Head Start & Early Head Start

Mission: 
To cultivate life-long learning in children and families.

Vision:
To inspire children and families to strive to their fullest potential every day.

The Head Start (Region V) programs offer comprehensive child development programming for children birth through five and their families. Services are developed collaboratively among staff, parents, and community partners in order to meet the mission, “to cultivate life-long learning in children and families” and in a way that accommodates the participant’s culture.

Our Guiding Principles are:
*    Children and Families Come First – Children and families are our top priority.  We invite families to participate fully in the program and welcome their involvement.  We do our best to address the needs of families before all other work, and do it when the time and place is convenient for them.  When decisions need to be made that impact services to this audience, the needs and desires of children and families will be considered first.  Only after that, will budgetary and regulatory requirements be added to the discussion.
*    Life-Long Learning is Essential – We promote and support life-long learning for all those we are connected too – children, parents, staff, and communities.  We work to prepare children for a successful school experience, and support families in this endeavor as well.  We bring a relentless focus to our work, grounded in positive outcomes for children and families, in order to close the achievement gap and build a better future for those we serve.  We encourage and support our staff to continue their education in order to provide quality services to children and families.  We believe information is power and that we must continue to learn to grow.
*    Top Notch Services – We make every effort to provide high quality services following our Guiding Principles and meeting our Mission and Vision, where staff motivations are all the same…the children and families we serve.
*    Embrace and Celebrate Diversity – We believe diversity enriches the quality of life.  We embrace the many cultures of our families, staff, and communities, celebrate our differences, and continually impart knowledge and learn from each other.
*    Safe Environments – Providing a safe, comforting place for children to learn is essential.  Our classrooms are designed to promote the learning of each specific age group.  Our buses meet all safety regulations and our facilities are clean, welcoming, and hazard-free.

The Head Start program has a long tradition of delivering comprehensive and high quality services designed to foster healthy development in low-income children. Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (TVOC) Head Start programs provide a range of individualized services in the areas of education and early childhood development; medical, dental, and mental health; nutrition; and parent involvement.  In addition, the entire range of Head Start services is responsive and appropriate to each child’s and family’s developmental, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage and experience.

Major funding within the Tri-Valley Head Start programs includes: Federal Migrant Head Start, State Migrant Head Start, State Migrant Child care, MN Title 1, ND Title 1, Federal Region V Head Start, State Head Start, Federal COLA/QI, CTC, USDA, Special Education, and School District Funding.