Head Start hosted an open house on May 12, where they were available to the community to come and see what the Head Start program had to offer. They also gave out backpacks and crayons to students who had arrived to attend the event.
Building A on the Head Start campus was full of children’s laughter, where students, family members, teachers, a resource officer and the local librarian all gathered to share in the fun.
“We’re doing an open house to promote head start for the upcoming year. This is for any kid from three to five going on to the preschool classrooms, but we also have an early head start that sees pregnant moms and their kiddos from ages zero to three, and then we transition them into the classroom. We have different community members, such as the police department and Cynthia Horn from the library and we will have people in and out that come and visit. So, they know that we have resources and partnerships with them for the following years next year and any of the following years, we have their support. We have events that they will come in and put together,” said Rebecca Acosta-Reza, the family engagement specialist for Alliance 2 and 3.
Head Start has resources and partnerships with a handful of organizations in town, including the Fire Department, the Public Library, and the Police Department, who visit the students and put on various events for them throughout their school year.
Head Start is full of dedicated employees who show passion for their roles at Head Start. Acosta-Reza was one of those people, and she shared a story on why she started the backpack program for kids who attended Head Start after seeing a child stuffing food into their pockets. Acosta-Reza asked why the child had been stuffing food in their pockets, and the child said because their parents work late and it was easier for them to eat the food out of their pockets.
This story inspired Acosta-Reza to try and find a way to find food for the students to take home and was successful in doing so. Now kids get sacks of snacks to take home when leaving at the end of the day.
Head Start offers support to youth through a variety of programs. To find out more, contact them at 308-762-2251.