Make Sure Head Start Stays: Enroll Now

Did you know Whitehall has a Head Start program? We do, and spring enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year is underway. Any child born between 9/11/2019 and 9/10/2021 is eligible to apply. Early registrations are especially necessary as the program was under-enrolled this past year and is a candidate to be cut should the minimum of 13 pupils not be reached.

At Head Start, we are more than just a no-cost early education center for children. We support the entire family. Parents are their child's first and most important teachers. Rocky Head Start has Family Advocates that partner with each child's family to build a foundation for school readiness, coordinating with education staff and community partners. Head Start Family Advocates meet with every Head Start family. Visits may occur in a family's home, the child's classroom, or other community settings. During these visits, they work alongside families as they identify strengths and set goals. Families typically set goals related to housing, health, education, parenting, and financial stability. Family Advocate home visits begin at the start of the school year.

Head Start is a comprehensive early childhood development program that serves children ages three to five and their families. It focuses on physical and oral health, positive social/emotional development, healthy nutrition, access to a stable, nurturing, and encouraging environment, and the roles these play in preparing children for success in school and life. Head Start also focuses on supporting families in identifying their strengths, working toward their goals, and recognizing and building on their efforts to be their child's first and most important teacher.

Head Start uses two specific curricula: Creative Curriculum for Preschoolers, Second Step Social Emotional Learning Program, and Second Step Child Protection Unit. Every activity throughout the day provides an educational opportunity for a child in or out of the classroom, whether it is growth in relationship building, how a child perceives him/herself, the ability to sort and categorize, set the table, pass food, and pour milk, to share, recognize their name or letters, expand their vocabulary, or listen and follow directions. Much of this is achieved through play, the "work" of children. 

Head Start at Rocky Mountain Development Council, Inc. (Rocky) has 50+ years of experience and a dedicated staff working with 125 children and their families in the tri-county area (Lewis and Clark County, Broadwater County, and Jefferson County). In program year 2023-2024, the program celebrated its 57th year of existence. Though its qualifying clients often are single parents, foster parents, low-income, or homeless, Whitehall Head Start does accept a percentage of families not in these categories. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Head Start family by having a child attend or by joining our team, please call 406-457-7308 or stop by our center located at 405 W Legion. We cannot afford to lose such a family-focused preschool.