Nearly 180 preschool children are served in Head Start classrooms in Kosciusko County.
Thanks to a recent program review, parents can be assured that their Head Start child is getting the very best care and education available. The review was conducted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the recognized leader of early childhood education professionals.
As a result of the review, both the Warsaw and North Webster Head Start programs have been named among the first early childhood programs in the country to earn accreditation from the NAEYC under their new, more rigorous standards.
To achieve accreditation, the programs were required to undergo a thorough evaluation by the NAEYC team, which used both written reports and on-site inspections. The team measured the programs and their services against the ten new NAEYC standards and more than 400 related criteria.
"The NAEYC review, especially under the new standards, is extremely rigorous," said Lynne Dittman, Head Start coordinator for Kosciusko County. "Needless to say, we are very proud that both the Warsaw and North Webster programs did so well as to earn this honor."
The accreditation is for a five-year period, at which time another review will take place. The Mentone Head Start program, which had its last review under the old system two years ago, will come under review using the new standards in 2010.
Kosciusko County Head Start is a program of Cardinal Center, with classrooms in North Webster, Warsaw and Mentone.
