INTRODUCTION:

“Empowering Children & Families To Succeed”

Iberville Parish Head Start is a comprehensive pre-school educational and family empowerment program dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of children and families in Iberville Parish.  The program serves participants ages 3 to school age of whom 90% must be from low income families, including all ethnic groups.  Head Start is mandated to offer services to meet the special needs of children with disabilities. 

Iberville Parish Head Start is a federally funded program that provides services to 360 children and families throughout Iberville Parish.  The program provides transportation for participants.  It is 100% funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

When a child completes Head Start, he/she will possess a variety of cognitive and social skills that signifies a readiness to learn in kindergarten.  Iberville Head Start graduates have been proven to be honor roll and principal list students. Head Start graduates show significant expansion of their vocabulary, early writing skills, social skills, letter recognition and pre-reading skills.

The Head Start program ensures that the children participating receive the following educational benefits at a minimum:

• Develop phonic, print, and number awareness
• Understand and use language to communicate for various purposes
• Understand and use increasingly complex and varied vocabulary
• Develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books
• Recognize a word as unit of print
• Know that letters of the alphabet are a special category of venial graphics that can be individually named
• Identify at least ten letters of the alphabet
• Associate sound with written words
• Develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books

Children with disabilities are provided with IEP services that help with special needs resources and help with special needs at home.  Special planning is also done for children with special needs.