Perry Head Start Center

Our educational program is based on sound child development principles on how children learn and grow as well as the Head Start Performance Standards. Emphasis is placed on fostering the development of the whole child including social emotional physical cognitive and intellectual development.

Children are active learners. They learn best from purposeful play that provides hands-on activities that they choose within a safe nurturing and interesting environment. An appropriate balance is maintained between teacher-directed and child-initiated activities. We allow children to make choices within their environment and experience the subsequent consequences to those choices under the guidance of supportive staff. This helps develop decision-making skills that will serve the children well in later life.

Our curriculum is developmentally appropriate. It addresses all areas of a child’s development. However emphasis is placed on early childhood development understanding math and science concepts appropriate for young children and helping children gain social competence. Staff encourages parents to expand the learning that occurs in the classrooms into their home and community.

Children are screened through Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Third Edition. DIAL-3 is an individually administered developmental screening test designed to identify young children in need of further diagnostic assessment. Our curriculum program assessments provides a balance of informal and formal assessment methods for teachers and uses the most current research on how best to develop a child’s instructional plan based on observations.