To the Editor:
For nearly 50 years The Campagna Center, the City of Alexandria, and Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) have worked in partnership to help low-income children and their families succeed. It is in this spirit that we reach out to share that Alexandria Head Start has occupied space at the Jefferson-Houston Elementary School since the mid-70s when it was first granted use of the Annex. In these nearly five decades of partnership, Alexandria Head Start has, and continues to make a difference in our community, helping nearly 10,000 children and families succeed in school and in life since the program was first funded in our community.
For the past 12 to 18 months, city officials, Campagna Center staff, and school officials have worked together to openly address space-related matters at the new Jefferson-Houston school. As ACPS considered its own needs in the new school building, it made room for four of the five Head Start classrooms that were formerly housed in the Jefferson-Houston Annex. Fairlington United Methodist Church graciously committed to house the fifth classroom.
Throughout the public process associated with building the new school, classrooms for Head Start children were conveyed as a necessary component given the loss of the Annex. Beyond public school classrooms, The Campagna Center is grateful to its partners at St. Paul’s Church, Fairlington United Methodist Church, and Northern Virginia Community College who also provide access to additional classroom spaces.
It is important to understand that Head Start programs do not operate at a profit margin. In fact, each year The Campagna Center has to raise money to cover the cost of operating Head Start programs because government funds have never covered the full cost of delivering services. Agencies that administer Head Start services are required to produce a 20 percent local match to access the 80 percent provided by the federal government. We are thankful to the citizens and businesses of Alexandria that have voiced their endorsement of Alexandria Head Start for over four decades by helping to provide resources and funds to meet our local match.
The Campagna Center has formed many other important community partnerships over the years. These relationships provide vital linkages to early intervention specialists, health, mental health, nutrition, and employment/job training services to help us address holistic needs of young children and their families.
If you have interest in learning more about Head Start and/or The Campagna Center, we invite you to visit our website at www.campagnacenter.org/HeadStart.
Tammy Mann Ph.D., President & CEO