NVFS’ Early Head Start facility at Georgetown South featured in Head Start public service announcement promoting its new Program Performance Standards.
(Oakton, Va. – Sept. 19, 2016) The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services featured Northern Virginia Family Service’s (NVFS’) five-star designated Early Head Start facility at Georgetown South in Manassas in a public service announcement surrounding its new Program Performance Standards. New Head Start standards include raising educational and professional development standards, and strengthening comprehensive services, as well as increasing the time children spend in Head Start to promote better outcomes.
“Providing a full-day, full-year program has advantages for the parent to have a regular work schedule, know where their children are going to be, know that they’re going to be safe and know that they’re going to have learning opportunities,” shared Malinda Langford, NVFS senior vice president of programs.
Parent engagement with Head Start leadership and program activities is also a cornerstone of the new Head Start standards — and one that the Georgetown South program readily provides for its parent participants.
“I am absolutely in love with his teachers,” stated Early Head Start parent Belinda Williams. “They do daily communication reports for me and let me know everything that’s going on with my child and how his day was.”
“I am excited about my child’s future,” she added. “The program has given him building blocks to have a strong education, and I am thankful for that.”
NVFS offers home-based and center-based Early Head Start programs in Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William counties, and the city of Manassas. In fiscal year 2015, 2,449 clients accessed NVFS’ Early Childhood services, including both Head Start and Early Head Start programs. NVFS recently received a $1.25 million expansion grant for its Early Head Start programs to continue providing quality services in the Northern Virginia region.
Check out the full video: