Fresno County program that improves lives turns 59
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) – A birthday celebration for a program that’s changed the lives of children for 59 years.
The nationwide Head Start Program has been helping to prepare young children for school since 1965.
“School readiness encompasses not only education but it’s more comprehensive. It is social and emotional, it is nutrition, it is health and we want to make sure children are actively ready for school,” said Ralph Carrillo, the EOC’s Interim Education Services Manager.
The federally funded Head Start program is offered in Fresno County through the non-profit EOC: the Economic Opportunities Commission. It serves 2,500 Fresno County children and families each year both in and out of the classroom.
“We also want to ensure children have an established medical doctor and dentist because that is all part of school readiness. Ensuring that they’re comfortable while they’re in the classroom setting,” said Carrillo.
Head Start offers early care and education to children from birth to age five and promotes healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women. The EOC takes a family-oriented approach to administering the Head Start Program.
“We understand that the family is a unit, we understand that children’s first teachers are their parents so we’re sure to encompass that into our program,” Carillo said.
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