This story is sponsored by Knox County Head Start, Inc.
The first time a parent or guardian allows their child to conquer the world by themselves is usually the first day of preschool or child care. As this step can be a bit challenging for both the child and parent, Head Start helps to ensure each student is getting the best care and preparing them for their next level of schooling.
Head Start and its staff work hard to provide an environment in which both the child and their family benefits. According to Jamie O’Quin, employee of Knox County Head Start for 22 years, the child is the center of the family and what Head Start can do for the family greatly impacts the child.
“I believe in the Head Start mission to help each child in a holistic way,” she said.
O’Quin was employed by the school before she had children of her own, but each of her three kids attended Head Start once they were old enough. As a single mother with her first child, she said that affordability and ensuring her child was well cared for were two big factors that Head Start was able to supply.
Being employed by the same place her children were attending school also made her feel at ease. “I had the privilege of knowing who was caring for my children, which meant the world to me,” O’Quin said.
For other parents, the unique and various programs offered by Head Start is what drove them to enroll their children in the school.
Loring Buhler, mother and employee at Knox County Head Start for almost five years, first registered her son for the home-based program. “I liked how she tapped into his interests, but made it educational,” she said. Soon after, they switched to a traditional classroom so her child could start to interact with other children.
Buhler first started her career at Knox County Head Start as a volunteer. She quickly fell in love with the atmosphere and was employed with the local non-profit a year later as a classroom teacher. “My favorite part about my job is watching kids learn and develop every day,” she said.
According to Buhler, Head Start and their staff follow different research based-studies to try and push outside of the box when it comes to child care. In the classroom, teachers make almost any activity into an educational experience.
Head Start stands out among other schools in a plethora of ways. The student to teacher ratio is lower than average so each child can be attended to. Observations are performed on students weekly. “We are trying to prepare every child we have for kindergarten, not only academically but socially and emotionally as well,” Buhler said.
Not only does Head Start do their best to ensure each child and their family prospers, but they make sure their employees are thriving as well.
According to Buhler, Head Start offers their employees healthcare, counseling services and mental-health days sprinkled into the school year. “They really do care about us and our well-being, and they’re always open to listening to our opinions to make sure we are happy in our work life and personal life,” she said.
For more information on enrolling your child in a Head Start program, or how to start your career in the school, visit their website.
Knox County Head Start receives federal funding for Head Start and Early Head Start services from the Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Locally, the program benefits from generous funding supports from the Knox County Foundation, and the United Way of Knox County.
