St. Alban's Child Enrichment Center: Supporters

The Head Start program is a comprehensive preschool program that ensures children aged three to five years old and their families receive the appropriate educational, health and social services necessary for success in kindergarten and beyond. Head Start not only focuses on the needs of the child but also the needs of the family.

Education Component (led by the Education Coordinator)

All children receive an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which charts and monitors each child's learning and progress throughout the school year. Parent Teacher conferences are held three times a year to discuss the progress of each child. St. Alban's teaching staff follows the High Scope curriculum which focuses on the eight domains of learning (Language and Literacy, Early Math, Creative Arts, Fine and Gross Motor Skills, Approaches to Learning, Physical Education, Social and Emotional Growth and Science and Nature).

Health/Mental Health/Nutrition and Disability Component (led by the Health Coordinator)

All children are required to enter the Head Start Program with up to date medical, dental and immunization records. The Health Coordinator will work with each parent to ensure that all children have medical and dental homes and adhere to follow up appointments from doctors and dentists as necessary.
All children are screened for learning disabilities, speech delays, hearing and vision loss, height/weight development and behavior/mental health concerns. If it is suspected that a child has a delay in any of these areas, a referral is completed for a full evaluation and ongoing therapy by partners at the University of Miami and Head Start.
Each child receives breakfast, a hot lunch and snack daily according to a pre designed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) menu. All meals are nutritionally balanced and culturally diverse, introducing new foods and textures to the children as part of the learning environment.
Oral health and hygiene are important components of Head Start as well. All children practice hand washing and brush their teeth after meals.

Social Services (led by the Social Services Coordinator)

Each family develops a Family Partnership Agreement with a Social Service Specialist which outlines the parent's goals for the year. These usually include improving their education, seeking better employment, buying a home or securing government assistance.
At the beginning of each school year the parents decide on educational topics of interest to them and then monthly Parent Meetings are held to share information on the selected topics and discuss the school's activities for the coming month. This year themes included Health and Safety, Domestic and Child Abuse, Financial Literacy, Nutrition, Developmental Stages and Language and Literacy.
Program governance is an important aspect of the Head Start program. Parents are elected to Parent and Policy Committee meetings which ensures parental participation in the development of program policies, hiring and termination of program staff and the approval of classroom activities.

07:00-08:00 A.M.	ARRIVAL AND INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY/ JOURNAL WRITING, ETC. Entrada y Actividades Individuales/Escritura Diaria etc.
08:00-08:45 A.M.	BREAKFAST/HYGIENE/TOOTH-BRUSHING Desayuno/Higiene Personal/Cepillado de Dientes
08:45-08:55 A.M.	LARGE GROUP TIME/MORNING ACTIVITIES Actividades con Todos los Niños En la Mañana
08:55-09:05 A.M.	LANGUAGE AND LITERACY I/SHARED READING Lenguaje y Lectura I/ Compartiendo la Lectura
09:05-09:25 A.M.	SMALL GROUP TIME /INDIVIDUALIZATION Actividad en Grupo Pequeño e Individual
09:25-10:05 A.M.	OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES/TRANSITION Actividades al Aire Libre/Transici�n
10:05-10:15 A.M.	PLANNING TIME Tiempo de Planificaci�n
10:15-10:55 A.M.	WORK TIME Tiempo de Trabajo
10:55-11:05 A.M.	CLEAN-UP TIME Tiempo de Limpiar
11:05-11:15 A.M.	RECALL TIME Recuento de lo Hecho
11:15-11:55 A.M.	HYGIENE/LUNCH Higiene Personal/ Almuerzo
11:55-12:05 P.M.	HEALTH/DENTAL/SAFETY/NUTRITION/CULTURAL ACTIVITY Salud/Dental/Seguridad/Nutrici�n/Actividades Culturales
12:05-12:15 A.M.	LANGUAGE AND LITERACY II (PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS) Lenguaje y Lectura II (Reconocimiento fonetico)
12:15-12:30 P.M.	STORY TIME Tiempo de Cuentos
12:30-2:00 P.M.	REST TIME/TEAM PLANNING Tiempo de Descanso/ Planeamiento en Equipo
2:00-2:30 P.M.	HYGIENE/SNACK TIME Aseo Personal/Tiempo de Merienda
2:30-3:00 P.M.	OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES/TRANSITION Actividades al Aire Libre/Transici�n
3:00-3:15 P.M.	END OF DAY REFLECTION Reflexi�n del D�a
3:15-3:30 P.M.	BODY MOVEMENT Movimiento con el cuerpo
3:30-4:00 P.M.	INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITIES/DISMISSAL Actividades Individuales/ Despedida