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St. Bernard Parish School Board hears Head Start update; enrollment, screenings and language outreach highlighted
Summary
District Head Start staff reported serving 118 children in the 2024–25 grant year, described health and developmental screening requirements, and said the program is using translation tools and on-site interpreters to reach multilingual families.
Head Start program staff presented the district’s annual program information report for the 2024–25 grant year, saying the program is funded for 112 slots and served 118 children over the year.
Presenter Miss Sellinger said six students left during the year and five had chronic attendance or tardy issues; family-service staff work directly with those families to address transportation and childcare barriers. The program reported 15 students referred for special education and 14 who entered with an existing individualized education program (IEP). The program uses Denver II screening at intake and TS Gold and state standards checklists for ongoing assessment.
Miss Sellinger described staffing and supports: seven certified teachers, seven paraprofessionals, and a management team including an education specialist, family service worker and a school nurse. She said the program requires doctor and dentist visits within the first 90 days of enrollment and will hold a January health fair to connect families with local providers.
Board members asked how the district expands language access for families. Miss Sellinger said the district uses the SchoolStatus communication tool, which translates text messages into a parent’s native language and supports two-way communication, and that the district provides on-site translators for policy council meetings and registration events. "If we know a day that we do have a variety of languages...she'll send someone over and sit with us at registration as well," she said, describing an iPad-based process used to register bilingual families.
Officials also discussed program goals: the district aims to have 80% of children meeting kindergarten readiness benchmarks; presenters said growth in mathematics and social-emotional development was strongest but that math remains a focal area for improvement.
The Head Start report was informational; no board action was required at the meeting.
