Are you ready?

Are you ready to build a Community Partnership for preschools in your city or town? Contact us to learn about opportunities.

 

Mary Baskett, Executive Director                 

Kansas Head Start Association                     

Phone: 785-856-3132                                     

E-mail: mbaskett@ksheadstart.org    

 

Gayle Stuber, Early Childhood Coordinator

Kansas State Department of Education

Phone: 785-296-5352

E-mail: gstuber@ksde.org

The inclusion program has helped my son with more than his academics.  His self-esteem is up, he is learning good social skills, and he’s having a fun time doing it.

-- Lexi Amos-Lyddon, Parent, Liberal

The Hamm Early Learning Center is worthwhile and working!  It’s taking a lot of dedication, hard work and collaboration of all the partnerships.

-- Tammy Blaich, M.S., L.C.P., Four County Mental Health, Coffeyville

It's exciting to enhance our programs for young children by combining our efforts and strengths with other agencies in our community.

-- Laura Cano, Federal Programs Director, Liberal USD

By collaborating, we truly serve the whole child and family by developing academic readiness and providing comprehensive services, such as general health, mental health, dental, and nutrition.

-- Linda Broyles, Director (Coffeyville), SEK-CAP Head Start

I don’t know what we would have done without the preschool this year.  They have helped our whole family.  They have found us food banks and helped with doctor appointments. I live way...

-- Parent, Rossville

Each partner program brought its strengths to our collaboration, so that we find we’re doing better things together than we were doing separately.

-- Ann McCullough, Principal, Kaw Valley USD

Our bottom line is, ‘Are we doing what’s best for kids and families?'

-- Diane Hensley, Parent and Family Liaison, Liberal USD

In our new early childhood center, it’s amazing to see adults and children, sitting around a table in their classroom and eating a meal together, just like a family would eat dinner at home. That’...

-- Robert Morton, Ed.D., Superintendent, Coffeyville USD

In the first two weeks that our son was here, they identified the things he needed help with and came to us... It's just so exciting to see him develop and change and become the little boy that we...

-- Foster Parent, Rossville

By combining state and federal resources, we are able to keep our program more stable and make the most of what we have, to provide the highest level of service.

-- Phyllis Marmon, Director (Rossville), Community Action, Inc., Head Start

Read more...

Local and state K-12 leaders are finding that collaborating with community-based providers such as Head Start programs, child care centers and faith-based organizations can help them develop and implement high-quality pre-k programs that meet the needs of young children and their families in a comprehensive way.

Read the report, "Beyond the School Yard: Pre-K Collaborations with Community-Based Partners".

 

School districts across the nation are blending preschool classrooms.  Mary Baskett, Executive Director of Kansas Head Start Association, and the Demonstration Learning Communities project are featured on Early Ed Watch, a blog from New America's Early Education Initiative.

Read the article, "All in One Classroom: Blending Head Start and Non-Head Start Students".