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Holly Strait is the Senior Director Child & Family Development Services at PathStone Corporation. This is her experience at the Field of Dreams Head Start Center’s opening day.
On July 12, the Adams County Family Development Field of Dreams Head Start center opened on a hot and humid day to 24 appreciative farmworker families. Parents were comfortable leaving their children in a familiar setting as they headed off to pick, pack, and process peaches.
Farmworkers enroll their children for Head Start services at the Field of Dreams center.
As one family member said, “The classrooms look very nice and I feel safe in leaving my child at the center while I am at work.”
As children and families found their way to their assigned classroom, teachers were there to greet them with a smile and a hug on the first day of school. The classrooms filled up with children, and teachers were ready to implement activity plans. Old and new friends were curious to explore all the new exciting classroom furnishings and materials that were purchased prior to opening day. The teachers saw how all 32 enrolled children were laughing and looking ahead.
Through the course of the past few months, administrators interviewed and hired new teachers for the center. Staff participated in planning meetings, pre-service trainings, community events, and partnership-building activities to prepare for a successful opening day.
For more than 20 years, PathStone Corporation, a delegate agency of ECMHSP, has been able to provide high-quality childcare to children and their families while parents harvest fruits for the Adams County community. The Field of Dreams Head Start center is surrounded by peach and apple orchards in a growing Hispanic community. The center is expected to meet their full funded enrollment of 60 children by the end of August.
On average, the Field of Dreams farmworker families work from sun up to sun down, yet they find time to participate at the center. Over the course of four months during which the center is in operation, families volunteer on average more than 1,000 hours in total.
The sound of children’s voices and laughter fill the classrooms on opening day.
As the children left the center at the end of the day, they exclaimed to their parents in a fun way, “I can’t wait to come back and play another day!”
Happy harvesting to all, and to all a prosperous Fall.