Children’s Day + Head Start = A Wonderful Collaboration

Since our founding in 1893, the mission of Children’s Day has been to support the education, growth, and development of young children while empowering families to strengthen and deepen their connections in the home and community.

The values of Head Start closely align with our mission to help provide outstanding and high-quality preschool education integrating social and emotional support for our children and their families. That’s why, in the late 1990s, Children’s Day began a collaborative partnership with our friends- Passaic Family Head Start.

Head Start is a federally funded program that began in the 1960s as a means of providing low-income children and families with access to high-quality early education programs. Head Start essentially helps millions of low-income families in the United States by providing them with an education that meets their social, emotional, psychological, nutritional, and health needs. Passaic’s Head Start program began in 1974 as part of the City’s municipal government and then became its own independent Head Start program in 2002.

Head Start programs all around the country help prepare millions of families for the future. They offer help to families from birth to 5 years old by providing learning through play, creative expression, and building strong relationships as the foundation of early learning.

Head Start programs support growth and learning for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children across all domains of development, and extend health and wellness programming for pregnant women. These services are especially important in parts of the country where access to quality care is limited.

Comprehensive services include a focus on family support toward economic mobility; research-based curricula that foster a child’s approach to learning; healthy physical activity and nutrition; support for social and emotional development; full inclusion of children with disabilities and delays; and connections to a medical and dental home and screenings. This “head start” in life boosts them towards a brighter future.

Children’s Day and Passaic Family Head Start make great collaborative partners- the services mentioned above are an integral part of Children’s Day programs. The financial support this collaboration provides strengthens CDP’s ability to provide services and we, in turn, are able to prepare students for their future in the best way possible while supporting families.

We imagine fantastic futures for all who walk through our doors! When we learn about the amazing things our alumni are accomplishing and see how our families are strengthened, we are continually motivated to continue this amazing partnership.

Children’s Day is grateful for our partnership with Passaic Family Head Start!