School District, Head Start to Focus on At-Risk Kids

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The Hermiston Board of Education unanimously approved a plan for the district to partner with Umatilla-Morrow County Head Start in providing an integrated early learning program referred to as the Hermiston Center for School Readiness.

The program will offer a high-quality preschool, focused on equipping at-risk 4-year-old Hermiston children and their families with the skills and resources to promote school readiness and learning success.

Head Start staff will provide integrated educational services that align with Oregon Early Learning standards and Hermiston School District Essential Standards. The program format will be four classes of 20 children meeting two days per week, for 3.5 hours per day, from Sept. 1, 2015, through June 10, 2016. The program will recruit underserved Hermiston children, who fall into the 101 to 200 percent range of poverty and who, otherwise, do not have access preschool services.

In addition to academic skills, the center will provide a continuum of care with varying intensity and duration to students and their families, providing access to screening, referrals, and resources for parent education classes in both English and Spanish.

For further program information, contact Umatilla-Morrow County Head Start at 541-564-6878.