Head Start Act

The Head Start Act of 2007 authorized the Head Start Program to promote school readiness for low-income families. The New Head Start Program Performance Standards has made the first holistic revision of the Performance Standards since 1975, becoming effective in November 2016.                                                                                 

Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families.  The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children's physical and emotional well-being, and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills. The transition from preschool to elementary school imposes diverse developmental challenges that include requiring the children to engage successfully with their peers outside the family network, adjust to the space of a classroom, and meet the expectations the school setting provides.                                                          

Head Start is the most successful, longest-operating, national school readiness program in the United States. The Office of Head Start (OHS) promotes the school readiness of young children from low-income families. School readiness is defined as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning in life. (Office of the Administration for Children and Families).

About Us

The Lee County Head Program has been funded in Lee County since 1965. Over the years, the Lee County Head Start Program has enrolled over 10,000 children who have attended classes five days a week, from 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., from August to June. The children receive breakfast, lunch, and snacks. All of the children are offered bus transportation to the centers located at Dryden Elementary, Elk Knob Elementary, Flatwoods Elementary, Rose Hill Elementary, and St. Charles Elementary. At the present time, Lee County Head Start has nine (9) center-based classrooms and two (2) home-based classes. The Home-Based option provides weekly home visits from the Family Home Visiting Teacher. Families who are enrolled in the home-based option participate in regularly scheduled parent/guardian-child socials twice per month that are held at the Home-based Center.

Governance:  The Lee County School Board assumes legal and fiscal responsibility for the program. The Policy Council sets the direction. The Management Staff oversees the day-to-day operations.

 Our Vision:  The Lee County Head Start Program’s vision is to create an environment to build lifelong learning and confident learners who have the tools necessary for success in a changing world and to be leaders who strive for excellence.

Our Mission:  (1) To provide a developmentally appropriate curriculum with a strong emphasis on play to enhance learning, physical development, and to improve social, emotional, and academic success.   (2) To collaboratively engage parents, community, and partners in the development and implementation of our Head Start and Pre-K School Readiness plan to promote student success.

Our Philosophy:  We believe comprehensive services, best practices, and appropriate learning environments for children will provide the foundation for successful school and life experiences. We believe that by affording families opportunities and involvement in the program, we can build on their strengths to move toward greater self-sufficiency and a better world for all children to become contributing citizens.