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Head Start director: Tacoma program at full enrollment, seeks to expand outreach and family supports
Summary
District Head Start staff reported full enrollment, improved classroom assessments and a submitted continuation grant; presenters flagged that Head Start currently serves about 4% of eligible children in Tacoma/Pierce County and outlined plans to broaden mental‑health and transportation supports.
Michelle Raul Lewis, Tacoma Public Schools Head Start director, told the board the district's Head Start program is fully enrolled this year and has several improvements to report.
"It is Head Start's 60th birthday this month and Tacoma Public Schools has offered Head Start for 56 of those 60 years," Raul Lewis said. She reported that the program has full enrollment with a wait list, an average attendance rate above the national average (85.6 percent), and program assessment gains: a 37 percent improvement on Teaching Strategies GOLD measures from fall to spring, meeting five of six kindergarten‑readiness indicators so far.
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