To help children up to age 5 prepare for a successful academic experience, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $6.53 million in grants to Northern Panhandle Head Start Inc.
Executive Director Cathy Williams said the Wheeling-based organization usually serves about 600 children in Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock counties. There are centers as far south as Jacksonburg and as far north as Newell.
Parents within the district can send youngsters to head start free of charge, due to the annual grants. The program motto is “building foundations for life-long growth and development.”
“We have 30-plus centers in the five counties. Some of them are in other schools, while some are stand-alones,” Williams said.
Although some may view Head Start as a program only for students whose parents are considered low-income, Williams said her organization also accepts a certain number of students from those families who do not meet this definition.
“No one pays anything to send their children here,” she said.
Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said they gladly helped secure the funding to keep Head Start going.
“Early education and child care services provide important building blocks that allow our children to grow and succeed. The staff members and teachers at Northern Panhandle Head Start Inc. have dedicated themselves to the advancement of our youngest Mountaineers and these grants will allow more young kids to build a bright future,” McKinley said.
Manchin said all West Virginia children deserve the best opportunities the state can provide them.
“Our kids deserve the best chance at bright futures, and investments in important educational opportunities like Head Start lead our next generation to success. This substantial funding will better prepare our families and children for the future.”
“Head Start and Early Head Start programs help equip young West Virginians with the skills they need to be successful later in life,” Capito added.