A celebration known as “Crossing the Bridge” honored young learners on Thursday who are leaving CCRC’s Head Start program to begin kindergarten. That same day, May 18th, marks the 58th birthday of Head Start.
For nearly six decades, Head Start has provided early learning opportunities to more than 37 million vulnerable children and their families. On May 18, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson initiated the convening of a panel of child development experts that would ultimately become the blueprint for Project Head Start. As an administrator of Head Start and Early Head Start at over 25 locations across Los Angeles County, CCRC joins in on the celebration of the program’s birthday.
Designed to help break the cycle of poverty, Project Head Start provided preschool children with a comprehensive program that would meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. At the same time, the program would support the families in improving their lives. The early days of Head Start envisioned an eight-week summer program staffed by volunteers. According to National Head Start Association, the plan was to open the doors to a few thousand children nationwide, but more than 561,000 children showed up. The need for such a program was undeniable.
Flash forward to today, Head Start now serves more than one million children and their families across all 50 states each year. For more than two decades, CCRC has been providing quality Head Start preschool experiences for 3-and 4-year-old children across the San Fernando Valley. In 2009, our award-winning program also began offering Early Head Start services for children 0-3. In 2014, Palmdale School District began to directly provide Head Start and Early Head Start services as a partner of CCRC. Here’s what one mother had to say about her child’s experience in our program: “I had concerns about my baby when we started the program because he wasn’t moving much and he was nine months old. The educator gave me activities to do with him to support his development and now he’s walking! I’m very thankful for the support and guidance I got from the program.”
The Early Head Start and Head Start preschool program promotes early learning and school readiness for children ages Birth to Five. CCRC offers a diverse range of programs to meet the needs of our community:
- Early Head Start 0-3 (Center Base)
- Early Head Start 0-3 & Pregnant Women (Home Base)
- Early Head Start Child Care Partnership
- Head Start Child Care Partnership
- Head Start Preschool 3-5 (Center Base)
- California State Preschool Program
Children enrolled in Head Start receive early learning and care, nutrition, medical screenings, disability services, family learning programs, and more.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact us to find out why CCRC Head Start and Early Head Start is a great way to give your child the best start in life. We’re now enrolling!
