Mayor Jason Reeves helped the staff and students of the Organized Community Action Program’s Head Start celebrate the “Week of the Young Child” with a proclamation.
“It’s a cliche, but they’re our future and I just enjoy the children,” he said.
Reeves spoke with a room of 4-year-olds about their favorite colleges and listened attentively to every answer.
“This is an important program and we’ve got good folks involved with it,” said Reeves as the children filed out of the room.
One of those folks, was Child Service Specialist Octavia Jones, who runs the program.
Head Start is a federal program that prepares young children for school. It is income-eligible program that accepts children ages 3 to 5. It also serves those with severe disabilities.
“We try to take a holistic approach, focusing on nutrition, health and also education,” Jones said.
The program celebrated the “Week of the Young Child” with a different theme for each day. There were special readers, a Grandparents’ Day and a fun day.
The week is sponsored annually in April by the National Association for the Education of the Young Child.