DAWSON TO LEAD HEAD START OF ROCKLAND

Wilbur Aldridge, president and chairman of the board for Head Start of Rockland, announced the selection and appointment of Ouida Foster Dawson as Acting Executive Director of Head Start of Rockland, the leading provider of preschool and early childhood education in Rockland County serving nearly 900 low income children and their families. Dawson has been selected after an exhaustive national search to replace Mary Jane Pauling-Jones who retired in late 2006 after 32 years at the helm of the organization.

Ouida Dawson received her B.S. in Child Development from North Carolina A&T State University, and an M.S. in Education, School Guidance & Counseling from Long Island University. She earned an S.A.S. in School Administration and Supervision from SUNY New Paltz. She has over 20 years experience working with children and families, including service as a preschool teacher at Church of Our Saviour Head Start in Yonkers and Union Child day Care in White Plains, followed by service as a social worker with the Westchester County Department of Social Services. She joined Head Start of Rockland in 1989 and has most recently served as director of Haverstraw Head Start, one of three major Head Start programs operated directly by Head Start of Rockland.

Dawson is an adjunct professor at Rockland Community College where she has taught an introduction to early childhood education since 1996. She has also taught abnormal psychology at Westchester Community College. She is a 2005 UCLA Johnson & Johnson Management Fellow Graduate, served as a Girl Scout Leader, was chairperson of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Mentoring Program and is past chairperson of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Scholarship Committee. She received the Town of Ramapo Outstanding Community Service Award in 2004.

Dawson is active in several professional associations, including: Habitat for Humanity of Rockland, Past President; meals on Wheels of Rockland, Past President; Palisades Association for Evaluation of Young Children, New York State Head Start Association.

Wilbur Aldridge said: “All of us on the board and policy council at Head Start of Rockland are excited and pleased to have Ouida Dawson stepping into this critical leadership position. She brings outstanding experience and a commitment to young children, plus a real knowledge of the communities and people we serve. We are confident Ouida will continue a tradition of caring and commitment to our most vulnerable children.”

Dawson said: “It is a privilege and an honor to step into this leadership role at Head Start of Rockland. My personal education philosophy believes that we can and should take a child where he/she is and build on their experiences. Children come from families and those families come from diverse cultures. Schools like Head Start, family, and community must all work together for a child to have a successful educational experience.”

She added: “We will be reaching out to all segments of the community for advice and counsel as we build on our first 43 years of success. We want to do everything in our power to help low income children and their families reach optimal potential. We want to see them succeed in school and in life.”

Head Start of Rockland, a not-for-profit charitable organization, is licensed by New York State and accredited by NAEYC, the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It is also a licensed provider of preschool special education evaluation and assessment services.