Click here for our May Family Newsletter, happy Spring!

As we head into Spring Break we wanted to take a moment to share some information you might find useful. Here are links to some of the upcoming events/information, as well as our April school calendar. Thanks for all you do for your children and in support of our program!

• Kindergarten Transition information
• Early Kindergarten Transition programs-enrollment open now!
• Summer Activity Ideas

Dear families,

What a month it has been! We know that many families have been impacted by the recent ice storm, and we are no different. Our Creston Annex location had a broken pipe in the parking lot that caused a one day closure; children are now back in the building as of today. Our Kelly Center school has significant water damage and is currently closed for repairs.  Over the past several days, our Head Start team has been working closely with district leadership and principals from nearby schools to find classroom space for our students and teachers. We are thrilled to say that Kelly, Whitman, and Woodmere elementary schools have the space available to accommodate our community while Kelly Center undergoes necessary repairs. 

Additional information:

• Students will be moving with their class and teachers to one of the three above-named sites beginning Tuesday, January 30.

• We will be following a modified schedule for these specific classrooms during this time. Drop-off will be at 8:30 a.m. and pick-up will be at 12:30 p.m. Both breakfast and lunch will be provided each day.

• On Monday, January 29 from 4-5 p.m., we will hold a virtual information session to answer any questions impacted families might have. We will also record this meeting.

• As of Friday all families have received information about their student’s assigned school.

• Kelly Center is scheduled to reopen to students and staff as early as mid-February. We will share a transition plan for re-entry at a later date.

Staff continue to prepare for children and families to return next Tuesday. We are grateful to the Kelly, Whitman, and Woodmere communities for opening their doors to us, and we appreciate your grace and patience more than we can say. We will be in touch again soon.

Warmly,

Dana Stiles, Director of Head Start 

Mary Pearson, Kelly Center Building Supervisor

A little over 30 years ago, a Madison High School student named Joseph Janson had a simple wish. He wanted to go to a dance. But nothing was simple for Joseph, who was born with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and was confined to a wheelchair. 

He confided his wish to Tony Nitz, who at that time was an educational assistant at Madison (now Leodis V. McDaniel High School). Tony had been working one-on-one with Joseph for months and he immediately went about making the young man’s dream come true.

“The truth is, I would have done anything for Joseph,” Nitz said. “He was a unique person, and we had a very special bond.”

Madi Bourdon’s first book practically wrote itself. 

According to the Glencoe Elementary School counselor and Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) coordinator, it only took them an hour and a half to finish A Kid’s Book About Chosen Family, which came out this March with A Kid’s Co. publishing.

For the past three years, Alondra Nieves Barajas has been both student and teacher.

Most days, the senior from Roosevelt High School attends class, does her homework, and spends time with her friends just like any other 18-year-old. But on Wednesday nights, you can find her at the front desk, teaching adults – often much older than herself – the ins and outs of the United States naturalization test.

When Aaron Presberg first got the email from the White House, he thought it was some sort of prank. 

Then he shared the message with a few colleagues who assured him that it was no joke, and the exciting reality that he had been invited to Washington, D.C. to present at the White House’s first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K–12 School Buildings and Grounds started to sink in.