Head Start program helps children, families thrive

MEADOW LAKES — In gardening terms, Head Start is like rich compost that nourishes children and families and helps them bloom and thrive.

CCS Early Learning Executive Director Mark Lackey said Early Head Start and Head Start learning centers in Chugiak, Palmer, Wasilla and Meadow Lakes is taking applications and will pick students based on need. Classes begin Sept. 7.

Last year, CCS had funding to serve 320 students at any one time, but cumulative, 373 students were served, he said. If funding is available, Lackey said twice as many children need Head Start and Early Head Start services.

“The percent of the eligible population we have been able to serve has decreased dramatically,” Lackey said. “It’s amazing the level of need.”

Head Start programs provide comprehensive developmental services to low-income, preschool children and their families, including a range of medical, dental, mental health and nutrition care, and parent involvement services.

The preschool portion of the program is offered four mornings a week to children and families who qualify. Last year, Head Start served 260 children ages 3 to 5 and Early Head Start served 60 children from birth to 3.

Unique to the Head Start service model is its focus on the family unit, Lackey said.

“Our focus is on making the whole family successful,” Lackey said. “Kids aren’t going to be successful if they don’t have a good breakfast, a good night’s sleep and their immunizations.”

Helping families overcome the challenges, such as housing, employment, education, resolving relational issues has long-term benefits for the family unit and the child, he said.

“Having a stable healthy family over time is a much more important resource to a child than anything we can provide in the short time we have with the child,” Lackey said.

Income is one consideration when selecting applicants, he said, as are things like homelessness or children in foster care, both of which automatically qualify children for the opportunity.

The challenges of poverty mean some families have extra needs so Head Start also provides breakfast, lunch and transportation, Lackey said. When you are struggling to survive, your focus isn’t on academics, he said.

While CCS also receives some state and local funding, Lackey said most of the funding is federal grant dollars that require 90 percent of families to qualify based on financial need, and that 10 percent of available slots must be reserved for students with disabilities. The federal grants also require CCS to seek out 20 percent in matching grants from in-kind donations, Lackey said.

He said parents are encouraged to come in and volunteer, which counts as an in-kind donation and can lead to a career. About 40 percent of CCS employees were Head Start parents, Lackey said.

CCS started with one Head Start program in Chugiak in 1971. Nationally, Head Start has worked with more than 27 million children since it began in 1965. Last year, in the U.S. there were nearly 50,000 Head Start classrooms, 900,000 children, 212,000 paid staff and almost 1.3 million volunteers.

Early Head Start programs are new and began using funds included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was maintained in the current budget to continue the programs for another year, Lackey said.

He said Early Head Start expands the window staff members have to work with students and families to cover the first five years of life.

“It’s all about intervention and prevention,” Lackey said. “The local proof is when we have parents come back later and say, ‘You really saved my child, my family.’”

All four learning centers have home-based Early Head Start programs that provide weekly in-home visits and a weekly get together to help children practice social skills.

“Parents are the greatest teachers for other parents,” Lackey said, who has been with CCS since 1999 and the executive director since 2005.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.