Head Start is back in Dunkirk

Six years after Dunkirk Head Start was moved to Portland, the preschool program is returning to West Jay Community Center.

Seventeen students will have their first day Friday in their new classroom.

Head Start provides services, including education, meals and healthcare, for impoverished children. The Dunkirk classroom was housed at WJCC until 2011, when budget cuts forced it to move to Portland’s Head Start center.

Ginny Williams, the teacher for the Dunkirk classroom, said the move back to Dunkirk will help out both the students and their families. Previously, children were bused to and from Portland and spent up to an hour each day traveling.

“I felt like it was going alleviate complications we had not being in the community,” Williams said. “It’s going to be so good for the children not having to be on the bus for long periods of time.”

The move is possible thanks to a push by Head Start statewide to convert part-time programs to full-time.

Karin Somers, who is the director of Head Start for Jay, Blackford, Randolph, Adams, Wells and Huntington counties, said of the 17 classrooms in the six-county area, six will be converting to full-time preschool this year. As Dunkirk’s classroom was included on that list, it received enough grant money to allow it to move back to its previous location.

“We were able to write the grant to increase our annual budget to include going back to Dunkirk, providing rent, any utilities, our copier, internet and (hiring) a cook,” Somers said. “We did always know we needed to be back in the community if we could ever make that possible.”

The move will allow more community involvement in the classroom, Somers said, which is one of Head Start’s goals.

“A big piece of Head Start is parent involvement, family involvement and community involvement, and so it’s really difficult for a parent to come volunteer 15 miles away,” Somers said. “It’s difficult for community members to come volunteer or be involved when the miles are in between the convenience of being right there in the community.”

Dunkirk employees are currently looking for community members to become involved as presenters, volunteers or even substitute teachers, Williams said.

“We want to be involved in this community, we want to get to know the firefighters, police officers here,” Williams said. “It will be really nice for us to reach out into the Dunkirk community and involve those folks here.”

Williams has been working all summer to get the classroom ready, along with assistant teacher Brittany Springer, family support staff Kim Stephens and cook Tammy Jellison. They’ve also gone on home visits to meet the students’ families and had an open house Wednesday to introduce children to the classroom.

The switch to a full-day classroom will offer the staff more opportunities to work with children on educational goals, Williams said. The schedule for each day includes breakfast, lunch, music time, physical activities, reading time and free play, among others.

“I’ve been with Head Start for 24 years and I’ve always wanted to have students for longer because we serve meals, we brush teeth … all those things that we do are good and necessary, but it takes away time where I can spend teaching them,” Williams said. “This is going to give us more of an opportunity to do some of those small groups or other activities that I’ve always wanted to do.”

But the services Head Start provides families in poverty go beyond the classroom. Family support staff members work closely with families to improve their home lives, even helping parents achieve financial and educational goals.

“We try to give them information on nutrition, how to eat properly, the childcare, make sure the kids are updated on their physical and shots and all their medical stuff,” family support staff member Stephens said. “Try to get these kids ready for kindergarten that are really like three steps behind.”

To be eligible for Head Start’s services, families must be at or below the Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guideline, which is $24,600 for a family of four. Also eligible are children from homeless families, families that receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income, and foster children of any income level.

“Head Start is at the lowest level of poverty. Head Start serves the most needy or the most at risk,” Somers said. “I’ve been here 14 years … we don’t have a problem filling our slots with families who meet the income or the categorical criteria.”

Williams and Springer both grew up in poverty, and Springer participated in Head Start as a child. Williams said her experiences in life have led her to working with impoverished children.

“I’ve had similar experiences, and maybe some negative experiences, because of being in poverty, and it doesn’t have to be,” Williams said. “And that’s what I want parents to know, because just because you don’t have, doesn’t mean you can’t do.”