Center in January 2024 as a referral from The Women’s Correctional Center. At the time, Marcia had just been approved for employment furlough and needed assistance with employment services. She was quickly enrolled in the Nā Lima Hana Employment Core Services (ECS) program where she completed the Job Readiness Training (JRT) including resume building, interview preparation and basic computer skills. After the completion of the JRT, Marcia was referred to several HCAP Windward District employment partners, to which she was able to land job interviews. Three days after an interview, she was offered a position at Maui Brewing Co.

One of the barriers Marcia faced before her first day on the job was not having proper work attire. Through the ECS program, Marcia received assistance in obtaining work shoes and pants that were in compliance with the job requirements. She was also given a hygiene kit donated by community members and a HOLO card provided by ECS for transportation to the job interviews.

Marcia was granted parole and able to transition into a clean and sober home. She completed over 90 days of employment and earned gift card incentives, which she used to purchase her own hygiene and home supplies needed for her new living space. Today, Marcia continues to live a productive lifestyle and enjoys spending time with her ohana on her days off.

Click here to learn more about Nā Lima Hana.

Kalihi STEM Prepares for LEGO League Qualifying Tournament

Students at the Kalihi STEM Exploration Center of the Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program have been busy designing and creating projects for this month’s curriculum theme – engineering. Their LEGO League team have also been working diligently to put the finishing touches on their project for the upcoming qualifying tournament on November 23rd.

Recently, STEM students have been learning about the six simple machines – lever, wedge, inclined plane, screw, wheel and axle, and pulley. For one of their projects, students made pulleys in groups using cups, string, straws, spools, and weights. Students learned how a pulley system functions, changes the direction of force, and makes moving or lifting heavy objects easier. The class then held a fun competition to see which group could use their pulleys to lift their weighted cup from the first floor to the second floor classroom the fastest by rolling their string and spool.  

Students were very excited to begin their next project, which was to design and create their own transformer using recycled materials and items that could be found around the classroom. One of the goals of the project was for students to get their transformer to change into another shape with one maneuver. The students were also tasked to think of one way their transformer could help people if it were to be manufactured into a real robot.

Kalihi STEM’s LEGO League team was also busy coding scripts for their robots, practicing their oral presentation for the research they conducted on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and putting together a slideshow to show judges. Guest speaker, Blaire Langston from The Nature Conservancy, came to speak to the LEGO team and share her two-year research experience studying the human dimensions of marine pollution.

Click here to learn more about Hā Initiative.