Community Corner
South County Head Start Seeking New Students
The local nonprofit runs four Head Start centers in South Kingstown and the surrounding area.
WAKEFIELD – South County Community Action Agency CEO Joseph DeSantis announced this week that the agency’s Head Start program is recruiting new students for spots in its Washington County classrooms.
“With about seven weeks until we begin the new school year, we’re stepping up our recruitment efforts to identify more children who can benefit from this high-quality early education program,” DeSantis explained. “As September approaches, it’s important that parents begin the process of applying now, so they don’t miss a chance for their kids to enroll.”
Head Start is free to children from families who meet federal income guidelines – a family of three with gross annual income of $20,090 would qualify, for example – or other qualifications.
Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Aside from wages, we screen families for homelessness, recent loss of residence, Supplemental Security Income, and other factors that may still qualify their children for Head Start,” explained Social Service Coordinator Missy Menders. “Even if someone thinks they may not qualify under the income guidelines, I always encourage them to call us so that we can perform a full review of their circumstances.”
South County Community Action Agency runs one classroom at its main office at 1935 Kingstown Road in Wakefield; two at 415 Tower Hill Road, North Kingstown; four at 34 Pond St., Westerly; and one at 4350 South County Trail, Charlestown.
Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Eligibility for Head Start is also determined by ZIP code, Menders added, which allows the local program to draw from the host communities as well as nearby towns like Exeter and Narragansett.
Currently, South County Community Action has an enrollment target of 142 preschool students in Head Start, according to Menders.
As of July 21, Menders said, there were about 15 spots available in North Kingstown, though “we look to gather as many applications as possible and have a waiting list that can be used in case a family doesn’t qualify or decides to enroll their child elsewhere.”
To start the application process, contact South County Community Action Head Start at (401) 789-3016 ext. 307 or Missy Menders at mmenders@sccainc.org. More information, including the Parents Handbook, is available on the South County website, www.sccainc.org
Photo: South County Head Start teacher Georgia Zarafonitis gets an enthusiastic response from her students. [South County Community Action Agency]
