Boulder County Head Start

Sites:  two sites in both Boulder and Lafayette.  Boulder County Head Start’s service area encompasses all of Boulder Valley School District attendance area within Boulder County.

Boulder County Head Start (BCHS) is a grantee of the federal Head Start Program as well as a division of Boulder County Department of Community Services. BCHS recognizes the role that families have as the child’s first and most important teacher, and therefore supports the whole family in developing, achieving, and maintaining personal and educational goals. The program supports family access to health, nutrition, and other needed services determined by a family-needs assessment. This integrated approach promotes the mission of Community Services, which lays the foundation for economic self-sufficiency.

BCHS has served low-income children and families, including children with special needs and dual language learners, since 1965. Teaching teams and staff create a learning environment that supports children’s growth in language, literacy, mathematics, science, social and emotional wellbeing, creative arts, physical skills, and varied approaches to learning. BCHS provides programs and services for 164 income eligible children ages 3 through 5 and their families. The program operates ten classrooms, six in Boulder and four in Lafayette, with half and full-day options in each city. The 2009-2010 school year had an enrollment of 83 full-day and 81 half-day students. The schoolyear runs from September through May and an active waitlist is maintained to ensure full enrollment at all times.

BCHS employs 34 staff members, which includes eight teachers, eight bilingual teaching assistants, and ten coordinators. All teachers in the program have a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE) or a degree in a closely related field with a minimum of 18 credit hours in ECE. Teacher’s assistants are Group Leader Qualified (GLQ) in addition to being fully proficient in reading, speaking and writing both English and Spanish. All coordinator staff have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in the field related to their component specialty area.