77.8 F
Cruz Bay
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesV.I. Youngsters Get Head Start on Education

V.I. Youngsters Get Head Start on Education

Sept. 6, 2004 – More than 1,100 territory youngsters will hear school bells for the first time as the Head Start program starts Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Ed Lind, preschool coordinator in the Human Services Department's St. Thomas/St. John district, said that Head Start registered 410 children for this year's program. Shawn Miller, who holds the same job in St. Croix, said that her district has 756 students.
Lind said that St. Thomas has 18 Head Start centers. St. John has one. Miller said that St. Croix has 27 centers at 14 different locations.
"Our job is to teach them to be kindergarten ready," Lind said.
Miller called it a jump-start. "It's just what the program implies – a head start," she said.
Lind said that kindergarten teachers often complain that students who went through the Head Start program ask too many questions and want to get their fingers into everything. Lind sees that as a plus.
He said the students learn social skills such as how to work as a team and in a group. "You'll often see groups of children finger painting," he said.
Miller said that participation in Head Start programs helps with separation because the program gives them experience away from their mothers.
Lind said that the months have themes like "Meet Your Neighbor," which would involve a field trip around the neighborhood.
He said that Head Start programs do not include television or video viewing, but students do learn some computer skills.
"And they learn basics like left from right," he said.
Lind said the territory would get $7.3 million a year from the federal government this year to fund Head Start. The local government chips in another $3 million.
The program, initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, began in 1965. Johnson started the program to give children from low-income families a head start when they got to kindergarten.
According to the Health and Human Services Web site, in 2003, the program served a total of 909,608 children on the mainland and in U.S. territories. Since its start in 1965, more than 22 million children across the country have benefited from the program.
It costs federal taxpayers $6.7 billion a year to fund.
Back Talk

Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice.. click here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.