Spring Highlights 2024

Impact has had the privilege of working with Head Start of Northeastern Nevada (HSNN) for fourteen years. Breaking the "cycle of poverty" is the primary focus for Head Start grantees who receive federal funds from the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Head Start. 

Head Start began nationally in 1965. HSNN has operated in Elko County since 1971 and has provided services for at least 3,000 children and their families during that time. HSNN offers educational opportunities for children in a safe and supportive environment while supporting parents in their individual family's goal attainment. During the past year, Impact supported this important work in the following ways:

Community Assessment. Each year Impact and HSNN work together to complete a "community assessment." This assessment helps HSNN understand the challenges families they serve are facing in the broader community. Together Impact and HSNN explore a multitude of data points, including childhood vaccination rates, substance abuse rates, rates of domestic violence, and others. This allows HSNN to support children and families as they prepare for kindergarten. Another element of the community assessment is understanding the level of need for HSNN's services for Early Head Start (0-2 year olds) and Head Start (3-5 year olds).

Longitudinal Case Study. In 2024 Impact and HSNN embarked on their second round of a longitudinal case study. Impact selected several families from Early Head Start to participate in an individual interview. The same families will be invited to take part in the same interview each year for five more years (until their child is in 1st or 2nd grade). Parents answer short-scale questions as well as open-ended questions. The results will help provide more insight into families' daily struggles and identify where HSNN has (or has not) brought stability to the family and supported their goal achievement.

Teacher Input. HSNN encourages parents who are interested in early childhood education to continue their education and become teachers at HSNN. Like most organizations, HSNN emphasizes the well-being and satisfaction of its employees. HSNN and Impact have utilized several methods to gather input from employees over the years. In 2024, Impact facilitated a fun, interactive, goal-oriented learning and planning session.

In past years, Impact has supported HSNN in other ways:

Performance Standards Alignment. The National Office of Head Start requires each Head Start to follow a set of performance standards. These standards cover every aspect of operation from human resources to diaper changing procedures to evacuation plans. Impact facilitated a series of working sessions with HSNN administration and staff to determine where the center was meeting the standards and to create a plan to bring their practices into better alignment when necessary.

Wage and Compensation Analysis. HSNN has worked hard to bring their wage structure into closer alignment with the local economy. Impact supported these efforts by gathering comparable wage data from comparable local positions.

Impact is extremely proud to support HSNN as they work to fulfill their mission of:

"...creating a supportive environment that promotes the establishment of positive relationships that are based on trust, respect and self-growth for children, families and staff."

"There is almost zero real world application for this degree [Anthropology]."

"The No. 1 thing that people make fun of me about is how frequently I mention I was an Anthropology major.” 

Dax Shepard, Actor and Anthropology Major

UCLA Anthropology Graduation Commencement Speech

Impact can understand Dax Shepard's seemingly contradictory quotes above. On one hand, Anthropology can be weird and difficult to define. On the other hand, it can be an unbelievably powerful framework for finding commonality and solutions in nearly any situation.

If you were to peruse Indeed for a job in Anthropology, you would not find much other than, perhaps, some opportunities for college professors. It can be difficult to explain the skills and ways of thinking taught by Anthropology in a job application. People often say their favorite college course was Anthropology, but they struggle to understand how that translates into a career.

Margo Teague, Impact's founder and principal, holds a degree in Applied Cultural Anthropology. The "applied" part means that she takes theories and methods from Anthropology and works to help her clients understand and solve real-world problems. This is not unusual, as many cultural anthropologists work for community-based organizations and non-profit agencies.

These industries value Anthropologists because they are trained to put their own cultural beliefs and practices aside while they study another culture ("cultural relativism"). At the same time, Anthropologists are trained to understand commonalities among human beings. In other words, how does an individual's culture (language, class structure, etc.) impact how they navigate meeting their basic human needs (safety, love, belonging, etc.)? Without this lens, it is easy to fall into the trap of imposing one's personal and cultural values and ways of being on others.

This is the difference between the two comics below:

Art Credit: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/society-and-culture/culture/a/cultural-relativism-article

Impact's work with Head Start of Northeastern Nevada provides an opportunity to explore this skill set. When Margo is interviewing families at HSNN she isn't thinking how she might approach a parenting or work situation. She never offers advice or judges a parent for their decisions. Instead, she works to understand the parent's perspective from their cultural lens. She keeps in mind that these parents are working to meet their (and their children's) basic needs within the culture they find themselves living. She then works to translate those experiences and perspectives to HSNN's administrative staff in an effort to identify appropriate solutions and supports. This allows HSNN's staff to show honor and respect to their families rather than suggesting well-intentioned but misguided suggestions.

If you are interested in finding out how Impact can help your organization meet its goals, contact Margo at margo.impactevaluation@gmail.com or

call (775) 397-0785.