Rio Grande Child Development & Family Services

Del Norte Head Start

Creating a Brighter Future

Home: Welcome

Center Hours

Monday thru Thursday

Hours:

(Duration)

Monday-Thursday:

8:00am-3:30pm

Teachers: 7:30am-5:00pm

(Non-Duration)

Monday-Thursday

8:00am-2:30pm

Teachers: 7:30am-4:00pm

Office Hours:

Monday - Thursday

7:30am-5:00pm

Friday

8:00am-12:00pm

Saturday-Sunday:

Closed

Home: Opening Hours

Forms for Children

In this section you will find our Child enrollment application, dental form, permission slip, and physical form for the children.

Home: News & Updates

Our Mission and Vision

Helping You Exceed Expectations

Mission Statement:

"Affect the future of and empower children and families by meeting individual needs."

Vision Statement: Every child enrolled in Head Start will enter Kindergarten with the competencies necessary to succeed in school and parent/caregivers will be empowered to be their child's most important teacher.

Home: Our Mission

Our Philosophy

All children are born ready to learn therefore the quality of their earliest experiences is critical for later school success. Towards this effort, RGCD&FS/DNHS is committed to providing the following:

* A highly qualified and educated staff

* An outcome-based curriculum

*Comprehensive health and support services

* Meaningful opportunities and parent involvement

* Enhanced collaboration and coordination with other Early Childhood programs (SLV Early Childhood Council and local school district(s)).

Home: Our Philosophy

About Our School

Changing the World

RGCD&FS/DNHS has been providing Preschool Head Start and CPP services for families and children for over 55 years. RGCD&FS/DNHS has a mission to improve the life prospects and expectations for children and families. This is accomplished by managing services that will provide for greater social well-being, provide a foundation for children to grow and develop basic skills for school success, improve the abilities of families to be financially self-sufficient and promote the healthy development of children and families. RGCD&FS/DNHS' ability to accomplish these goals rests on the needs of the community it serves, the network of support agencies and services in that community, the active cooperation and participation of the families and children it serves and the quality and dedication of its staff.

Home: About

Curriculum

Teachers use the Teaching Strategies Gold-Creative Curriculum to support children in reaching their developmental goals. The Creative Curriculum focuses on "the whole child" and on all aspects of development including social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development.

* Experiential Activities: These are special activities planned to enhance the Head Start child's educational learning experiences. Some of the experiential activities include ASC Planetarium, Goat farm, Pueblo Zoo, Grimway Carrots, Rocky Farms, Pumpkin Patch, Alamosa Airport etc.

*Head start welcomes children with special needs in all areas. We offer an array of individualized classroom and therapeutic services to children and families who may need more support with developmental and/or social emotional growth. These services include developmental screenings, observations, and referrals for children who may need more support to succeed in the classroom. If your child already has an Individualized Education Plan(IEP) or a Response To Intervention(RTI) Plan, we will work with the local school district to provide special education services and other therapy services (speech and occupational therapy) to your child to follow your child to public school (if needed).

* Kindergarten Transition: A transition plan is developed on a annual basis. We work closely with the public school by setting monthly school visits for children entering Kindergarten. There are two transition meetings held for parents throughout the year (once in the Fall and once in the Spring). The purpose of these meetings is to help parents understand and prepare for what will be expected.

* Colorado Preschool Program or CPP is a preschool program that serves children ages 3-5. We contract with the Upper Rio Grande School District C-7 to serve 41 CPP children. We have been serving CPP since 1994.

Home: Academics

Services provided by
RGCD&FS - DNHS

Home: Services

Family Services

RGCD&FS/DNHS provides the following services to Head Start parents/caregivers:
* Assist parent to identify and meet personal/family goals through individual home and center meetings.
*Facilitate workshops focusing on health, mental health, nutrition, education, and special needs.
*Support parents to enhance leadership and advocacy skills through parent involvement.
* Provide crisis intervention through referrals to services available in the community.

Health Services

* At RGCD&FS/DNHS, before or soon after entering the program, children receive hearing, vision, height and weight screenings. Children are required to have a complete physical and dental examination and be up to date on their immunizations before entering the program.
* Community Dental Professionals provide dental services including a dental screening, a dental cleaning, fluoride and sealants. RGCD&FS/DNHS collaborates with several community partners to provide restorative dental services if needed.
*Mental wellness services are also provided to your child and family. Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists provide on-site consultation to classrooms to ensure a safe, stable environment for social emotional growth and learning.
In addition, all families are eligible for mental wellness counseling services (parent classes, individual/group therapy).
* Support Services are provided to all of our children. Services are also provided for those families and children who may need more support with developmental and/or social emotional growth. These services include developmental screenings, observations and referrals for children who may be experiencing developmental delays and may need more support to succeed in the classroom.

Nutrition Services

RGCD&FS/DNHS participates in the Colorado Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to provide children with nutritious meals and snacks. Meals and snacks are served "family style" to help children become more independent and develop socialization skills. Monthly menus are posted in the classroom and copies are sent home to parents. A variety of foods are served to students and the menus include foods from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds. The children participate in weekly nutrition activities, taste new foods, and do hands on cooking activities.