LYNN — Leading through Empowering Opportunities (LEO Inc.) has been awarded a $4.34 million federal grant, which will fund the organization’s Head Start program for the next five years.
Lynn-based LEO Inc. is one of the largest providers of early education and childcare in southern Essex County, according to a grant announcement from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton’s office.
“All are created equal is our American creed,” said Moulton in a statement, “Equal opportunity is our nation’s promise. Yet, too often, your chances of success are dictated by your zip code and how much your parents make. It is on all of us to create opportunities where they don’t exist. Head Start does that, and I’m proud to announce these funds are coming to Lynn.”
LEO spokeswoman Lisa McFadden said the grant will serve as the fundamental funding for the organization’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs for the next five years.
Every five years, head start programs have to reapply for the grant funding, which is distributed through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, McFadden said.
“The grants are given out in five-year segments,” said McFadden. “LEO has been the Head Start provider for Lynn since 1965, but we had to reapply in 2019 to continue our grant. We are thrilled that the quality of the program is so high that the Administration for Children and Families made the award to us again this year.”
LEO will have 354 preschool slots available each year for its two programs when childcare centers are allowed to reopen next month. Students who participate in Head Start are typically coming from “very low-income” circumstances, McFadden said, explaining that only children from families at the poverty level qualify for the program.
The program is geared toward replicating the home environments of more financially well-off families. Children living in those environments are often able to come into kindergarten prepared with basic math concepts and a grasp on basic reading and writing, said McFadden, explaining that one of their parents is often home during the day to provide early schooling.
“Head start, in many ways, replicates that, (with) both a very high quality and rigorous preschool setting,” said McFadden. “It makes a world of difference by the time they enter kindergarten. The routines are in place. They have basic math concepts, the emerging reading and writing.”
Since many of their Head Start students speak a language other than English at home, McFadden said it’s important to ensure their language and literacy skills are established at the preschool level.
Children from 6 weeks to three years old attend LEO’s Stepping Stones Early Childhood Education Center. Kids ages 3 to 5 attend one of three Head Start preschools on Blossom Street, Commercial Street, and the organization’s Broad Street headquarters.
The three preschools are for students enrolled in LEO’s “Intensive School Readiness Program.” The Head Start program is billed as a “two generation, whole child and whole family experience,” that places a strong focus on a rigorous education and social emotional behavior so kids are in a good position to enter the Lynn Public Schools, private schools or charter schools, McFadden said.
“They have the skills, the ability to self-regulate their behavior, and they understand what it’s going to be like to attend school,” said McFadden. “At the same time, we’re working with their parents or adult caregivers in their lives to help them understand the importance of lifelong education and how to support their children and participate themselves in an educational experience that will allow their families to thrive.”
LEO’s early childhood buildings have been shut down since March 17 due to COVID-19, but teachers have been working with students virtually. McFadden anticipates that there will be a greater need for the program’s department of behavioral specialists, who are trained in trauma response care, when classes resume during the COVID era.
To address the loss of learning, LEO plans to run a six-week modified summer program, which will prioritize kids who are moving onto kindergarten in the fall, McFadden said.
Last week, in lieu of being able to conduct a traditional moving-on ceremony, Head Start teachers went door-to-door to deliver diplomas to each rising kindergartener.
“For 55 years, since the inception of the Head Start Program, LEO has consistently been recognized as the best home for this intensive early education and care program in Lynn,” said LEO Inc. CEO Birgitta S. Damon in a statement. “The importance of a Head Start community has never been more important (or) more evident than in the past two months, during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Damon said LEO shifted to a remote service delivery model when its preschool and childcare buildings closed, which involved teachers conducting online classroom gatherings and story circles through Zoom, YouTube and Dojo. Case managers and health advocates have increased their contact with families during the shutdown as well, she said.
“Our work has been more intense, more important than ever before,” said Damon. “As we work towards reopening the early education and care sector in July, LEO anticipates offering a summer program for our rising kindergarteners to reinforce the structure of a school setting and sharpen their academic skills before the new school year begins in September.”
