Head Start is the City of Savannah’s largest community based mainstream early childhood education program. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is designed to service the educational, psychological, and health needs of low-income families. The EOA Head Start program serves 575 children three to five years of age and offers high quality early childhood education, mental health, disability, medical, nutritional, and social services support for families.
In 1998, our program was expanded to include Early Head Start. The EOA Early Head Start program serves 105 children birth to two years of age, and provides services to pregnant mothers. Research has shown that cognitive development begins as early as birth; therefore; it is imperative that we provide educational opportunities that encourage healthy brain development. Like Head Start, Early Head Start also promotes a holistic approach comprised of an array of services provided to children and families.
The Head Start program makes a concerted effort to recruit Hispanic children and families.
Head Start reached out to these communities by employing bilingual staff and translating our print media into Spanish. As a result, we have enrolled more Hispanic children and families now than ever in our forty plus year history.
EOA Head Start understands that exposing pre-school children to different cultures and languages helps stimulate their cognitive growth. This is why Head Start teaches basic Spanish to its students.