FARMINGTON — Cape Cod Hill School’s head start program, which is a collaboration between Community Concepts, Inc. [CCI] and Regional School Unit 9, is continuing to offer the Head Start program at the school as the program’s numbers bounce back from COVID-19.

CCI, a community action program, primarily offers services such as housing and financial assistance, to Androscoggin and Oxford counties. Its head start programs, however, offer services in Oxford and Franklin counties. In Franklin County, CCI offers head start through CCHS as well as early learning centers in Jay [149 Main St.], Wilton [251 US Route 2E] and Farmington [103 Deerfield Ln.]

CCI head start and early learning programs offer flexible options for center-based or center-based and in-home services, education and socialization opportunities to prepare your child for kindergarten success, healthy meals and snacks, services for children with special needs, parent involvement opportunities and tools to help children and families succeed.

According to Kim Bessette, director of children’s services for CCI, there are still positions available in the preschool classroom at the Farmington ELC along with positions at CCHS. The infant classroom at the Farmington office, as with other locations, is currently waitlisted, but Bessette says they have a rolling enrollment, which means a spot may become available as children enter and leave the program.

“If we lose a child who relocated, then we’ll pick up another child into the slot,” she said. “Sometimes folks get accepted in the spring and then for whatever reason, like the families had to move or relocate, or they choose not to take the slot, and in those cases, we do have rolling enrollment.”

Enrollment numbers for this coming school year are bouncing back to normal, according to Bessette. After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, enrollment in last year’s program was slower than prior to the pandemic.

This year, CCI is seeing enrollment numbers similar to those pre-COVID-19.

“We’re not 100% full, but our enrollment numbers have come up significantly since pre-COVID,” Bessette shared.

During COVID-19, CCI was able to continue offering the program and adapt to remote learning and social distancing practices, which Bessette stated they continue to practice some of those policies for parents that have a child home sick.

“We’ve maintained a bit of that remote service on the side, just to kind of keep families connected,” she said. Bessette shared that it felt good to see families coming back to the program after the pandemic.

“It feels good to see families like coming out and saying yes, ‘I’m ready for my child to go to school’,” she shared.

Since April of 2010, CCHS, along with W. G. Mallett and Gerald D. Cushing schools, has offered a head start program for parents looking to get their toddlers ready for kindergarten and beyond. Unlike WGMS and GDCS, which are staffed with faculty from the RSU 9 district, CCHS is staffed with CCI’s own early childhood educators who facilitate the program.

However, parents interested in the CCHS program can contact either the school or CCI to enroll their child or get more information about the program. To learn more about the programs that CCI offers, visit ccimaine.org.

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