by
Susan O’Donnell
Chief Executive Officer
Head Start Community Program of Morris County
Head Start Community Program of Morris County has been providing high-quality services through public school pre-k partnerships for more than a decade, first through state early childhood aid partnerships and starting in 2015, through New Jersey’s Preschool Expansion Aid program. New Jersey’s mixed delivery approach supports best practice by building on the expertise and capacity of existing providers and leveraging Federal Head Start funding to ensure culturally responsive services of the highest quality to the most vulnerable children in the community. The Morris County Head Start program has partnerships with the Morris School District (60 children), Dover Public Schools (75 children), Wharton Borough Public Schools (15 children), and for 2024-2025, a planned additional collaboration with Mine Hill School District (15 children).
School district partnerships enable classrooms to provide a wide variety of materials to promote fine motor development as well as early math skills.
Bilingual books support the development of early language and literacy skills children’s home languages as well as English.
Children enjoy learning about science in natural environments, growing their own plants and vegetables.
Space for gross motor play is supported through community and school district partnerships.
Children build social skills and learn to cooperate through substantial free play time with their peers in classrooms filled with high-quality materials.
Children have ample opportunities for individual expression, including art experiences to experiment with colors, shapes, textures and a variety of materials.
Implementation of a research-based curriculum to fidelity means that staff are well-prepared to promote children’s social-emotional development.
New Jersey Head Start Association 