How We Do It

head start

At Head Start We Enroll Your Entire Family

MISSION STATEMENT

Greater Bergen Community Action, Inc. provides comprehensive infant, toddler, and child development services. We are an infant, toddler, and child focused program that embraces the entire family. Greater Bergen Community Action works with the local community to provide services that address child-care and family support issues, which enables the staff to help families become self-sufficient. “Teaching Children, Reaching Families”

GIVE YOUR CHILD A HEAD START

Diversity

All of our schools are multilingual and include children and families from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Diversity is celebrated both inside and outside of the classroom.

Nutrition

At mealtimes, students eat delicious, nutritious, USDA-approved meals from a menu prepared by our in-house registered dietitians. We also offer 31 specialized menus that can be prepared for students who have dietary restrictions due to allergies or cultural needs.

Health

All Head Start students are given free health, dental, vision, and height and weight screenings by medical professionals within the first 45 days of beginning the program. They are then referred to health services of the highest quality right in their own communities.

Education

Every day at GBCA Head Start and Early Head Start, infants, toddlers and children enjoy activities and games that follow a research-based curriculum that aligns with NJ State licensing standards and is designed to teach everything from letters and numbers to sharing and getting along with others. All students also receive developmental screenings administered by education staff

Special Needs

Children with disabilities are welcome in the program. Parents, teachers, and specialists all work together to develop a unique program for each child, both in the classroom and at home. Children with disabilities are included in regular activities and play and learn right along with all the other children. Your child’s therapist may also come to the classroom and aid the child in learning.

PREGNANT MOTHERS CAN GET A HEAD START TOO

A healthy pregnancy has a direct influence on the health and development of a child. Our program offers supportive prenatal and postpartum guidance, parenting and nutrition classes, and home visits to help families prepare for the addition of the newborn in the home.

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PARENTS: GROW ALONG WITH YOUR CHILD

Each family is assigned its own family worker, and together they create a family Partnership Plan, which helps them identify life goals and the steps needed to accomplish them. With job training, adult education classes, housing assistance, and more, Head Start offers many opportunities for parents looking for a better future for themselves and their families.

Parent Education Opportunities

High School Equivalency

Did you leave high school before earning your diploma and are you now looking to take your High School Equivalency exam? The High School Equivalency (HSE) program can help prepare you for the exam that can move you beyond entry-level careers and salaries, and increase your success the rest of your life.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Whether you are new to the USA and speak little or no English, or have been here for years and want to improve your English skills, our ESL Specialists will help you speak, read, and understand written and spoken English, and feel more comfortable communicating anywhere in the United States.

Parenting Classes

Parenting tips ranging from stress relief for the busy parent to engaging your children at home

USA Citizenship Classes

From immigration to integration: with a focus on American civics and culture, the New Americans program helps ease the transition of immigrants to the USA, and aims to help them fully embrace their new life here.

Individual & Family Counseling

not all services available in all locations

Housing Assistance

Includes pre and post-purchase housing counseling and mortgage default and delinquency counseling. Through both group workshops and one-on-one counseling sessions, individuals receive assistance in navigating the complicated process of purchasing a house and how to avoid many of the pitfalls that can ultimately result in default or foreclosure.

Landlord-Tenant Guidance

The Greater Bergen Housing Coalition provides outreach and guidance to low income individuals and families in matters of Landlord-Tenant Law.

Homelessness Prevention

Resources to prevent to individuals or families facing eviction or threat of eviction from losing their housing—or required to find new housing--due to temporary financial problems.

Financial Literacy

Includes group classes and workshops or one-on-one sessions that focus on basic banking and money management, including, but not limited to, budgeting, savings and investment on a shoestring, understanding insurance, and understanding loans.

Father Support Group

A Men Only group that meet once a month to discuss topics such as conflict resolution in and out of the home, the importance of leading your children by example and with respect, and more

Cooking and Nutrition Workshops

Learn how to make nutritious meals for your family

YOUR INPUT MATTERS

As volunteer members of our program, parents can volunteer in the classroom, on fieldtrips or even members of our Policy Council, where parents and other adult family members along with the Program Director, share in making many important decisions for the Head Start/Early Head Start program through “Shared Governance."