Building Community.
Dedicated to training and advocacy for those who impact the lives of children and families.
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Head Start is a national child development program for children from birth to age 5, which provides services to promote academic, social and emotional development for income-eligible families.
The Virginia Head Start Association dedicates itself to training and advocacy which enhances and fosters growth of individual members, member agencies, partners and others who impact the lives of children and families.
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Programs Served
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The Virginia Head Start Association strives to engage all partners, including parents, teachers, family service workers, and managers to keep the success story of Head Start alive for elected and public officials, community partners, and taxpayers. Head Start is publicly funded but this funding should not be taken for granted. Head Start parents and advocates play a key role in establishing and maintaining positive communication with the legislative and administrative branches of government.
The Virginia Head Start Association is an intricate part of advocacy that wholeheartedly supports all Head Start programs, staff, children, and families across the commonwealth. The mission speaks for itself by providing quality professional development, opportunities for networking, valuable resources, encouragement, and support during challenging times. The Executive Director is so dedicated to the overall […]
The Virginia Head Start Association is the backbone to all our programs here in the Commonwealth by providing a base and support as we navigate the ever changing world of early child education and development. Through the VAHSA I have not only gained incredible colleagues, but amazing friends. Our network of members promotes collaboration, encouragement […]
The Association provides for Head Start leaders what we provide for children and family: support, encouragement, and hope.
As a community partner, I am proud to be part of the Virginia Head Start Association, serving the families and children in our state.
The Virginia Head Start Association is a pillar of strength for the Virginia Head Start Community. VAHSA provides professional development opportunities which include diversity and inclusion for Head Start staff and the opportunity for staff and parents to serve on the association’s board. Also, the association is a team player advocating for funding and resources […]
The work of VAHSA allows us to network with all service areas all across the Commonwealth by creating opportunities to network, train, brainstorm, and communicate across all the Head Start Communities. Doors are open across our state and country because of our Association and its leadership.
The work and support of the association has been instrumental to me in every role I’ve been in Head Start; a teacher, an education manager, and now as director. It’s been especially hard during the difficult times of COVID. The association is one of the reasons I continue. The thought of having someone(s) out there […]
The Administration for Children and Families released a final rule in the Federal Register, Supporting the Head Start Workforce and Consistent Quality Programming. The rule updates the Head Start Program Performance Standards (the Performance Standards) to respond to concerns affecting the sustainability of Head Start programs. Changes to the standards increase wages and benefits for Head […]
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Major Updates Proposed to Head Start Program Performance Standards On Monday, November 20 the Office of Head Start on issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with major updates to the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS). This proposal represents the most consequential changes to Head Start since standards were revised in 2016. The 282-page […]
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Kim Hill Elected President Of Virginia Head Start Association Board Of Directors Kim Hill, People Incorporated’s Associate Director of Child and Family Development, has been elected as the new President of the Virginia Head Start Association (VAHSA) Board of Directors. Kim has been a member of the VAHSA Board since November 2017. She was elected […]
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The Virginia Head Start Association recently hosted our Health Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, welcoming health specialists, family service Head Start specialists, and other health professionals. The conference was pleased to have Rashanda Jenkins as the main presenter, a Region 3 TTA Health Specialist with over 13 years of experience serving the HS/EHS community. Ms. Jenkins […]
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In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we want to share a profile of some attendees to our Annual Conference, The Chickahominy Tribe of Charles City, Virginia. While it is important to learn about the past and refocus our lens through the eyes of those who experienced it; it is also critical to see the […]
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Meet our Northwest parent Board Rep: Kerri Banks Kerri is our Northwest region Parent rep on our board. She is a parent with Skyline CAP Program. Kerri started with Head Start about 6 years ago when my son enrolled after he turned 3. Since then she has been on the policy council and just finished […]
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While you can see all of our Board and meeting minutes on our Leadership page here: https://headstartva.org/about-us/our-leadership/ We want to share a little bit more about a few of our Members! The Virginia Head Start Association Board of Directors is comprised of representatives of four regions – Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, and Northwest – and individuals […]
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We have many new program Directors for 2022 and we would like to welcome and support them here on our VAHSA website. If you know of anyone who should be profiled here, please email Melissa at mpalombi@headstartva.org. Sharon Shuttle People Incorporated of Virginia Director of Child & Family Development As a former Head […]
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We are pleased to announce the 2022 winners of our Annual Nancy Elmore Scholarship recipients. The Nancy Elmore Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for two people to receive some financial assistance with their continuing education expenses. Named in honor of Nancy Elmore, who has been an integral part of Virginia Head Start programs for many years, the […]
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Reconceptualizing Social Determinants of Health and Working Towards Systemic Change . . . is one of the many engaging offerings we have lined up for our Virtual Health and Family Institute Conference which will run the week of March 28-April 1, 2022. Presented by Dr. Anjali Gowda Ferguson, PhD, attendees will have an […]
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The 2020 VAHSA Parent Ambassadors visited Richmond on January 22 to share their compelling stories with State Delegates and Senators about how Head Start has impacted their lives. They valued the opportunity to meet with State Legislators and shared powerful and inspirational examples of how families partner with Head Start to help prepare their children […]
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Our group with First Lady Pam Northam Virginia Head Start Parent Ambassadors joined other ECE stakeholders in advocating for early childhood education at the State Capitol. They brought their children on a “playdate” with delegates, senators, and the First Lady of Virginia to thank them for their investments. Head Start Director Yesenia De La Cruz […]
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By Jennifer Lazzo Head Start. It’s an easily recognizable name, but do you know what the program is designed to do? Head Start provides young children from low-income families and children with disabilities with one free year of education, preparing them to enter kindergarten ready to listen to instructions, play well with fellow students and lead by example. The […]
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The Governor and First Lady announced an Executive Directive to establish an Executive Leadership Team on School Readiness, which will be co-chaired by Commissioner Duke Soren and Chief School Readiness Officer Jenna Conway. The team is being tasked with two core objectives: Ensure that all at-risk three-year-olds and four-year-olds in Virginia have access to a […]
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Virginia First Lady Pamela Northam, and Chief School Readiness Officer Jenna Conway, visit Head Start classrooms and other early childhood facilities in a Back to School Tour. In June 2018, First Lady Pamela Northam announced a new initiative to bolster early childhood education in Virginia and improve student outcomes for youth across the Commonwealth. The […]
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Dr. Deborah Bergeron, Director of the Office of Head Start, visited Prince William County Head Start program on June 5, 2018. Dr. Bergeron visited three Head Start classrooms to learn more about a collaboration between Head Start and the high school students enrolled in ECE at Gar-Field High School, an inclusion classroom at Mullen Elementary […]
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