Marion County Head Start celebrates 60 years of giving kids a leg up
FAIRMONT — Grant Town Mayor Charlie Rosic found something surprising after he finished reading to a group of four-year-olds at the Head Start in Rivesville.
The kids wanted to go to school on the weekends, one of teachers told him.
"After this COVID, that really hurt kids," Rosic said. "I mean, it put them back behind a couple years. Now, they're ready to go back to school."
Head Start is celebrating 60 years of putting preschool children on a path to success. President Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society Program" launched the Head Start Program in 1965, as part of the war on poverty. The program's creators intended it to meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children.
A 2020 study published in the Journal of Labor Economics showed that children who attended Head Start had higher incomes and years of education as adults than children who didn't attend. Children who went to programs with higher funding correlated with higher test results.
To celebrate, Marion County Head Start invited various mayors from around Marion County to come and read to the children at their centers. Rosic said his sister-in-law, who is the mayor of Grafton, is doing her own reading in Taylor County.
Pam Nolan, Head Start family resource coordinator, said Rivesville Head Start has children from Grant Town, Barrackville, Bellview and Fairmont on top of serving children from Rivesville. Rosic from Grant Town was scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 at Rivesville. Nolan said there is a benefit to having mayors come and interact directly with Head Start.
"I think awareness that our program is here and serving the children in their communities," Nolan said. "We're trying to give a good base and 'head start' to the children who attend Head Start."
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, West Virginia received over $86 million in funding for its Head Start program services in 2024. Nolan said the state mandates that all four year old children need to be afforded the opportunity to attend a Pre-K program.
"So many of the things they need to learn is like, socialization skills," Nolan said. "How do they come into a classroom, how to get in a line, sit with friends, eat a meal, take turns. Being able to function in a social environment is really important."
Nolan added that lack of instruction in such skills prior to kindergarten could make it a struggle for the kids who don't receive it, and can detract from their ability to focus on academics.
Head Start also offers what are called wrap-around services. Nolan said Head Start offers prenatal services and services to families with newborns to age three through Early Head Start. The program connects parents to resources that can help pay electric bills or help navigate applying to college.
Reading to children in early development is especially important. Jane Bott, a teacher with 25 years of experience, said that research shows children who are read to end up learning to read easier and with higher proficiency. Head Start regularly invites an outside member of the community to come read, up to once or twice a month, Bott said.
"I think it's important for all children," Bott said. "They need a jump start as early as they can."
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