EUGENE–After 35 years researching childhood behavior, Hill Walker knows that an early push in the right direction can place a child on a path to success in school and life.

Thanks to a new $1.25 million federal grant, the University of Oregon’s Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior (IVDB) next year will begin helping Oregon Head Start programs do just that. The new effort will give children a nudge onto the right path when it works best–as they take their first school readiness steps before they even enroll in first grade.

"Early success in school serves as a buffer against all kinds of anti-social behaviors that a child may develop later in life," says Walker, IVDB co-director.

The institute, a research arm of the UO College of Education, recently received a federal grant to develop a version of its First Step to Success program for use by Head Start, a national school readiness program for children of low-income families. The Agency for Children, Youth and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted the IVDB $250,000 a year for each of five years to establish a UO Quality Head Start Research Center.

"The focus of First Step is on teaching kids to get off to the best possible start in school," says Walker. "In addition to academic preparation, young children need to have certain social and emotional skills to transition successfully into school. First Step will build the social and emotional skills that can act as a bridge for Head Start students to cross into a successful school experience."

First Step consists of a carefully coordinated intervention involving a child’s parents or caregivers, teachers and peers. Those three groups of people have the greatest influence on a developing child, according to Walker.

All children in participating Head Start programs will receive instruction and assistance in critical social and emotional skills, with an emphasis on positive reinforcement of good behaviors. Students who need extra assistance in mastering the social and emotional skills will receive added instruction and support.

The IVDB will tailor First Step–originally designed for use with children in kindergarten through the second grade–for use in Head Start programs, a pre-school program for children aged three to five years old. Walker is project director; other IVDB researchers involved include Annemieke Golly, Edward Feil and Herb Severson.

IVDB staff will collaborate with Head Start of Lane County’s Annie Soto and Karen Hamilton on initial implementation of First Step in the first two years of the project. Later, the IVDB will work with Portland Head Start, the Siletz Tribal Council and other Oregon Head Start sites. First Step then will be made available to Head Start sites nationwide.

This recent grant makes the University of Oregon one of eight Head Start Quality Research Centers nationwide. The other members of the Head Start Quality Research Center Consortium, among them the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Columbia University in New York, will research and develop new tools for school readiness preparation. Some will evaluate Head Start classroom settings and explore ways to incorporate new programs into them.

"We’re very excited to be a part of the national Head Start Quality Research Center Consortium," says Walker. "Helping kids to be successful in school is one of the very best things we can do for them. School success protects our youth from numerous long-term, destructive outcomes."

The IVDB developed First Step through a four-year (1992-96) research grant from the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, in collaboration with the Eugene School District, the Oregon Social Learning Center and the Oregon Research Institute. First Step already is used in many schools throughout Oregon and 13 other states, as well as in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Oregon legislature appropriated nearly $500,000 for the current biennium to begin making the program available to all schools and districts in Oregon.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber recently visited a Springfield elementary school with Walker to observe First Step first-hand. Kitzhaber wants First Step to be an integral part of the new Oregon Children’s Plan, his bill to allocate $66 million to bolster the state’s services for children.

Early prevention is the name of the game for the IVDB. Since its inception in 1995, the institute has gained national recognition for its documentation of effective early intervention strategies. Professors of education, psychology, sociology, law, philosophy, architecture and planning, public policy and management bring a broad-based expertise to the institute’s research efforts.

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