Head Start teacher, Sandra Bolling, top center, reads to a group of children at Lincoln Park Primary School.
Bolling has been at teacher with Head Start for 24 years. (Photo: Tony Giberson/[email protected])

The Community Action Program’s Head Start provides free preschool for children in the Pensacola metro area.

The early education program needs 212 more children to enroll before school starts next month to reach its required enrollment level of 855.

Head Start supports young children of low-income families by providing a range of developmental and educational services.

It is critical to closing the achievement gap between children of different economic backgrounds and for preparing them for kindergarten, primary school and beyond.

Especially critical is reaching, recruiting and enrolling the children who can benefit most from what early education has to offer.

“Recruitment never ends,” said Deborah Nagle, Head Start Director for the Escambia County Community Action Program Committee. “We take applications all the time.”

With school starting Aug. 10, Head Start officials are beating the bushes for parents to enroll their children in the free programs.

Children may apply for Head Start at any time during the school year on or after their third birthday. Before this age, children may be eligible for Early Head Start.

The Head Start and Early Head Start programs are funded through the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

It’s free for children from families who meet federal income guidelines or other qualifications. For example, a family of three with annual income of $20,160 would qualify.

More than 3,000 children are eligible for preschool in Escambia County. Head Start is funded to provide services for 855 children, and 80 can participate in Early Head Start, including expectant mothers.

Readiness rates for students enrolled in Head Start in Escambia County over time. Source: Community Action Program data.

Although most Early Head Start and Head Start families must meet low-income guidelines, the programs may accept a certain percentage of families whose incomes exceed the federal income poverty guidelines.

As of July 8, only 643 children had enrolled in Head Start. If the program doesn’t meet and maintain its enrollment level, both funding and available slots could be reduced.

“The children are out there, but some parents want them home with them,” Nagle said. “They’re not ready to let them go yet, but come kindergarten you have to let them to. But if they let them go first, we can get them ready for kindergarten.”

Brittney Fields, Head Start admissions specialist, travels around the entire county seeking children enroll.

Fields hangs posters and banners, put stickers on cars, records radio ads, use social media, visit daycares, churches, stores and hair salons to recruit children for the program.

“We look around at different community events, and we go out and set up tables to get our word out, trying to recruit them,” Fields said. “Some are more effective than others.”

Even though Head Start is free, parents have more options today with VPK, daycares and churches, Fields believes.

Of the 10 Head Start centers, the ones most difficult to fill are the Gibson Center, Gonzalez Court, Lincoln Park, O.J. Semmes and Molino.

Parents also select childcare based on convenience and transportation, said Tanara House, Head Start admissions and transportation manager.

“If we’re downtown, and you live over here, I’m going to go to this one closest to me,” House said.

Head Start offers needy families high-quality daycare with academic programming, as well as mental health, medical and dental assistance, nutritional guidance, and other related services. The programs also seek to prepare families to support their children once they enter the public school system by encouraging classroom involvement.

Early Head Start provides comprehensive child development services for eligible infants, toddlers up to age 3 and expectant families. Early Head Start offers home-based and center-based services. Once a child reaches 36 months, parents and guardians may apply for their child to attend Head Start.

The Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County also is accepting applications for voluntary prekindergarten VPK for fall registration.

The Coalition’s VPK is designed to prepare every 4-year-old in Florida for kindergarten.

If you have a child who will turn 4 years of age by Sept. 1, the child is eligible for the state’s free VPK program.

The school-year program includes 540 hours of instructional time and starts on Aug. 10. Children with IEP developed by local school boards may get specialized instructional services, which serves children with disabilities.

VPK classrooms offer high-quality programs that include high literacy standards, developmentally appropriate curricula, manageable class sizes and qualified teachers.

One of the greatest things we can do to help children become successful early is to provide quality early childhood education.

Programs like Head Start and VPK are critically important in the Pensacola metro area, where as many as one-third of our children are not prepared for kindergarten.

Research shows that children who participated in a quality early education program had higher IQs and test scores in math and reading during elementary and secondary school, were less likely to repeat grades and were placed in fewer special education classes.

If everyone came into kindergarten with a jumpstart, kindergarten teachers could lead their entire classes to higher levels as a group.

The more children who enter kindergarten well-prepared, the less time and energy teachers have to devote to helping children who are behind catch up to those with the head start.