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Head Start honors Mountain Home woman as National Parent of the Year
Katrina Jackson of Mountain Home has been named the 2009 National Head Start Association Parent of the Year.
The announcement was made at the 26th Annual Parent Training Conference in San Jose, Calif. The conference was held Dec. 4-8 and featured representatives from across the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
"This is a great honor for Katrina Jackson and for Mountain Home," said Kelly Janis of Mountain Home. who is the Idaho Head Start Association Parent Representative to the organization.
Jackson is a mother of five children, and has been an active parent at Friends of Children and Families Head Start in Mountain Home, according to Janis.
One of her sons has a hearing impairment and a language impediment that is associated with the hearing impairment. Jackson is helping her other four children learn sign language so they are all able to communicate as a family. "She is also teaching sign language to her son's classmates so that they can better communicate with him," Janis said. "Her experience has affirmed her love for teaching. As a result, she decided to pursue a college degree in early childhood education and hopes to one day teach in a preschool program like Head Start."
Jackson has been involved with the Parent Planning Center Committee and has volunteered regularly in the classroom, contributing over 280 hours as a Head Start volunteer.
Returning to school with five children, one of whom has special needs, is challenging, Janis said of Jackson, but her family, including her husband, Patrick, work together to succeed.
Her family intends to continue learning American Sign Language and share it with friends and others in the community. Jackson also wants to pursue other avenues for sharing information about sign language and about children with hearing impairments and different abilities in general.
"She is dedicated to being an ardent advocate for children with disabilities," Janis said.
Jackson received a $1,000 check for winning the honor.
She currently works at Creating Options in Mountain Home.