Question:

What is the first day of winter break?

Question:

There is a question asked "way back" about annual leave. Are you saying that if a person calls in sick they can fill in the leave request to say "annual leave" rather than sick leave?

Question:

Why isn't everyone's pay represented on the salary schedule? We shouldn't have to guess at what our check should be.

Answer:

Everyone is on the salary scale with the exception of teachers who supervise a TA, Team Leaders, and people who are off of the salary scale because of longevity with the program. If you are an hourly employee your paycheck varies with the number of hours you work each pay period.  Your letter of hire that you get each year also contains your pay rate.

Question:

Concerning the extra class days for center base:

If it is imperative to have the class and contact time how come we don't provide transportation? A lot of our parents don't have a way to get their children here, aren't we going to miss them on contact hours? Thank you for your clarification concerning this matter.

Answer:

One of the reasons is most of the bus drivers do not have the hours for the week to provide transportation. We have such long routes that it would put them over 40 hours for the week.

Question:

Cathy, during our parent center meeting we were given the book "Mommy" from Maurice Sendak ($24.99 each). Most of my parents thought it was very inappropriate and did not take them. I was wondering why such a book was handed out. It had pictures of monsters, scary faces, skulls, and resembled Halloween theme.

Answer:

The book was a free book from First Books. The author Maruice Sendak is a well known children's author and the drawings in it are similar to "Where the Wild Things Are". We didn't feel it was appropriate for children either, but thought parents might like the book as a collector item for themselves.

Question:

There is a employee that gets to there center 30 minutes early and starts working but the sing in sheet show that they go in 30 minutes later, is it ok to work off the clock?

Answer:

Exempt employee or nonexempt? Hourly employees are to work their scheduled amount of hours per day. They are not to work off the clock. Please talk to your center team leader regarding this.

Question:

Cathy, do we have to have approval from our supervisor in order to attend committee meetings?

Answer:

As you would be away from your main duties - yes you would need to talk to him/her.

Question:

Do you have to join a committee?

Answer:

No you don't have to join a committee - it is your choice.

Question:

Cathy, I would like to know if new employees are eligible to attend the various committee meetings or is it only for the employees that have successfully met their six month probationary period?

Answer:

Any employees can attend

Question:

Cathy,

Why is this year different in that the center base classrooms have make up days on the weeks with holidays? My understanding is that center base has always met and exceeded family contact hours. No other classroom types are having make up hours.

Answer:

The way the calendar fell this year we were short a few days. That is why we have 3 make up days. Combination is home visits and class days combined - so we are fine there.

Question:

Hi Cathy - is there any situation when a person doing the exact same job (no changes in supervision, hours, position) would make less than they did last year? I asked payroll but haven't heard back.

Answer:

No, there should not be. If they were off scale they should have gotten a 2% COLA. The best way to find out is to call Aaron or me direct.

Question:

Would you happen to know how one would go about getting their CDA?

Answer:

Please talk to your Education Manager about the process or Starla Halverson.

Question:

What happened with teamwork in our centers? If we can help with breaks between head start and early head start why is this a problem? Especially when we are already having coverage issues. Burn outs are coming I know I am starting to feel it.

Answer:

I'm sorry. I don't know what you are referring to or who told you that staff at a center can't help one another. Perhaps you need to take this to your supervisor for more clarification or talk directly to you education manger about specifics.

Question:

Cathy, could you explain what kinds of issues are supposed to be brought up at focus group. thank-you

Answer:

At focus group we try to answer any questions that might be rumors, follow up on issues that might need to be resolved at sites, and clarification on policies. We do not talk about personnel issues that pertain to individuals.

Question:

Cathy, thank you for the Wal-Mart cards for the cook's. It was really appreciated.

Answer:

You are welcome! Hope that it helps.

Question:

Hi Cathy, I was wondering why staff are not paid for their time when attending First Aid/CPR classes? Most classes are on week nights and weekends, and do not fall under normal work hours, thanks for your time.

Answer:

Staff are not paid for attending First Aid/CPR because it is required by federal regulation and child care licensing regulations not by our agency. An example would be that when a federal or state agency requires certain positions to have a degree in order to be even eligible for employment, it is not the program's obligation to pay for the degree. It is a requirement to have the job to have a current First Aid/CPR card - without it you don't have a job. The way we assist staff is paying for the class/workshop or ECE classes.

Question:

if you work for UMCHS can you still have a child in the head start or early head start?

Answer:

If you are low income and meet the selection criteria - it is possible to work for Head Start/EHS and have a child in the program. Your points would have to be higher than other children in order to be selected. In addition, we review all Head Start staff applications to insure no conflict of interest. In many circumstances we hire parents who currently have children enrolled.

Question:

Hi Cathy

I would like to know what is the bus barn? Do we have staff at the bus barn?

Answer:

The bus barn is the old Fowler Bus Barn on diagonal road in Hermiston. They used to provide transportation for the Hermiston School district. We are now keeping our buses there and the bus drivers are picking up their buses at the Bus Barn. Carol Vandeman, Transportation Manager, Wade Miracle, Maintenance and the bus drivers have their office there. The number at the bus barn is 564-5968.

Question:

Cathy,

thank you for your efforts to cover the open positions without removing staff from their current jobs. We know it wasn't easy. We are all breathing easier now and focused on the upcoming year!

Answer:

And a big thank you to Chris Cooper for stepping up and covering the Umatilla classroom!!

Question:

I want to thank everyone involved in the PreService training. I am a teacher and was very pleased with what I learned. I appreciate the topics that were discussed and to get everyone on the same page before we started school. It would be great to have this type of training before each new teacher started. I am also grateful for the better use of electronic paperwork. Yeah!!!

Answer:

Thank you for your positive input! It's great appreciated.

Question:

during what shut down time do you apply for unemployment? is it during the winter? spring? or summer? or all of the above?

Answer:

That would be something you should check with the employment office about.

Question:

if a position with in the center opens up and a staff person applies for the position do they have a better chance of getting the job then if a non-staff person applied for the job?

Answer:

Normally, they do. But a lot of factors are in play when granting transfers and/or promotions to staff already employed. One of the biggest factors is always qualifications.

Question:

Could you please explain what our schedule is for the week of PreService. I got the agenda, but I am unsure what time we are to report to work, get off of work, and do we have to start and end the day at our centers? It is especially difficult for those of us who live in Hermiston and commute somewhere farther to have to drive all the way to our center, just to turn around and drive back to Hermiston (we cant car pool because we all have to go to different locations for PreService) then have to drive back to our center to sign out and then drive home again.

Answer:

Since everyone works at different locations this is a question for you to ask your site supervisor or team leader. On the first day of work - report to your center

Question:
What is the purpose of staff who have already had 3-4 trainings in motivational interviewing to have a two day training before PreService yet again? Thanks in advance for an explanation.
Answer:
Motivational interviewing is a strategy that continually needs practice and coaching to assist staff. The practice groups at the training will be broken out by staff's experience and training. Staff who have had the training can also be valuable in assisting the many staff people who will be present that have not had the training. The training will also include staff from other Head Start programs in Oregon and local DHS staff. Your experience will invaluable to them.
 

Question:

Congratulations on the successful start of a great project - I know you guys in the main office work so hard to get $$$ and justify the work we do. Thanks for your skills and drive to keep Head Start going in a difficult time. I love what we do, I love my job. We do good stuff - I appreciate the whole team.

Answer:

Thank you! We all make a good team - it's what makes Head Start such a great program.

Question:

why cant we have the option for a payout and not take annual because there is a lot of time we cant use our annual leave and it gets denied even when we have given advances notice more then 2 weeks and summer time has been said is a time we should try and use it but we are still getting denied why is it us who are be punished for lack of funds for subs if our time was approved more then denied we would have less coverage issues

Answer:

Employment policies are approved by the Board of Directors and the Policy Council. They have not to this date approved paying off annual leave for several reasons. The largest reasons being that we cannot carry over funds from one grant year to the next. It would be extremely difficult to manage the budget, if over 140 staff people had the option to have annual leave paid off. You would not know how much money to set aside for annual leave pay off. If you were not aware, you can always use your annual leave instead of sick leave. If you think you may not use all of your leave by the end of the year, when you are sick you could use your annual leave. If you do not use your sick leave, over time you would be eligible for sick leave payoff.

Question:

Most of us know that we should ask to use annual leave when it least affects the agency or for an emergency, but what happens if leave is denied and we have too much left at the end of the year?

Answer:

Everyone should try to plan their vacation time throughout the year, so that it does not accumulate so much that taking it causes a hardship for the agency to cover at the last minute. You are eligible to carry over 40 hours of annual leave from one grant year to the next - June 1. If you have over 40 hours of leave come June 1 you lose it.

Question:
Dear Cathy,
Why is it that those of us who accrue lots of annual leave are not able to use it during the shut down time? It is very difficult to use it during the school year especially those of us in the full day/full year situation. Even being able to use 2 or 3 days of annual leave during the shut down would be a big help. Thanks

Answer:

You can't use leave during the shut down time because we don't have the money in the budget to pay you.
 

Question:

Why can’t we have shut down when it only affects 1 check and not both checks that is really a bad month with school starting back at least last year we got 2 unemployment checks so that helped a little. I am sure it’s to save head start money but that really is not fare to us who have to struggle that month. Can it be taken in to consideration for next year? It would be greatly appreciated

Answer:

We build our calendar based on the number of days children need to attend Head Start as required by performance standards. We also then take into consideration the amount of time staff need for home visiting before school starts, pre service training, open house, lesson planning, team meetings and setting up the classroom. This year's dates for returning did not save Head Start money, it cost us more money in paying staff for working longer.

Though you may not get two unemployment checks - the amount you get paid that week for 3 days may in fact exceed what your unemployment check may have been.

Question:

Regarding the last question, the staff calendar is posted on the home page with start up dates for all staff.

Answer:

Thank you for pointing that out.

Question:

Are TA coming back the 22nd of Aug or the 20th? The reason I ask is this would prevent us from getting unemployment? I was told we got a full 3 weeks off again this year

Answer:

Your last day of work is August 3. Your letter of hire states that you will be back to work on August 22, which is the first day of Pre Service. You would have to ask the Employment Office how this affects you.

Question:

What are the Protégé journals for

Answer:

The Education Managers and Directors with other education supervisors from Oregon Head Start grantees attended a three part training last year called "Steps to Success." This training was provided by our Training/Technical Assistance contractor out of Seattle. This training was on the subject of Coaching and Mentoring around literacy in Head Start/Early Head Start. I believe that Toni Eddy received these "Protégée Journals" and distributed them to all teachers and teacher assistants. The education managers will be discussing with you how they want you to use the journals. On page 2 it describes the purpose of the journal and on page 3 the role of a mentor-coach. The Education Managers will serve as the mentor-coach and you as staff will be the "protégé."

Question:

I enjoyed the positive things I have just read. It is nice to know there are those out there who realize the pluses of their jobs at this agency. Team work, communication and a "go with the flow' attitude are three of the things I value most in getting through my days. And, of course, the families and children...Thanks to not only the UMCHS Admin team, but all staff, for helping make us who we are as an agency.

Answer:

Thank you. It is so nice to has such positive feedback. You help make us a great team!

Question:

Thank you for the Wal-Mart cards that we just received. These are some of the ways to show that admin appreciates the staff. The response from staff yesterday was "wow, we got another Wal-Mart card". They were very pleased. I just want staff to think about how it also takes each center team to make a positive work place, not just the admin team. We all have to work together to make a successful agency. Thank you again.

Answer:

Thank you all for the recent positive responses. It means a lot to all of us!

Question:

I agree with the positive comments mentioned earlier.

Positive attitudes can create change! We do receive a lot of extras and I believe it is important say thank you once in awhile. I have heard staff complain that there is not enough positive feedback given from Admin -It starts with us! Sure, there may be a few problems but that is true in every workplace. It is amazing the impact we can make just by changing our points of views!

Answer:

I appreciate all of the positive comments that have been given!

Question:

I agree with the last statement. I am very proud to work for an agency that received 100% compliance on the last federal review. I am proud to work for an agency with great expectations and high standards. I appreciate the raises, Wal-Mart cards, benefits, paid vacations, etc...I receive working for this agency. I think its awesome that staff have the opportunity to express their grievances/dislikes and be heard. We have been given a lot this year! Thank you.

Answer:

Thanks - that is very nice to hear!

Question:
I think it is time for some positive feedback! It amazes me the dress code, cell phone and flex time issue continue to surface. Praise the administration and management team for having the patience to continue to answer the same questions over an over again. UMCHS policy and procedure, which we all receive at staff orientation, staff meetings and trainings, reflect the high standards of this agency. They are one of the many reasons this agency is so successful and respected in the community. As staff we need to appreciate the extra effort the administrative team puts forth. Just think, we could have out of pocket expenses to cover our benefits package and go without all the "extras" the agency gives staff. It seems some staff continue to dwell on the petty issues instead of the positive. Don't sweat the small stuff - appreciate what we do have!

Answer: 

Thank you, it's always nice to hear positive comments.

Question:
Question - Is it true that all staff MUST flex on the day of center meetings. Here's a true case scenario - Tuesday Center meeting - last of the year - is packed out with 50 plus family members. One staff member (teacher) can only stay for part of the time because she couldn't flex the entire time that day due to breaks and lunches. The other staff members are left to do all the clean-up after the meeting and attend to all the parent questions, etc. The staff member that left said her Ed Manager said she could NOT work more than eight hours that day and that we MUST flex on center meeting day or get written up. This staff member also could not come fifteen minutes early to help with the usual set-up preparations that we always do to insure a successful center meeting night. She is not avoiding work, just sticking to the "rules", and is afraid of getting written up. She is a hard worker and I'm not addressing the teacher's conduct, just the rule.
Thanks

Answer:

In my last answer I told everyone that the supervisors would work with people on a case by case basis. Since I don't know what center you are talking about it is hard for me to answer the question. Perhaps instead of a "Question to Cathy", this would have been better if the person involved would have asked the supervisor to check on this for them.

Question:

this is a question regarding the dress code. why is it that the whole code is so restrictive? If you go out into any professional community, i.e.. banks, public schools, offices of any sort, you will see people in capries and gauchos, way before May 1st and they look very professional. I understand the restrictions on shoes, but I do not understand why teachers have to wear a logo shirt with capris when others don't...the whole thing seems very repressive...

Answer:

Thank you for your input on the dress code. I can't speak for banks, public schools, offices or other "professional" places - each has their own professional appearance policies. What one may see as professional may not to another. I will look at the issue of capris for teachers with the rest of the admin team and we will make a decision.

Question:

Why is the issue of flex time not being monitored equally across the board. My view on this matter from what I've seen, is a selected few are being question endlessly, while others may have 9 hr days and nothing is being said. I feel some people in my center could be building a harassment case against the agency, due to continuously questioning by supervisors who are not around on a daily basis, so they don't understand. Their are many time in life where "on paper" calculations may work but in reality it is not possible. I dream of a day when management can understand this. I agree if one person in abusing the situation, they need to be dealt with, because many of us are truly trying, and the stress level is rising.

Answer:

We actually discussed this at Admin meeting this morning and talked about consistency across the program. I want to again say that communication with your supervisor about how to work out these long days is very important. If you cannot work out a solution for the day with your supervisor, they can approve the longer day. Again, we will work with each of you on a case by case basis depending on the situation. There are a lot of Bureau of Labor laws that many don't know can be violated by these longer days. Such as when to take lunch hours, breaks and in some case another "lunch" break later when you work over a certain number of hours. We are trying to be flexible with staff in addition to following labor laws. As we cannot talk to one staff about another - you have no way of knowing if we have dealt with this with other staff.

Question:

Why is it that we are being told that we can not work over 8 hours a day. There are many times that we have a late home visit or meetings. In the past we have had the flexibility to use the flex time that we have as long as it is within the same week there has never been an issue. I recently have had no days over 8 until the other day and was sent an email saying that I need to flex within the day. Sometimes this is just not possible. I would like to have the flexibility to use flex time when it is most effective for me and I am not saying to take several hours and save them up for the end of the week but in the past I have been told by you that if I have flex time within a week I can use that time to go to a child's program as long as it does not interfere with class time or other obligations such as home visits. I would like some clarification on this and hope that if there is a specific problem with an employee abusing the flex time then the supervisors would talk to that employee not make a blanket statement to all employees who do not abuse the flex time. Thanks for the clarification on this matter.

Answer:

I answered this question in an earlier Question for Cathy. I also sent an email out to everyone explaining the reasons and telling people that we would work one on one with people on this issue.

Question:

Cathy,

Why is it so much trouble to get center wellness activities approved? If it is not really our choice then how about sending all centers a list of acceptable activities. This center is almost out of time to fulfill one of our fringe benefits.  I appreciate that we do receive the opportunity to celebrate wellness as a team. Thank you for your consideration concerning this issue.

Answer: