Education

Please check back for complete information on education.

Philosophy and Vision

Early Head Start recognizes parents as the first and most important teachers of their children. We are dedicated to protecting and strengthening the bonds between parents and children.

During their first three years of life, a child's brain is developing the pathways (connections between brain cells) which will imprint the way they learn, move, and interact socially for the rest of their lives. How parents interact with their children in those first three years has a critical effect on the child's development. Infants who are ignored or are inconsistently responded to may develop serious cognitive and/or physical problems (i.e. Failure to thrive). The parent/child relationship is the vehicle for the child’s continued learning, and is the primary component that will affect that child’s future success.

We believe that parents, families and communities, similar to infants, learn and function best in the context of positive, healthy nurturing relationships. In order to support parents we provide the families with tools and services including assistance, support, education, advocacy, problem solving, linkages, and leadership opportunities. We do this in order to empower parents to actualize their role as primary educator.

Our philosophy is based on the concept of parallel process. Embedded in this concept is the notion that how staff are treated by the agency will impact how they treat parents, and how parents are treated will impact how they treat their children. In the words of Jeree Pawl, “Do onto others as you would have others do onto others”. Why is that so important? Because, babies will not grow and learn without healthy nurturing relationships.