Community Action Organization

Head start & early head start the head start & early head start programs prepare children in low-income families, prenatal to age 5, for success in school and life, including children with special needs. In addition to learning and development services, the programs provide wrap-around supports related to childrens health, and family participation and well-being. Head start is funded for 584 primarily low-income pre-school children, ages 3 to 5, including those with special needs, and strives to prepare them for success in school and life. Children were in the following models: 414 in full school day-full school year; 18 in full-day full-year; and 4 at coffee creek correctional facility. Early head start is funded for 148 children, ages 0 to 3, with 120 children and pregnant women in a home-based model; 24 in full-day full-year classrooms; and 4 at the coffee creek correctional facility. Early head start promotes physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development of infants and toddlers and supports positive parent- child relationships. Teaching strategies gold, a research-based assessment tool that aligns with the creative curriculum (research-based curriculum), head start child development early learning framework, and our programs school readiness goals are used to track childrens development in multiple domains. Children made significant, measurable gains in social-emotional development, cognitive reasoning, fine and gross motor coordination, language literacy development, and mathematical skills.