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What Is Head Start?
In 1964, under the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the federal government asked a panel of child development experts to draw up a program to help communities overcome the handicap of disadvantaged preschool children. The findings of that panel report became the blueprint for Project Head Start. The Office of Economic Opportunity first launched Head Start as an eight-week summer program in 1965. It was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs.
Today, Head Start is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Head Start has had a strong impact on communities and early childhood programs across our country, serving families from over 1500 community-based organizations.
The Gulf Coast Community Services Association's (GCCSA) Head Start Program is a federally funded, comprehensive, early childhood development program for children ages three to five from economically challenged families. The GCCSA Head Start Program has been serving eligible children and families in the Houston, Harris County area since 1964.
GCCSA currently serves 1,864 children and families in the Southeast Sector of Harris County including the cities of Houston, Pasadena, South Houston and Deer Park, Texas. It operates a total of twenty-six (26) center-based facilities and services two program options which vary by site:
- Full Day services are available for parents who are employed or attending job training or school on a full-time basis and have no caregiver in the home. Children of families eligible for the Full Day option are able to attend the Head Start centers Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Double Session services are available for those parents who are not employed, not attending job training and not attending school and a caregiver is present is the home. Children enrolled in the Double Session option attend the center either in the a.m. or p.m. for four hours a day.
GCCSA Head Start Mission & Vision Statements
Mission Statement: "The Gulf Coast Community Services Association Head Start Program strives to empower eligible families by providing comprehensive quality programs, which are child-centered and family-focused that will result in social competence, school readiness, and self-sufficiency."
Vision Statement: "Empower the Future - Children and Families"
GCCSA's Head Start Program offers a variety of services to the children and families. Below are links that will provide further information on each of these vital services.
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