Activists try to salvage Head Start

Local community groups are scrambling to save the Head Start classroom that was closed down in the face of budget cuts last month.

Tom Coffield, director of SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation) offered classroom space for the early childhood development program, charging only for utilities.

According to Head Start teacher Jill Rowe, the Community Action Team of Sisters (CATS), Kiwanis, the Sisters School District and Central Oregon Community Action Agency Network are all looking for ways to keep the center open.

There are hurdles. Program administrators still favor bussing the children to Redmond facilities, Coffield said.

Coffield and other local community leaders don't like that. They want to preserve a Sisters center.

"I have to convince them that it's a good thing," Coffield said.

The major issue is enrollment. There are currently five children enrolled; there must be at least 10 for the SOAR classroom possibility to have a chance of acceptance.

Teachers are actively recruiting income-qualified families for the program.

There is also some question whether the SOAR facility meets program requirements for on-site playground equipment, but Coffield believes he can find a way to provide what is needed.

Coffield considers Head Start a natural fit with the pre-school programs SOAR currently offers. He said having the two programs at the same site opens up opportunities for combined activities that could benefit both programs.

The Head Start program provides early childhood development services as well as pre-school education. Head Start's family advocates visit each student's home twice a month during the semester to assist families in meeting goals.

They direct families to free medical check-ups, volun- teer opportunities, parenting classes, job skills and health and nutrition services.

The program has always had trouble maintaining itself in Sisters. While the families that are served by the program really need it, there have never been enough income-qualified families to fill a site with the desired 18 children.

The difference has been made up with "over-income" children.

The COCAAN board of directors and the Head Start Policy Council decided last month to close the Head Start Center that was located at The Little Cloverdale Preschool in the face of a $150,000 cut in state funding.

That closure does not affect The Little Cloverdale Preschool operation.

If the Sisters center is to survive at a new location, the program will have to have at least 10 qualified children and have the other issues ironed out by mid-month, according to Rowe.

For further information on registering for the program, call Rowe at 549-0539 or Robin Thomas at 549-2140.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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