by Jerry Parr | Jul 22, 2026 | Early Childhood, Head Start
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate for the first time in the annual strategic planning meeting of the Calvert County Early Childhood Advisory Council. As someone relatively new to Calvert County—but certainly not new to early childhood systems—I arrived...
by Jerry Parr | Jul 17, 2026 | Early Childhood, Head Start
Conversations with early childhood leaders in other countries often begin with differences—policy, funding, culture, training, and expectations. But they quickly reveal how much the field shares. Across recent conversations in Kuala Lumpur, the same concerns surfaced...
by Jerry Parr | May 22, 2018 | Early Childhood, Head Start
Editor’s note, July 17, 2026: Nearly a decade after this reflection was written, the central lesson still holds: program models succeed or fail less because of what they are called or where they originated than because of how relationships, expectations, resources,...
by Jerry Parr | Apr 11, 2018 | Designation & Renewal System, Head Start
Editor’s note, July 17, 2026: This article was written during an earlier phase of the Head Start Designation Renewal System. Specific thresholds, procedures, and policy details have changed over time. The broader questions raised here—about incentives, workforce...
by Jerry Parr | Feb 7, 2018 | Designation & Renewal System, Head Start
My team and I travel across the country visiting and working with Head Start and Early Head Start grantees and several themes common to many programs emerge as we conduct a gap analysis to help program’s identify their strengths and their vulnerabilities, their risks...
by Jerry Parr | Feb 7, 2018 | Head Start
It seems an appropriate theme for the first Willow Tree Early Education Team blog to be a reflection of the incredible journey that is the reason the company exists and to pay tribute to the many people and programs that have been a part of this journey, the first...
