Head Start/Early Head Start of Fayette County, a program of the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. (PIC), will be taking applications for our locations throughout Fayette County for the 2020-2021 school year, beginning in March. We will be hosting a Community Day on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 4 different locations, from 10AM to 7PM. The locations are as follows: Lemont Furnace, Connellsville, Redstone, & Rt. 857. This will be an opportunity to meet teachers, tour the classrooms, ask questions, and fill out an application. Information about this event can also be found on our Facebook page along with addresses.
Head Start/Early Head Start of Fayette County provides comprehensive early childhood education services to families with children birth to age five and pregnant women, including complete services to children with disabilities and other special needs, at no cost to the parent.
Early Head Start provides home-based services to pregnant women and children up to three years of age and their families. Instructors visit families in their homes for 90 minutes per week to work on children’s learning goals with the parent, as well as offer resources on nutrition, mental health and disability services. Instructors also help parents find ways to meet family needs through community resources and services.
Early Head Start Child Care Partnership program provides center-based services that support high-quality care to families with infants and toddlers enrolled in participating child care centers. Families are also offered monthly visits in order to provide accompanying comprehensive services to the families such as social service, nutrition and mental health referrals.
The Head Start program prepares preschoolers, aged three to five years, to make the transition into kindergarten. Children learn how to get along with other children while exploring and learning through play. The children discover a variety of subjects including numbers, letters and words. Head Start services are offered through classroom and home based options. The home based model is the same as noted above for the Early Head Start program. Classroom services are offered at various locations throughout the county, 5 days per week, 6 hours per day.
Both options provide children with communication and relationship building skills, while exploring and learning through play. The children develop a variety of school readiness skills including fine motor, gross motor, math, language and literacy.
Through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), children are served healthy and nutritious meals and snacks while attending classroom and home based socials. Parents are encouraged to participate in program planning and decision-making. Volunteer opportunities in the classroom and family engagement events allow parents to learn more about how to be involved in their child’s learning and development.
Research has consistently shown that children who enter school ready to learn, succeed academically and later in life. To complete an application for Head Start or Early Head Start, please call our office at 724-430-4818 or visit us at www.privateindustrycouncil.com, or stop by our Lemont Furnace main office anytime Monday-Friday from 8AM – 4:30PM.
