Preschool closures in Matanuska-Susitna Valley preview what other regions across the country could soon face.
WASILLA, Alaska — She was a teenager, and the mother of a 2-year-old, when a knock came on the door of the trailer she called home. Two women were there to tell her about a federally funded preschool program called Head Start that was opening near her home in Chugiak . Would she be interested in enrolling her daughter?
In this part of Alaska, countless parents tell stories like Bayne’s. Head Start has helped them earn degrees that put them on track for better jobs. As drug addiction ravages the community, it has helped parents in recovery and educated children who have ended up in foster care. It has done this while readying youngsters for kindergarten, conditioning them for the school day’s rhythms and teaching them how to be good friends and students.
Without those teachers, the preschools cannot serve as many students as they once did. It means fewer options for parents who want to return to work but cannot afford child care, and fewer early learning opportunities for children from the neediest families. In rural communities, Head Start might be the only child care center for working parents.
In Wasilla, the regional Head Start group decided to raise employee pay to keep more staff from leaving. To do that, it had to close one center. Mark Lackey, executive director of CCS Early Learning, found he was competing for employees with the service sector, which raised pay during the pandemic to lure back reluctant workers.
Head Start Alaska Meadow Lakes Chugiak
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This preschool in Alaska changed lives for parents and kids alike. Why did it have to close?In rural Alaska, the federally funded Head Start preschool program has helped parents earn college degrees.
Read more »
This preschool in Alaska changed lives for parents and kids alike. Why did it have to close?In rural Alaska, the federally funded Head Start preschool program has helped parents earn college degrees
Read more »
This preschool in Alaska changed lives for parents and kids alike. Why did it have to close?In rural Alaska, the federally funded Head Start preschool program has helped parents earn college degrees.
Read more »
This preschool in Alaska changed lives for parents and kids alike. Why did it have to close?In rural Alaska, the federally funded Head Start preschool program has helped parents earn college degrees.
Read more »
This preschool in Alaska changed lives for parents and kids alike. Why did it have to close?In rural Alaska, the federally funded Head Start preschool program has helped parents earn college degrees.
Read more »
Head Start preschool in Alaska is closing amid teacher shortage, low payIn rural Alaska, the federally funded Head Start preschool program has helped parents earn college degrees. It has put parents with drug addictions on paths toward recovery and educated children who have ended up in foster care. And, of course, it has readied youngsters for kindergarten.
Read more »