NACOG Head Start Program Information

Head Start | Early Head Start | Home Base Head Start | Applications

Head Start

What is Head Start?

Head Start is a Federal program for preschool children from low-income families.  The Head Start program is operated by local non-profit organizations in almost every county in the country.  Children who attend Head Start participate in a variety of educational activities.  They also receive free medical and dental care, have healthy meals and snacks, and enjoy playing indoors and outdoors in a safe setting.

 

Head Start helps all children succeed.  Services are offered to meet the special needs of children with disabilities.  Most children in Head Start are between the ages of three and five years old.  Services are also available to infants and toddlers in selected sites.

 

What can the Head Start program offer to your child?

Head Start provides children with activities that help them grow mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically.  The Head Start staff recognize that, as parents, you are the first and most important teachers of your children.  They will welcome your involvement in Head Start activities, and will work as partners with you to help your child progress.

 

Head Start staff members offer your child love, acceptance, understanding, and the opportunity to learn and experience success.  Head Start children socialize with others, solve problems, and have other experiences which help them become self-confident.  The children also improve their listening and speaking skills.

 

The children spend time in stimulating settings where they form good habits and enjoy playing with toys and working on tasks with classmates.  Your child will leave Head Start more prepared for kindergarten, excited about learning, and ready to succeed.

 

Your Head Start child will also be examined by skilled professionals for any health problems.  Professionals will arrange vision and hearing tests and any needed immunizations.  Head Start offers a nutrition assessment and dental exams as well.  Children with health needs receive follow-up care.

 

Mental health and other services are available for children and families with special needs.

 

What would be your child's routine in a Head Start Program?

Most children who enroll in Head Start attend a half-day center-based program.  However, some communities may operate a full day program or provide Head Start services through a home-based setting.  In a home-based program, staff called Home Visitors teach parents how to provide learning experiences for their own children.

 

Some center-based programs offer children bus rides to and from home.  When children arrive at the center, they are greeted warmly by their teachers.  They put whatever they have brought from home in a place which is their own to use every day.

 

Classroom time includes many different activities.  Some teachers begin the day be asking the children to sit in a circle.  This encourages the children to talk about and idea or experience they want to share with others.  In some centers, the children plan their activities.  They may choose among art, playing with blocks or table toys, science act5ivities, dancing to music, looking at books, or pretend housekeeping.  Children can switch activities if they prefer another challenge.   Each day, they have time to work in a small group with other children and to play outdoors on safe playground equipment.

 

At lunchtime, children receive nutritious meal and brush their teeth.  All the children are taught to was their hands before meals, and are encouraged to develop good personal and health habits.  If they come for an afternoon session, they also receive a healthy snack.

 

What can Head Start offer your family?

Head Start offers you a sense of belonging, other support services, and a chance to be involved in activities to help your whole family.  You can take part in training classes on many subjects, such as child rearing, job training, learning about health and nutrition, and using free resources in your own community.  Some parents learn the English language; others learn to read.  Head Start also offers assistance to parents interested in obtaining a high school General Equivalency Diploma (GED) or other adult education opportunities.

 

If you have a family member with a special problem, such as drug or alcohol abuse, job loss, or other family crisis, your family can receive help through Head Start.  Head Start staff members refer families needing help to medical, social welfare, or employment specialists they know in the community, and will follow up to be sure you receive assistance.

 

You can become a Head Start volunteer and learn more about child development.  This experience may later qualify you for training which can help you find employment in the child care  field.

 

You can also have voice in the Head Start program by service on various committees.  Parents' experiences in Head Start have raised their own self-confidence and improved their ability to make decisions.  Click here to find a NACOG Head Start center in your area.

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Early Head Start

Service Area and Program Options

The EHS Program was introduced to NACOG Head Start in PY1998. At its inception, the program served 46 children in 3 Home-based programs and one center-based program. In PY1999 a second center-based program was opened to serve Home-based children.

Currently NACOG EHS serves three counties in Northern Arizona; Yavapai, Coconino and Navajo. We have both Center-based and Home-based program options in Cottonwood and Flagstaff and a Home-based program option in Holbrook. The two Center-based programs operate full-day, full-year programs.

EHS is partnered with Yavapai Community College and Mingus Union High School in Cottonwood and the Flagstaff Unified School District Teenage Parent Program in Flagstaff. The target population EHS serves is teens and first time parents who are either working or in school.

 

What is Early Head Start?

  • Provides services to income eligible pregnant women and children age 0-3 years

  • Encourages prenatal care in pregnant women

  • Child Development Program seeking to enhance the develoment of infants and toddlers through partnerships with parents

  • Committed to high quality

  • Proactive approach to promotion of healthy child development and family functioning

  • Supports high level of parent involvement and partnership

  • Welcome and fully include children with disabilities

  • Home culture and language of each family is supported

  • Believes that families can identify their own strengths and needs, set their own goals, and are capable of growth

  • Responsible for promoting healthy transitions into and out of EHS

  • Partners with many community agencies to provide the best available resources to families
     

NACOG Early Head Start’s Mission Statement

NACOG Early Head Start is a quality comprehensive, family-focused program that provides education and support for children and families from conception through 3 years of age.

We recognize that parents are their child’s first teacher and believe that early support systems and education are keys to lifelong success.

Our comprehensive strategies include individualization of goals, establishment of partnerships, continuity of care, availability of resources, and opportunities for families to gain the skills needed to enhance the lives of their children.

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Home Based Head Start

The Home-Based Program provides comprehensive Head Start services to pregnant women, children, ages 0-5 years, and their families. Through the home-based option, families receive the same services as those participating in center-based programs. While the center-based Head Start option focuses on the child in a classroom setting, the home-based option focuses on the family and the child in a home setting. Our staff, called “Home-Based Visitors”, have an opportunity to work with individuals within a family context and in the home environment. They help parents provide the developmental activities and support services that Head Start children would receive in the center-based option.

The Home-Based Program provides comprehensive services in education/child development, medical and dental health, nutrition, mental health, social services and parent involvement. Because the parent is considered a primary factor in the growth and development of their child, the Home-Based Visitors work intensively with the child’s parents and other family members. It is very important that the home visitor and the family form a strong working relationship and a trusting partnership.

Home-based visits consist of the following components:

  • Visits are conducted with the parents, not with babysitters or temporary caregivers.
     

  • Visits will help parents enhance their parenting skills and assist them in the use of their home as their child’s primary learning environment.
     

  • Visits will focus on helping parents learn how to provide learning opportunities that further their child’s growth and development.
     

  • The content of the visit is jointly planned by the parent and the home visitor.

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Apply today!  Download your Head Start Application Here.

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*Note:  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Adobe PDF version of the Application.  Download it here for free.

*Send your completed applications to NACOG - Head Start, 121 E Aspen Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

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NACOG Head Start, 121 E. Aspen Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Phone:  928.774.9504  Fax:  928.779.0514

Email:  HeadStart@NACOG.org