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Head Start coordinator tells Spotsylvania school board program serves 90 funded slots amid high application volume
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Summary
Christine McCurley told the board Spotsylvania County Public Schools is the Head Start grantee and currently serves 90 Head Start slots; staff processed more than 750 applications this year but many families exceed Head Start income limits.
Christine McCurley, the division's preschool coordinator, presented the mandatory annual Head Start training at the March 23 work session and briefed the Spotsylvania County School Board on governance, enrollment and coordination with other preschool programs.
"We currently have 90 students that we educate using Head Start funds," McCurley said, noting the division requested a scope change in prior years that reduced funded slots from 120 to 90. She explained that Spotsylvania County Public Schools is the Head Start grant recipient, that policy council membership must be 51% parents of enrolled children, and that policy council and parent committees (called PACT) help oversee programming.
Board members asked about wait lists and whether the program is at capacity. McCurley said the program has processed more than 750 applications this school year, but many applicant families are over the federal Head Start income eligibility and are instead served through the local Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) when possible. "We are continually looking for new means to recruit," she said, describing radio ads and community outreach at local events.
McCurley also described operational practices: Head Start grantees must follow federal performance, financial and administrative rules; when classrooms are blended (Head Start and VPI), Head Start standards govern; and the governing body for Head Start in the county is the school board.
What board members asked next included policy council size and how slots are reserved; McCurley said the program reserves slots for up to 30 days in some circumstances and that enrollment can fluctuate during the year because of transient populations. She said staff are working to increase parent engagement in policy council functions, including training and incentives such as boxed lunches and library book bags to encourage daytime participation.
What happens next: Staff will continue outreach to recruit eligible families and report on parent engagement strategies to the board in future agendas.
