Keystone Children & Family Services
Capital Area Head Start: Annual Accomplishments 2007–2008
Hundreds of volunteers built this playground in one day.
In our Vision to nurture a world where all children are safe, healthy and loved with active opportunities for learning, we are empowering families with a sense of hope for the future, supporting them to gain the skills and confidence they need to achieve their own goals.
We had a very successful year at Capital Area Head Start in 2007-2008. We maintained 100% enrollment throughout the year, serving a total of 1,084 children and families. Of the children who were enrolled in CAHS, 96% received medical exams and 91% received dental exams, an important part of every child’s health and well-being. In the Secretary’s triennial federal monitoring review in November 2007, no areas of noncompliance were found. Few Head Start programs achieve this accomplishment.
Volunteers construct a slide and shovel mulch for the playground they helped to build in one day.
Parent Involvement
We believe that parents are the first and foremost teachers of their children, and we encourage family participation in CAHS activities. We work as partners with parents to help their children progress. In 2007-2008, all of our centers and home base locations held at least three parent meetings, including workshops on orientation to CAHS, nutrition, transitioning to school, family night, budgeting and parenting. Across the program, we held trainings and meetings for Connect with H.I.M (Head Start Involves Men). H.I.M. encourages men to become involved in CAHS, supporting them to build positive, nurturing relationships with their children.
Kindergarten Preparation
One of our continuing goals is to prepare children for kindergarten, providing comprehensive services and activities to support them to grow educationally, emotionally, socially and physically. Our classrooms use the High/Scope curriculum, which is based on key developmental indicators that align with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards to ensure a quality preschool experience:
- approaches to learning
- language, literacy and communication
- social and emotional development
- physical development, health and well-being
- arts and sciences
Our classrooms began several activities designed to enhance children’s literacy:
- author’s chair
- journal writing
- interactive read alouds
- shared reading
- message boards
- independent reading
In addition, five sites received a PNC Grow Up Great grant to enhance science programming for children. Through this grant, these sites received training, resources and materials to increase children’s educational experience in the sciences.
All of our sites have developed activities to prepare children for transitioning to kindergarten:
- visiting kindergarten classrooms
- viewing the Kindergarten Here I Come video
- sharing photos and/or pen pal letters with kindergarten classrooms
- reading books on going to kindergarten
- creating “school” dramatic play areas
Children who are transitioning to kindergarten are given a Pennsylvania Department of Education “Kindergarten Here I Come” calendar. To prepare parents for their children going to kindergarten, we share information about successfully transitioning from CAHS programs to kindergarten. We provided parents with informational flyers on kindergarten registration and orientation, as well as handouts and newsletters, held parent meeting discussions and visited parents in their homes.
Other Notable Accomplishments
The team captains who led their teams of volunteers in building a playground in one day.
In 2007-2008, we celebrated many notable accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom.
- Parents and community volunteers donated over 10,000 hours of their time to CAHS!
- Hundreds of parents, children, staff and community members came together to build a playground in one day!
- CAHS is involved in more than 30 community events throughout the year, such as PNC Family Fun Festival, Perry County Literacy Festival, Halifax Communities that Care, Steelton Street Fair, International African Family Festival, Children’s Literacy Festival and University Day.
- CAHS staff are actively involved in over 40 community and state committees and boards.
Financial Information
We received both public and private funds to continue our Mission. Three quarters of our budget is spent on salaries and benefits, and the remaining funding is dedicated to service operations, including transportation, parent activities, classroom supplies and professional development.
Proposed Public and Private Funding
| Organization | Amount |
|---|---|
| Health and Human Services | $4,971,375 |
| Pennsylvania Department of Education | $1,547,887 |
| United States Department of Agriculture | $167,325 |
| Capital Area Intermediate Unit | $198,668 |
| Harrisburg School District | $1,226,652 |
| Department of Public Welfare Subsidy | $764,835 |
| PNC Financial Services | $32,740 |
| Keystone Stars | $75,020 |
| Xerox Corporation | $1,300 |
| Halifax High School student council | $500 |
Proposed Budget for 2008–2009
| Organization | Amount |
|---|---|
| Health Human Services | $4,971,375 |
| Pennsylvania Department of Education | $1,527,764 |
| United States Department of Agriculture | $176,500 |
| Capital Area Intermediate Unit | $199,378 |
| Harrisburg School District | $1,261,527 |
| Department of Public Welfare Subsidy | $533,180 |
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