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After more than four years in limbo, Southeastern Vermont Community Action’s Head Start child care center is back in town, following the purchase of the former Masonic Hall where it originally operated. The Children’s Place Preschool will provide free, full-day child care for up to 18 children from income-eligible families, along with other resources and programming. The opening of the center marks the end of a long search for a suitable space and the return of much-needed services to the town.
“There were a lot of families that didn’t have any place to go,” said Lori Canfield, Head Start director for SEVCA.
Head Start, which has six classrooms in four Windsor County towns, had to shutter its Windsor classroom in 2015, after it lost its lease in the Firehouse Building on Main Street when the building changed hands. The center first operated out of rented space in the Masonic Lodge from 2000 to 2008, until the rent became unaffordable and the furnace became unreliable, Canfield said. It then moved to the Firehouse Building, where it operated under a series of owners.
After the agency lost its lease, Head Start staff pursued numerous leads on new sites, but struggled to find a space that met all of the federal requirements and all the community’s needs, including adequate parking, space for a playground and a convenient location, Canfield said. Particularly challenging in Windsor was finding a space that wasn’t on the National Register of Historic Places, because of the additional requirements for utilizing these buildings.
“It wasn’t for lack of trying,” Canfield said. “Truly, I lost count of how many places we looked at.”
Finally, last year, the Masonic Lodge, a spacious building that sits on a hill just a short walk from Main Street, was listed for sale. Head Start purchased the building about nine months ago for $156,000, then completed renovations totaling $160,000, including upgrading the heating system, adding an accessible bathroom and entryway ramp, refinishing the floors and completing repairs to the roof, plumbing and wiring. The program began taking applications in June and has filled 10 of its 18 slots. The center is fully staffed, with three teachers, a cook and a family partner. The school day at the Windsor classroom runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and extended care is offered for an additional fee.
Head Start, which receives its funding from the federal government, serves children ages 3 to 5 whose families meet federal income eligibility requirements. The families also receive support services designed to prepare children socially and academically for success in school. Ten percent of Head Start’s enrolled children can come from non-income eligible families. The center is also a prequalified program for PreK under Vermont’s Universal PreK rules.
During Head Start’s prolonged search for a new Windsor location, families in town had limited child care options, Canfield said. The Windsor School has a public early childhood program, but it only runs for half a day and children are accepted by lottery. Head Start continued offering its support services through home visitation, but only a small number of families took advantage of it, Canfield said. Nor did it provide children with early social interaction, a proven factor in school success. Families who qualified could send their children to one of SEVCA’s other Head Start classrooms in Springfield or White River Junction, but transportation wasn’t provided, making the option inconvenient and even prohibitive for some families.
Jeff Matteau and Chad LaDuke were struggling to find full-day child care for their 4-year-old son, Brayden, before the Windsor Head Start center reopened.
“It’s very difficult. We were on multiple waiting lists throughout the area,” said Matteau, who works as a manager of a rehab unit at Hanover Terrace Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Born addicted to opioids before the couple foster parented and then adopted him, Brayden is at risk for developmental delays, although he hasn’t exhibited any yet, Matteau said. His pediatrician referred the couple to Head Start because of services it offers such as an on-site behavior specialist and a range of health screenings.
“They’re also a good source for consults out to other areas if needed,” Matteau said.
Finding full-time child care also allowed Matteau to take advantage of a promotion at work. And a few weeks into the school year, Brayden is thriving, Matteau said. In addition to socialization, he’s getting good nutrition and reinforcement of healthy habits like brushing his teeth after meals, LaDuke added.
“It’s a great program. They really teach them life lessons,” said LaDuke, who owns carpet and tile stores in Norwich and Springfield. “We’re very grateful.”
Other community members are pleased to have the center back in town as well.
“The feedback that I have had from parents is really positive,” Mary Bender, a pediatrician at Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, wrote in an email. “I so admire (the staff), who kept trying and trying and trying for years to find another site.”
Head Start’s emphasis on nutrition, its efforts to engage families in their children’s education and its parenting supports are of great value to area families, Bender said.
Additionally, the new classroom will offer social connections to children and families who might not have them otherwise, said Jill Lord, director of community health at Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center. Both social connections and parental supports play a key role in facilitating child development and reducing the risk of abuse and neglect, she said.
The center is also an important pillar in the larger support system for families, said Lord, who has worked at the center for 28 years and has tracked the development of hundreds of children.
“We know that it’s not one magic bullet that helps and supports families,” Lord said. “You need to have support from all different avenues.”
SEVCA conducts a needs assessment when determining where to put child care centers. About 16% of Windsor’s population and about 26% of Windsor children live below the poverty line, as compared with about 11% of Vermont’s population and 14% of Vermont children, according to 2017 U.S. Census data.
When federal funding becomes available, Canfield said Head Start may seek to add an early Head Start program for infants and toddlers, which would allow them to fully utilize the building.
Community members who want to learn more about the new Head Start center can attend an open house on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., visit sevca.org, call 802-722-4575 or email lcanfield@sevca.org.
Sarah Earle can be reached at searle@vnews.com or 603-727-3268.