The Clinton County Community Action Head Start Program is currently holding a 5-week summer program for children that are transitioning to kindergarten and were enrolled before the year was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are serving 32 kids in four different cohorts — two cohorts attend on Monday and Tuesday and the other two attend on Wednesday and Thursday.

A great deal of precaution is taken to ensure children and staff remain safe including additional cleaning, sanitizing, and ensuring the groups of children do not mix.

Another important aspect in keeping everyone safe is the use of our outdoor classroom. Staff have built a temporary classroom on our patio space that includes a mud kitchen, a herb garden, a giant chalkboard, balance area made of boulders, a sail boat, and a natural teepee.

These spaces allow children to explore nature, use their imagination, and develop skills for Kindergarten in a way that is natural and embraces how children best learn. We have seen incredible engagement from our students and the learning that is taking place will help to bridge the gap from having the school year cut short in March.

The use of this space has been featured by the National Head Start Association as part of its table talk series and as an exemplar to other programs by our regional office based in Chicago.

The Head Start program is currently enrolling for the fall. Please call 937-382-5624 for details.