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What is NCO Head Start Child Development Program? When
we asked Head Start Child Development Program children what they like
about school, one child offered this reply: "I
love to eat and I love to laugh and I love to hug." Head Start Child Development Program is a federally funded comprehensive, family-focused, child development program serving primarily low-income families with children of preschool age. The program also serves preschoolers (and their families) with disabilities and occasionally serves families struggling with special adverse circumstances. Head Start Child Development Program provides opportunities, information, resources and high quality interactions that empower parents to become fully involved in the positive growth and development of their children. The program serves the whole family through the enrolled child, addressing root causes of family challenges to success. NCO Head Start Child Development Program is a division of a Community Action Agency called North Coast Opportunities, Inc. that serves as the umbrella for a number of other community service programs, including several other child development programs. What is NCO Head Start Child Development Program's philosophy? Every person, including those living in poverty, deserves a sense of dignity, the opportunity to have dreams, and the opportunity to realize those dreams. At Head Start Child Development Program, we believe that in their hearts, families know what they want for themselves and their children; they know what they want to achieve. Head Start Child Development Program supports the parent as the child's first and best teacher. The Head Start Child Development Program staff work in partnership with parents to nurture and guide our community's children, building on the notion that all of us are lifelong learners. Our most important work is to assist families in raising children to become caring, responsible, healthy, thoughtful individuals. Our vision is that Head Start Child Development Program children will grow up to reach their highest potential and will give back to their communities a hundredfold. Why does NCO Head Start Child Development Program do what it does the way it does? Staff
and families identify their strengths and reinforce them through information,
education and support. Families are encouraged to become independent as
staff supports and assist them in doing things for themselves rather than
doing things for them. A fully integrated program that pays attention to education, wellness (physical and mental, including dental), nutrition, and the special needs rents eliminates the one-size-fits-all mentality of raising children. Children, parents and families are unique; none are exactly alike. Therefore, services cannot be exactly the same for each child and family, but must be developed to assist individuals in achieving their personal aspirations using all the resources available. Services are respectfully shaped by the culture, ethnicity, language and abilities of the diverse children and families as well as staff. An inclusive interaction with staff, community and other parents fosters a sense of belonging and ultimately, over time, diminishes the isolation that many low-income families feel. The Program Policy Council, made up of Head Start Child Development Program parents and representatives from the community, considers questions related to the program's direction, sharing key program governance decisions with Head Start Child Development Program management staff as well as the NCO Governing Board. Parents who serve on the Program Policy Council gain leadership skills that last them for life and increase their value in the community, making them more effective advocates for their own children as well as those of others. A program-wide belief in the value of shared decision-making is the basis for processes that gather staff and parent input on a wide range of decisions whenever possible and appropriate. On a daily basis, Head Start Child Development Program works with families to break unproductive family cycles such as illiteracy, poverty, abuse and domestic violence. This is done by offering relevant information and education enabling parents to see all their options and to make well-informed choices. Opportunities for success increase families' confidence and competence. Head Start Child Development Program teachers strive, with their actions in the classroom, to build social competence in children because it is proven that social competence supports success. What is NCO Head Start Child Development Program's commitment to the community? NCO Head Start Child Development Program promises to make the family a priority in the community by advocating for families and teaching families to advocate for themselves. Families and staff engaged in program activities forge a strong link in the community chain of teaching and caring for our children in a thoughtful and nurturing manner over time. NCO Head Start Child Development Program strives to collaborate with others, to share resources and to prevent the duplication of services. Program staff creates partnerships between families, the community and the Head Start Child Development. The Head Start Child Development Program reaches out to the most unreachable members of the community and draws them into the fold. Classroom curriculum cultivates children who will grow up to be individuals who want to contribute to the community at large. The deep and lasting work a family accomplishes by participating in the Head Start Child Development Program changes their lives, transforming the family from a community issue to a community asset. NCO Head Start Child Development Program's commitment to the community is to affect at least one small miracle in the life a child every day. And on a really good day? Who knows?
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