EARLY HEAD START

Teton County Only

“I didn’t know what I didn’t know…I started to meet with the people at Early Head Start when I was pregnant. They helped me get the medical care I needed and when my daughter was born, they just kept helping. They helped me learn how to best feed and take care of my baby and they made sure that I was OK, too.”  – CLC Parent

Early Head Start (EHS) promotes healthy prenatal care and positive birth outcomes for pregnant women, enhances the development of very young children and helps families become productive and successful. EHS is a child development program primarily for low-income families who meet the Federal poverty guidelines.  At least 10% of Early Head Start’s enrollment is available to children with disabilities.

In Teton County, EHS services are provided in participants’ homes and at a center that pregnant mothers, children, and families attend for care and education.

THE PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Quality early education both in and out of the home.
• Parenting education.
• Comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services, including services for women before, during and after pregnancy.
• Nutrition education.
• Family support services.

Family partnerships with EHS are vital to the success of this program.  For many EHS families, their involvement with this program is among their first experiences in the greater Teton County community at large.  Working closely with EHS provides families with a comprehensive approach to building a strong family structure with healthy and successful children.  It helps families learn more about the community in which they live and how to access the many resources that are available to parents.

EHS parents can actively take part in policymaking and other decisions for their child’s program. Parents have the opportunity to participate in developing curriculum and are given opportunities to take parenting classes, other vocational classes and to truly understand their children’s educational and developmental needs. CLC encourages parents to learn English, and/or obtain a GED in either English or Spanish.

For more information please visit the following websites:

Early Head Start National Resource Center http://www.ehsnrc.org/
Administration for Children & Families: Head Start Bureau http://www.acf.hhs.gov/acf_services.html#hs
Head Start Official Website http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/

HEAD START

Teton County Only

“Jeraldy loves going to class, she loves to learn to work on the computer, she loves learning to brush her teeth and wash her hands, she loves everything!  There’s not a single day when she says she doesn’t want to go to Head Start. The program is a great opportunity for kids to understand what a classroom is like before they go to primary school. For the Mexican people here, it’s an opportunity for the kids not to miss a step.” – Head Start Parent

The Head Start program at Children’s Learning Center provides crucial support to families with preschool-age children who live at or below the poverty level in Jackson Hole.

While “poverty” is not a word that is closely associated with life in this resort community, the reality is that hundreds of children don’t have enough healthy food to eat, don’t have healthcare, don’t have safe childcare, and are not likely to succeed in an educational environment without intervention.

Head Start is a primarily federally funded program that provides comprehensive care for families with young children who are living at one hundred percent of the federal poverty level. The program includes meals, educational opportunities, and family services. Children’s Learning Center is the only agency in Jackson that offers Head Start and it is delivered entirely without cost to participating families. This happens thanks to a strong network of community collaboration including space provided for the program on the campus of the Davey Jackson Elementary School.

THE PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE:

• A strong early education component.
• Parenting education.
• Comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services.
• Nutrition education.
• Family support services.

Children’s Learning Center in Teton County is staffed with English and Spanish speakers. Children in Head Start and Early Head Start learn in a dual language immersion program. They learn English from native English speakers and Spanish from native Spanish speakers. While most of our children are from Latino families, we have seen an increase in children from non-Latino families in recent years.

Like all educational programs at Children’s Learning Center, these classrooms are treated as research centers where children learn about the world around them, discussing their theories and ideas with their friends and teachers.  They enjoy field trips in the community and learn the essential communication and literacy skills that will help them as they enter kindergarten and progress through school.

The work of Head Start continues when children are not in the classroom. Teachers check in with families regularly to assess the progress being made. They follow up with other agencies to coordinate services, complete assessments of children’s learning, contact health care providers as needed, provide translations, visit families’ homes, and look for additional resources to support the families and the classrooms.

The parents of Head Start children are encouraged to be involved with the program by serving on advisory committees and helping in the classroom. This gives parents a “head start” in understanding and successfully navigating the public school system, making them effective advocates for their kids long after leaving Children’s Learning Center.

For more information please visit the following websites:
Administration for Children & Families: Head Start Bureau http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb
Head Start Information and Publication Center http://www.headstartinfo.org/