Building and Strengthening Partnerships Between Head Start and School Districts

Project Date: 2002
Project Manager: Thea Agnew Bemben
Client: State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Locations: Rural School Districts, Statewide

Recent research on early childhood brain development confirms what common sense teaches: during prenatal to age five a child's brain develops the foundation of social, cognitive and emotional capabilities on which most future development depends. How to serve these young children can be a divisive issue in small rural communities. While Head Start provides comprehensive child development programs to low-income families, many school districts have also begun to provide universal preschool. This can create competition between providers, who must maintain a base number of students in order for the programs to continue.

The purpose of this project was to bring together Head Start providers and school districts to define common goals and to strategize for implementation in a way that creates constructive partnership and collaboration rather than competition. Thea Agnew Bemben's role in the project included assisting with public participation and presentations to the Anchorage School Board and writing the final report for the Department of Education and Early Development that compiled results and outlined future efforts.