Oral History Program Alice Ralston Interviewed by Suzanne Tams 24 May 1971 i Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Alice Ralston Interviewed by Suzanne Tams 24 May 1971 Copyright © 2014 by Weber State University, Stewart Library ii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. Archival copies are placed in University Archives. The Stewart Library also houses the original recording so researchers can gain a sense of the interviewee's voice and intonations. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the Stewart Library of Weber State University. No part of the manuscript may be published without the written permission of the University Librarian. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed to the Administration Office, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 84408. The request should include identification of the specific item and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Ralston, Alice, an oral history by Suzanne Tams, 24 May 1971, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. iii Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Alice Ralston. The interview was conducted on May 24, 1971, by Suzanne Tams. Ralston discusses her experience working in elementary education, in positions such as teacher, principal, Head Start, and Director and consultant. ST: Mrs. Ralston, I am sure that in these many years you have seen a number of programs come into existence and perhaps some of the programs have been very beneficial in working with students and other programs have been rather short lived but new always the school system is looking for ways of working and dealing with children. The program I would like to talk to you about today is concerning the Head Start Program. I was wondering if you could tell us how Head Start started in Ogden. AR: Ogden City Schools has always been interested in early childhood education. We have been aware that many of our disadvantaged children were not able to compete with their peers in academic subjects. For this reason, we felt that it was necessary for us to establish some training program at an age earlier than five years. Our plan was to work with these children in early admissions which simply meant a governmental program beginning at age four that would involve all children in disadvantaged districts. In 1964, we began to plan such a program and in the spring of 1965, we wrote a proposal for the federal government. This proposal was not funded in time for us to begin a summer school, but at that time Head Start was being organized and we asked for funding through the Head Start funds, which we received. That summer we had around 185 to 200 young children in the Head Start Program. In the fall we were funded for early admission and we had around 200 to 250 children in the program. The following year, early school admissions were phased out and the school applied for the program under Head Start and since that time we have been under that program. 1 ST: That is exactly what I wanted to know. Why was Head Start delegated to the Ogden City Schools? AR: This program was conceived as an educational program for disadvantaged children and at that time all the programs were being funded through schools as far as I know. In our city, there was no Community Action Program at that time. Community Action was organized at least a year later. ST: Do you think that Ogden really has a need for a program such as this? AR: I certainly do. There are many children in our district today who need to begin earlier on their training in order to compete with their peers who have had more advantages. ST: It is my understanding that children start when they are four years only in this program. I was wondering, do you think this program should be expanded to include all four years old or do you think it should still be only for low income people? AR: I think our early school admissions were really better than Head Start in this respect because it didn't segregate certain children from others in their home area. I also feel that there are many children in homes that are considered affluent who could benefit from a program such as this. I don't think that all children necessarily need it and I certainly feel that they are not ready to pay taxes yet to get an extra year of schooling for the whole population. However, I do feel that it would be to our advantage, to society's advantage and certainly to the advantage of many children if we could go back to the guidelines of early school admissions. ST: Thank you. How are these children selected for the program? AR: In the first place, they need to be four years old by the first of September. The reason for this is that we accept five years old into kindergarten when they are five by the first of September. If we accept the children who are younger than this it would mean that they would have to wait a year to enter kindergarten until they are the proper age. The second requirement was that they qualify according to the economic guidelines of the federal program. In addition to the children who 2 qualify, there were ten percent of these children who did not meet the requirements of low income as outlined by federal programs but they were handicapped in some other way and this was our guide in trying to select 10 percent who had needs for this type of program. ST: Then you would say, Mrs. Ralston, that deprivation is not only common among low income people but perhaps there is a certain percentage of our population whose income is much higher than this but are deprived in some way and do need the program. AR: This is absolutely true. In some of our most affluent families we find children who are handicapped because they haven't been given the attention and teachings that these parents should have provided for them. ST: What ethnic groups are involved in this program? AR: We have about an equal number of Spanish-American and Caucasian. We also had a few Negroes. We had few Negroes because most of these could not qualify economically. They were above the guidelines. We also had Indian children and a few Orientals, a Puerto Rican or two, and very few other groups. ST: I have heard that in other parts of the country the program was held in churches and sometimes in people's homes and other various places. I am wondering if you could tell me where these centers were located and how many children were involved in the Program in Ogden. AR: In many parts of the United States, Head Start was held in churches and other public buildings. A few Head Start programs were held in homes. We feel there in nothing wrong with holding Head Start programs in churches or even in homes. However, I feel that many times the ones that were held in homes were below standard simply because there wasn't enough space or facilities to conduct a good program. In our particular program, we were funded for 250 children. At times our enrollment was below this because there is much movement among these families. They come 3 and they go. Overall we had a few more than 250 enrolled for this same reason but we never had more than 250 at one particular time. ST: It is my understanding that the low income people were originally from certain areas such as Hopkins and Pingree, Grant, Lewis and Washington, but I am wondering if the deprivation problem is not so much centrally located in these areas but if it is kind of spread out through different parts of Ogden and the outskirts of town. AR: When we began the program in 1965, most of the people in welfare or family assistance programs lived west of Washington. In the following years, many of these people were placed in homes east of Washington which meant that at the present time they are fanned out into most of the city and the surrounding areas so our target is no longer confined to the four or five school districts that were so designated at the beginning of the program. ST: Mrs. Ralston, inasmuch as these children are from different parts of time, how do they get to their centers or to the Head Start program in the various schools? AR: First the Ogden City Schools tried to locate the classes where there were the most children keeping it a neighborhood school, but when we could not do this we organized car pools for the parents to bring the children to school and they were paid for this service. This was not too successful because many of the cars that were used by the families were not in a condition to hold up, so many times we had a great number of absences simple because the transportation was not reliable. After that we went into the taxi service program and this was quite successful except that it was very expensive and there was not money funded for this kind of a program over an extended period of time. The last year, we were given a mini bus that helped to a large extent with our expenses. This was donated from government surplus. ST: What type of nutritional program is involved for these children? 4 AR: Breakfast and lunch were provided for the children. They were grade A meals with much attention given to high standards and balance of food and nutrition which these children needed very much. We found that one of the important parts of this program was helping children to accept different kinds of food. Some children from certain ethnic groups limited their intake to foods that were not necessarily most nutritious and certainly did not make a balanced meal. In addition to the children getting used to eating other foods and accepting them we involved parents in these meals and we felt that this was even more important because if parents could not accept certain foods, which they did in the program, they even became quite fond of some of the foods that we were serving, but if they could not do this, they would not prepare them for the children and the value in training and in nutrition would be lost. ST: How does the Head Start Program differ from kindergarten? I know I have heard some people make the comment that they didn't quite understand the difference between the two programs. I wonder if you could explain the difference between them to me. AR: In general, kindergarten in the public schools is an academic program but in Head Start there are several components that are not included in kindergarten as such. For instance, the nutritional element was a part of the program and, as we said before, was very valuable to the child in his development. Also there were the medical and dental programs which were free to the child and the family. Many of the mothers who came into the Head Start Program for the first time had never taken their child to the doctor or to the dentist. Part of the program was getting the parent used to taking the child and to getting the instructions the physician or dentist gave in relation to helping the child. This was just as important in many cases as the service itself. In addition to the medical and dental program, there was the psychological program. Many parents were given special help for their own problems and counsel and guidance in child development and handling children in a way that -was more beneficial than they had known before. Also the social service program was very 5 prominent. We felt that the training that parents got through this program, such as and guidance and vocation, recreation, such as swimming or bowling, or picnicking or playing games with children was very important. All these different things are very important to parents and the development of their families. We also spent much time in planning the academic program for these children. One of the most important parts of this program was developing language skills. This is carried on in kindergarten, but if the kindergarten child is not very successful or he doesn't have time to develop his program if he begins at five. They need this extra year and it would be even better if they had the third year. In addition to this, children were given thinking skills and there was much activity in this that the parents did not seem to understand, but the middle class parent does just automatically. We gave these children many experiences, such as trips on which we talked to them about what was happening and noticing the activities and the happenings that had a relationship to science things of this sort that ordinarily were just not explained to these children. ST: Are there any additional services given to these people that perhaps you didn't mention before? AR: I think we had a good program for parents. In the first place, we had classes on homemaking skills, such as cooking and sewing, nutrition and things of this sort. We also had classes in first aid. I believe we had one class in home nursing. For fathers we had automotive mechanics class. The parents selected these for themselves. They were the things that they wanted to have presented. We also were involved in vocational training. As you know, one of the purposes of the social services is to help identify needs in different groups of people and then finding an agency that would meet these needs. This is something on which we worked very hard. For instance, the parents were brought into a situation where they could talk with employees of the employment agency. They were told some of the things that they needed to have before they could be employed. From that came vocational training and working with the Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. 6 Some of these people were able to enter college classes. We had a number of night school classes. Some of the people were working on their high school requirements that led to the GED. Some of them were taking things such as art, music and things of this kind. We had some very definite work and, I think, some very successful programs in connection with the mental health clinic. Several classes in child development were given. Some by the teachers in the Head Start Program who were qualified to do this. One class was given by an instructor from Brigham Young University. Parents seemed to enjoy these and I am sure that many parents profited from this type of help. ST: Well then it seems that Head Start was a program that was beneficial to the children as well as to the parents. I was wondering if these parents were involved in other ways, such as helping to make decisions for the program. AR: Parents were involved in this program from the very beginning. For instance, the first step was accepting the personnel from Head Start into their homes. We tried to follow all the guidelines for parent involvement that was given to us in the manual. That was the first step - admitting personnel from Head Start. We had a chance here to advise parents and to give them guidance in helping their child and other members of the family. After meeting with these parents and becoming friends with them, they were invited to the schools to contribute in other programs, such as the nutritional program, going with children and teachers on trips, helping with academic work in class and working in the safety program, and all the many activities that were going on in the school. We feel that this was one of the most valuable parts of the program because parents learned what we were trying to do with their children. Many times they didn't understand this. Many times they emulated this type of behavior in their own homes, and we were able to see that in some cases, the second or third child had received benefit from the training that parents had had with previous children. After a parent, or when a parent became active in the classroom they became eligible for selection into organizational programs within the schools such as advisory committee members and recreational advisors 7 for all these different programs. Everything that was done for the parents was planned by the parents and many of the things that were planned for the children were planned with the parents. In addition to this, parents were organized into an advisory committee at a district level, which meant that they had a part in decision making for the entire program, just as they had a part in decision making when they were on the advisory committees in their own school area. ST: Mrs. Ralston, you have talked a little bit about how the parents were involved in the program and also their children. I was wondering if we might move along to something else now. Maybe we could talk about how the teachers and aids were selected for this program. AR: In the first place, the teachers were selected for this program the same as they are for every other age level in the public schools. They needed a certificate and a degree to teach. In addition to these qualifications, we tried to select teachers who were the most interested, the most sympathetic to children and who were really anxious to contribute this kind of service to young children of the disadvantaged families. We felt that our selection meant that probably the very best teachers in the system for this kind of work were in our program. Our aids came from the disadvantaged areas. In the guidelines, it suggests that we hire parents whenever possible, but they had to qualify just as the children did as to economic ability. We usually tried to select a mother or a person who had volunteered and had given us a chance to see if they were suited to this kind of work and if they had empathy and kindness and ability to lead children. There were absolutely no academic qualifications. Many of these aids were people who had finished the sixth grade or junior high or had worked in high school. I think that there were only two or three of our aids who had completed high school, but this wasn't important to the hiring at this level. ST: What are some of these aides doing now that Head Start has been taken from the schools? Are they involved in some other type of program, or have they just dropped out, and more or less staying at home and being a housewife? 8 AR: The Ogden City Schools hired some of these aides to work in the same type of position in the schools at different levels. These people have been quite successful in their work and in continuing their training which is of very little expense to them. We feel that eventually some of them will receive their college diplomas and be able to enter the field as professional teachers. Other aides are working in that same position in Head Start now, in other words as aides in the Head Start Program. A few of the others, even though they do not have a certificate or the training that our professional teachers have, are employed as teachers in the Head Start Program. I think a few, one or two, have gone into other fields of work. ST: Mrs. Ralston, why did they take the Head Start Program from the schools? AR: I think that this was a political move. Head Start is now more of a welfare program. One of the major fights in the nation has been over is gaining control of the funds that are appropriated for the program and the power that goes with it. I think some of our political leaders felt that there were more votes among the disadvantaged parents that would support them in their offices than might otherwise be gained. This is sort of a bitter opinion maybe, but I think it is valid. The concept now is that this is a program that should increase employment among low income people. It is considered a welfare program. In the beginning, the national goals were to provide an educational program, supported by medical, dental, nutritional, psychological and social service components which would enable these children to compete successfully with children of the same age from the more affluent levels of society. These were the goals of the Ogden City Schools throughout our program. The philosophy is different in the present program. ST: Who has the Head Start Program been delegated to now? AR: Officially, the program was delegated to a group of ministers. This group helped to located space for the classes, but never exerted control over the program. The program has been controlled by the Community Action Agency and parents of the children. 9 ST: Mrs. Ralston, in talking to you these past few minutes, I get the impression that you feel the importance of education in a child's life and also education in a parent's life. Have there been any studies to show if there has been any lasting effects on these children throughout the years, maybe in raising their I.Q's or achievement levels? AR: Kindergarten teachers discovered that these youngsters had improved language skills and that they could follow directions better. They were able to make a better social adjustment than other groups had. In the first grade, there was a study done by Dr. Sheldon Callister to test the achievement level of these children. He found that the children who had been in Head Start were apt to be more advanced in reading. In fact, there were twice as many Head Start children in the top reading groups in first grade than the children who had not had Head Start. We found that they were further in arithmetical skills. He tested in several other fields of learning and there was a significant difference in favor of the Head Start children in each of these areas, but I think the reading was the most pronounced. ST: Is there any possibility of the Head Start Program coming back to the schools? AR: This, too, is a political situation. At the present time, I think the president would like for this entire program to come back into the educational area, but it remains to be seen what the final decision through Caress Congress will be. I think no one can tell this at the present time. ST: Thank you very much Mrs. Ralston, for your comments and for the time you have spent in telling me more about the Head Start Program in the schools. I know that you felt that the program was successful and that you hope that these children get the Very best education possible. 10 ALICE L. RALSTON Served 25 Years EDUCATOR ENDS VARIED CAREER WITH SCHOOLS Mrs. Alice L. Ralston will end her career here in the Ogden School District after serving 25 years as a teacher, elementary principal, head start director, and her present assignment as consultant in elementary education. She will be employed next year as an elementary principal in Chaingmai, Thailand, under the Presbyterian Commission on Ecumenical Missions and Relations. She received her bachelor degree from the University of Oklahoma, and a master's degree from the University of Chicago. Mrs. Ralston taught as a teacher and elementary principal in Oklahoma before coming to Utah. 11