Our Head Start folks with Assembly Member Aubry, Congressman Crowley, and Secretary of State Perales
The Child Center of NY’s early childhood education programs are ending the year with a bang.
First, our Early Head Start program in Flushing, which serves children ages 0-3, was reviewed by the national Office of Head Start.
In an effort to ensure the continued quality and compliance of the programs it funds, OHS periodically reviews all grantees and evaluates their performance in such areas as health and safety, fiscal integrity, school readiness, and teacher-child interactions. The data is used to determine future funding and if corrective action needs to be taken.
The results are in—and the agency has a perfect audit. There were no findings or corrective action required.
“I am really proud of the staff; it’s a wonderful recognition for us all,” said Center Director Tanya Krien.
Every day, the staff of The Child Center’s Early Head Start work to deliver a program of the highest quality to children who face daunting obstacles to their development: parents who work long hours or do not speak or read English, extreme poverty, and difficulties related to immigration. As this audit shows, these dedicated early childhood educators succeed in giving the children in their care an educational foundation that ensures they are academically ready to learn at the level of their peers, and socially and emotionally ready to grow and thrive.
Good news was received by the slightly older crowd as well. Our Head Start program in Corona, which serves children ages 3-5, got a visit from some elected officials: New York Secretary of State Cesar Perales, Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry, and U.S. Congressman Joe Crowley.
The visit was part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s annual toy drive. The children at our center were greeted with tables of toys, from which they were able to choose.
“The elected official visit was a wonderful opportunity to see the support of local leaders who are very involved in addressing the needs of the community,” said The Child Center’s Associate Executive Director of Early Childhood Education, Linda Rodriguez. “During the holidays many of our families struggle to provide as much as they would like to their children. The donation of toys brought joy to the children and helped to make the holidays special.”
NY1 was on hand to document the event with video, which provided even more excitement.
The Child Center of NY operates three Head Start programs, all of which provide low-income children ages 3 to 5 with a safe, stimulating environment that encourages cognitive, social, and emotional development. The curriculum emphasizes hands-on, play-based learning that teaches children academic concepts in ways that make sense to them and get them excited about school.
We are grateful for this hands-on opportunity to also get them excited about politics and government.
