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Pasco schools to shift Head Start units, partner with Metropolitan Ministries and expand VPK seats
Summary
School district staff outlined a plan to relocate Head Start classrooms to a new Metropolitan Ministries campus in Holiday, add VPK/Title I blended pre-K at several elementary schools and open additional early-learning units aimed at serving more vulnerable families.
District staff told the Pasco County School Board that the district will partner with Metropolitan Ministries to place four Head Start units at the nonprofit’s new Holiday campus and to reallocate early-learning classrooms across several elementary schools.
The move comes after the district failed to win an expansion grant. A staff member leading the early-learning presentation said the district will use a mix of Title I set-aside dollars and VPK vouchers to provide full-day pre-K to families in greatest need and that the district expects the changes to increase access rather than reduce slots. “There is no reduction in Head Start, and there’s no reduction in VPK,” the staff member said. “As a matter of fact, if these units are as intended, next year we will serve 500 more VPK students or pre k students.”
Why it matters: school staff framed the changes as a response to long wait lists and…
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