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Community Children’s Center has initiated a new toddler and preschool program that is scheduled to open at Edgewood Community Housing Development beginning in June 2008. The new program will allow for an additional six toddler slots in Douglas County, four of which have been identified as Early Head Start enrollments. The remaining two enrollments will give priority to at risk families living in the Edgewood Community (1600 Haskell Avenue) and other families within Lawrence.

Community Children’s Center maintains its goal of opening infant-toddler slots at Plymouth Congregational Church, the current main site for Head Start preschool services. We anticipate that eight new infant-toddler slots will be open to the community in this program. CCC hopes again to partner with East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity (ECKAN) to provide Early Head Start services for four of those enrollment slots. The remaining enrollment positions will be available to the Lawrence community at-large.

Community Children’s Center, Inc. is a non-profit agency that operates Head Start programs in Lawrence, Kansas.   The agency was established in 1965 as a mission of local community members to provide high-quality early childhood development programs for low-income families.  The overall goal of the agency is to bring about a greater degree of social competence and school readiness in the young children of low-income families, taking into account the interrelatedness of cognitive, intellectual and social development, physical and mental health, and nutritional needs. In addition, staff works cooperatively with families to enhance their knowledge of the developmental needs of their children and to enhance parents’ feelings of self worth. 

Community Children’s Center currently has 5 Head Start classrooms, at three different sites in Lawrence, serving 78 children. Twenty percent (20%) of the children enrolled in our program have identified special education services. In addition, we offer an Extended Learning, wrap-around program to Head Start for children whose parents are attending school, working or a combination thereof. All classrooms are lead by teachers with degrees and certification in early childhood education who are assisted in the classroom by assistant teachers and special education Para educators.