Posted on 06.05.2017, Monday

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Durham Head Start announced last week that it was awarded a $4.25 million grant to expand its enrollment by 160 infants and toddlers! The new slots will be added to the program’s current enrollment of 323 pre-kindergarten students age 3 and 4.

Approximately eighty additional Early Head Start students will be served at current Head Start centers on W. Seminary St., and Liberty St. in Durham beginning this fall. The program is in the process of securing additional classrooms and office space to serve the remaining Early Head Start students.

“These newly renovated centers will provide a unique opportunity for some children and their families to experience Head Start and Early Head Start for up to five years,” said Terry David, director of Head Start and Early Head Start Programs in Chapel Hill and Durham.

“We are proud to offer high-quality early childhood educational services to the Durham community, services that will have a positive effect on children and families that lasts a lifetime.”

David said the Head Start centers in Durham will hold a job fair on Thursday, June 1, 2017 at the Durham Armory for the positions of Infant/Toddler Teacher, Preschool Teacher, Assistant Teacher and Classroom Aide. The centers are accepting applications for fall enrollment. The job fair begins at 9:00 AM.

Head Start provides a full array of services including:

• Safe, high-quality, 5 star child care that matches the needs of families
• Developmentally appropriate academic classrooms that prepare children to succeed in school and life
• Health and developmental screening
• Assistance with dental oral health screening, exams, and treatment
• Support with obtaining a medical home for each child to include well child checks and medical treatment
• Two-thirds of a child’s daily nutritional requirements
• Special services for children with special needs in collaboration with the public schools, specialist and other community resources

The Durham Head Start program is a division of the Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project, Inc. (CHTOP) which also operates the Orange County Head Start and Early Head Start program. CHTOP is the delegate agency for the Durham Early Head Start program in collaboration with Durham’s Partnership for Children, the program grantee. The DEHS program currently serves 172 infants and toddlers and will work closely with the new DHS program in recruiting children and families. It is estimated that there are approximately 3,200 Durham children age 0 through 2 whose family income qualifies them for enrollment in Early Head Start. 

For more information, contact Terry David, CHTOP Director of Head Start and Early Head Start programs, at tdavid@DurhamHS.org or 919-688-5541, ext. 235.