The Carroll County Child Development Center gives children a head start at being ready for Kindergarten, proven by the fact that our local center is ranked 16th in the state among 105 counties.
“We’re very, very proud of that,” said CCCDC Director Leah Spencer. She noted that 55% of the children who attend Head Start were Kindergarten ready for the 2023-24 school year. Comparatively, only 43% of the grand total of every child in the county who took the Brigance test was considered Kindergarten eligible. In addition, among those who went to another preschool or their status was unknown, 32% of them were considered Kindergarten eligible.
All 4-year-olds who are preparing to enter Kindergarten must take the Brigance screening test. Their results determine if the child is Kindergarten ready according to state expectations.
The children are tested on things such as knowing their name, address and birthday, drawing shapes, counting, knowing the alphabet, standing on one leg, walking backwards and stacking blocks.
The CCCDC, also referred to as Head Start, was at “rock bottom” in 2013, according to Spencer. They began using the Frog Street curriculum consistently and are now reaping the rewards.
“The way Head Start is designed is so centered to the whole child,” Spencer explained. “The biggest thing is so many other things contribute to the success, not just the academics. It’s truly the whole child.”
Head Start ensures children have regular doctor and dentist appointments, proper nutrition and they provide training to help parents be their child’s first teacher.
“We’re going to continue what we’re doing because it’s obviously working,” Spencer said, noting consistency is key to their success.
In addition to this year’s good news, Spencer said that in 2018, the CCCDC was in the top 10% nationwide for class scores. “It all lines up,” she said of the benefits of Head Start.
These scores are great for the Head Start students, but those children who are not in the program do not fare as well.
Jonica Ray, chief academic officer and assistant superintendent, said recently that Carroll County Schools has a lot of novice students because they do not arrive ready for Kindergarten. Starting behind makes it difficult to ever catch up.
Carroll County Schools Superintendent Casey Jaynes noted that Head Start serves approximately half of the Kindergarten-aged children in the county. “We don’t know what the other half have had before Kindergarten,” he said. “We start behind the eight ball every year.”
All of the administrators said implementing Universal Preschool would be a game changer for our children. “It would be huge to have universal preschool,” Ray said.