...to the JCCEO Head Start Center of Excellence in Early Childhood web site.
JCCEO Center of Excellence in Early Childhood ("Center") grant was awarded to the JCCEO Head Start-Early Head Start Program in 2010. The Office of Head Start in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funded the five-year project to ten programs in the nation. The goal is for each of the centers to share information on strategies for providing high quality early childhood education programming.
Through the Center, JCCEO provides information on its continuous quality improvement activities and innovations to other programs and early childhood staff via this website, visits to the program, and presentations in a variety of venues.
An exciting project of our Center is the development and implementation of the first-of-its-kind Alabama Early Childhood Leadership Academy for leaders from all types of early childhood programs and organizations across the state. The five Academy classes will include up to 40 participants each and will provide early childhood leadership training and enrichment to promote the development of increasingly more effective programs for young children.
Our first Academy session took place in September 2011 and sessions will continue through May 2012.
Center of Excellence Leadership
Gayle Cunningham
Excecutive Director, JCCEO
Senior Advisor, JCCEO Center of Excellence
Dr. Calvin E. Moore, Jr.
Director of Child Development Services, JCCEO
Director, JCCEO Center of Excellence
Dr. Charlotte Hendricks
Coordinator, JCCEO Center of Excellence
One of the First Ten Centers in the Nation!
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded five-year grants to ten Head Start Centers of Excellence in Early Childhood in the United States; designation has been added for ten additional centers in 2011-2012. The JCCEO Head Start-Early Head Start Program was selected to apply for the Centers of Excellence grant through a state-wide competitive process implemented in 2010 by Governor Bob Riley.One program from each state in the nation was eligible to apply for this new designation, with $1,000,000 grants available for ten successful applicants.
The Centers of Excellence program was established in the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, and funds were appropriated by Congress in 2009.The nine other Head Start Centers of Excellence are located in Denver, Colorado; Owensboro, Kentucky; Baltimore, Maryland; Houghton, Michigan; Morganton, North Carolina; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dunkirk, New York; Mount Vernon, Ohio; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania. For information on other Centers of Excellence, please click here.
JCCEO's Head Start-Early Head Start Program serves nearly 1800 preschoolers, toddlers, and infants in Jefferson County, Alabama. The program has achieved National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation for its centers and has been designated a Program of Excellence by the National Head Start Association. The program is noted for its participation in a variety of research and evaluation projects, and has implemented a wide range of innovations and supports for teaching and learning. For more information on the JCCEO Head Start-Early Head Start Program, click here.
Head Start was created in 1965 and is the most successful, longest-running, national school readiness program in the United States. It provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and social services to low-income children and their families. Nearly 25 million preschool aged children have benefited from Head Start. For more information on the Head Start program, click here.
JCCEO Head Start Center of Excellence in Early Childhood
300 Eighth Avenue, West
Birmingham, AL 35204-3039
Phone: 205-327-7500
Email: JCCEO Center of Excellence
The JCCEO Center of Excellence is accepting applications for the 2012-2013 Alabama Early Childhood Leadership Academy.
For more information, please contact Dr. Charlotte Hendricks, Coordinator.
Email: JCCEO Center of Excellence Phone: 205-663-7402
Please click here to download the application. Application deadline extended to Monday, May 21, 2012.
What's Happening at JCCEO
In collaboration with the JCCEO Center of Excellence, the Alabama Head Start Coaching of Coaches Network Project provides training on mentoring and coaching staff for Head Start education coordinators,managers, and specialists from 13 Alabama programs. Read online the December 2011 JCCEO Head Start Early Learning Mentor Coaches (ELMC) newsletter.
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National Reading Is FundamentalR partners with JCCEO Head Start for Family Literacy Celebration in October. Click here for more information.
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