The Florida Head Start Association (FHSA) is excited to announce Florida's new Head Start Collaboration Director, Kim Singer. Mrs. Singer comes to us from the Broward County Public Schools/Head Start Early Intervention/VPK Department, where she served as their Professional Development Teacher Specialist for over 8 1/2 years. In addition to this experience, she has more than 25 years of training in the early childhood and special education field. Her well-rounded VPK and Head Start resume is how she was selected to serve as Florida's next Head Start Collaboration Director.
I had an opportunity to sit down with Kim and asked her to share a little bit more about herself so that we could all get to know her a little better.
1. What drew you to a career as Florida's Head Start Collaboration Director? I have spent my career working in early childhood education, the last several have been working for the Broward County Head Start/Early Intervention department. Through my work there, I was fortunate to touch all areas of the Head Start grant and learn about the hallmarks of each part of the program. As the premier early childhood program in the country, my wish is to continue to advocate for the families we serve to meet the needs of our communities best. One thing I have genuinely enjoyed over the years at conferences is meeting staff and families from Head Start programs from all over the state. While each of our programs differ, the desire to help provide a safe, engaging, educational, and supportive environment remains unchanged. As the Collaboration Director, my goal is to cultivate and expand existing and new partnerships while improving access, accessibility, and relevant support to our Head Start families. I felt like this position was a natural next step for me in my Head Start journey.
2. How do you hope to impact the Florida Head Start community? The Florida Head Start community is strong and proud. I see Head Start classroom, school, and community leaders at various conferences, especially our wonderful FHSA conference, and I love to hear about their work. It is integral to align the federal goals and priorities of Head Start to the specific regional projects and activities of each community that Head Start serves. In addition, increasing opportunities for literacy, inclusion, and availability of programs are just a few cornerstone hopes I have. I am looking forward to working collaboratively with the FHSA to further the Head Start mission and objectives.
3. What do you see as the vision for Florida's early care and education system? I want to see Florida's youngest learners continue to receive the high-quality services we expect from all early childhood programs. In addition to supporting our Head Start families, I aim to ensure our youngest learners are prepared for Kindergarten, which means staff need relevant and targeted professional development and support so that children receive high-quality instruction that is developmentally appropriate and meaningful for young children. When discussing quality early care and education, we also cannot overlook the need to invest in the staff that directly impact the lives of our Head Start children. All of us in early childhood education likely have a similar view of what excellent should look like. It is critical to have constant conversations about what we can collectively do to help students and families succeed. These conversations need to be included in the broader conversations of how we can ensure the staff responsible for educating our youngest learners can also succeed. We can’t make investments in one without the other.
4. Tell us one thing about yourself that may surprise people. I am an extremely voracious and fast reader of novels. I am never not reading a novel and usually read at least 20 fiction books a month. I take advantage of all down time as I really enjoy it. If you ever see me in line, I will be reading.
5. What are you most proud of in your career? I love the feedback I get from classroom staff I have directly supported as a coach, CLASS observer, and Professional Development specialist. Knowing that I directly impacted their practice, which provides a positive outcome for students, genuinely makes me feel good. I am proud of the relationships I have built, as I think relationships are at the core of all successful work. I truly like people and getting to know all kinds of people. I am proud that I was able to find the exact right career path for myself and feel really lucky that I did.
I hope you join me in welcoming Kim to her new role.
Warm Regards,
Wanda Minick
Executive Director
FHSA
