Humble center readies kids for kindergarten
Humble resident Christina Fontenot stumbled onto the Humble Head Start Center, right when sheneeded it most.
“I just so happened to stop by and saw the center,” she said. “I waswanting to go back to school and was looking for work. I needed day care, but I couldn’t afford it, because I needed a job.”
The single mom said she
ended up finding much more than a day care for her son Elijah, then just over a year old.
“I was blessed,” she said. “He’s 4 now and he’s been there ever since. My baby has learned so much in such a short time.”
Not only does Elijah know how to write his name, list numbers and letters and identify colors and shapes, but he also is confident and loves to learn.
“My son is so ready for school,” Fontenot said. “When he does transition to kindergarten, I’m not going to worry about him.”
Readying children for kindergarten is the whole mission of Harris County Department of Education’s Head Start, senior director Venetia Peacock said.
“Our teachers work with children individually to make sure they’re on track to get to
kindergarten,” she said.
The federally funded program serves at risk families, who qualify for poverty standards, at no charge.
“It’s a comprehensive program,” Peacock said. “We support the whole family.”
Case managers, called Family Service Providers, help families establish their ownunique goals and give support.
“The goal is for parents to be involved in the child’s education,” Peacock said. “The goal is self-sufficiency. We want the child to be academically successful, but also to help parents figure out what they need to do to make their children successful and meet the goals they’ve set.”
The center also screens children for health, nutrition, learning disabilities and mental well-being three times a year to make sure they are receiving proper treatment and care.
“Health contributes to a child’s ability to learn,” Peacock said. “It’s important that the child is physically, emotionally and cognitively ready to learn. When children are living in poverty or at risk, we bridge the gap. We make sure the child is healthy and ready to learn.”
Children ages 3 to 5 may stay at the center from 7:15 a.m. until 4 p.m. Teachers focus on leading students through a wide range of educational programs.
“If children are not exposed to educational building blocks early on, it is highly unlikely that they will be successful,” Peacock said. “It’s paramount that students are prepared.”
Journey of Faith United Methodist Church was so impressed with the Humble Head Start Center curriculum that the congregation made room for the program on its new campus.
The Humble Head Start Center recently moved to the space, located at 130 Atascocita Road in Hum- ble.
“The kids are very excited about having their new playground and having a building with their own space,” Peacocksaid.
The center had been housed in a temporary space, while the new church was under-construction, after losing its prior space in another churchthat closed.
Now there are four 730-square-foot classrooms, space for parents and offices for staff at the new sanctuary. The church allows the program to use its kitchen to prepare meals for the children.
“The church has been an awesome partner,” Peacock said. “Congregation members have volunteered to help and read to the kids. They really wanted to be part of the program.”
She is grateful to the church for reaching out to the department and making a space for the Head Start Center.
“We finally feel like we have a stable home, a place where we can consistently serve the families in the Humble area,” Peacock said.
Fontenot said her son loves the newspace.
“He’s excited to go to school,” she said. “He’s excited every day when he wakesup.”
She tells everyone about the program.
“A lot of people don’t know about it,” she said. “This resource is there to help you.”