Jose Macdonal Rivas

Jose Macdonal Castro Rivas

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In December of 1997, Jose attended his first National Head Start Association (NHSA) Parent Training Conference.Throughout the next several months, he worked with other OCDC Policy Council members to draft a letter to Sarah Greene, CEO of the National Head Start Association.The letter contained specific recommendations as to how services to Hispanic participants at NHSA conferences could be improved.In April of 1998, he and other OCDC Policy Council members met personally with Sarah Greene in Seattle, Washington to address the recommendations from the December 1997 Conference in person.

Jose had impressed Policy Council members with his dedication and his ability to elegantly express himself.He was elected President to the OCDC Policy Council for the 1998 season after providing training with other OCDC Policy Council members on Robert's Rules of Order and How to Run a Policy Council meeting.

Late in the summer of 1998, Jose attended training on Brain Development given by the Migrant Head Start Quality Improvement Center.This was the beginning of something that would benefit Migrant farm worker parents nationwide.Jose strongly felt the information shared at the Brain Development workshop was extremely important for all parents.He decided he would do the training at his center and arranged a date with the Director.He and his wife, Ada, then proceeded to type his notes on a typewriter and compile handouts from the information he had received at the training.Jose presented the workshop for local parents and it was a great success.

Throughout the period of reauthorization in 1998, Jose worked closely with other OCDC Policy Council members and Parents to support reauthorization.He went on the radio in his local community in an effort to gather letters and support for services to seasonal farm workers.The radio program included a question and answer session that Jose used as an opportunity to educate the community about the needs of seasonal farm workers.

In February of 1999, he was elected National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Parent Affiliate Group representative to the National Head Start Association Board of Directors.

In April of 1999, he provided the Brain Development workshop and the Robert's Rules of Order workshop at the National Head Start Association training Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.In spring of 1999, he migrated to California to pick apples and presented his Brain Development workshop at the local Migrant Head Start center.

In late June of 1999, he attended a meeting of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association Parent Affiliate Group in Portland, Oregon.In addition to his duties as NHSA representative, he was named parent representative to the National Migrant Head Start Conference Planning Committee and regularly participated in planning meetings and conference calls for the year 2000 conference.In this same month, he provided Brain Development Training for a new OCDC center that was just starting up and was asked by several other centers to come to their sites and provide this training.

Jose regularly participated with the Region 12 Government Affairs Committee and never missed a meeting.He actively represented the needs of Migrant and Seasonal families in meetings with Patricia Montoya, Commissioner for the Administration for Children and Families and other members of the Head Start Bureau.

Jose planned and worked with other Region 12 NHSA Board representatives to present issues and concerns regarding services for Hispanic/Latino families at NHSA Conferences at the September 1999 NHSA Board meeting.He spoke eloquently in the Board meeting persistently advocating for the needs of Latino children nationwide.This resulted in the creation of a Commission to provide input and advice to the National Head Start Association Board of Directors regarding services to Hispanic/Latino children in Head Start nationwide.

In 1999-2000 NHSA organized their 2010 panel and requested testimony from Parents, staff members and community members to assist them in their strategic planning efforts. In order to ensure the needs of migrant and seasonal families were included in these planning efforts, Jose offered both written and oral testimony to the National Head Start Association 2010 panel on two separate occasions.

Jose provided Brain Development Training National Head Start Parent Training Conference in Miami, Florida in December of 1999 and at the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association Conference in March 2000.

He is back to present at the conference this year at the request of the parents and will be offering his Brain Development Training on Monday March 5, 2001 in the morning.

Jose Castro is a well-rounded individual who dedicates all his time and energy to Head Start and its mission.He advocates on the local, state and national levels for the needs of not only migrant children and families, but of all children and families in this country.His trainings have touched the lives of many parents and he continues to reach out to parents on local state and national levels.

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