• Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Arishankery

    Story submitted by: Arishankery, Head Start parent 
    Before Head Start, my son’s world was tiny — a world of incubators, oxygen tanks, and emergency alarms. Born at 25 weeks, weighing just one pound, he fought harder in his first minutes than most of us fight in a lifetime. But after surviving the NICU, he faced new battles: delayed speech, sensory overwhelm, and deep anxiety around new people and environments. As a Navy spouse with no family nearby and no U.S.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Dolores

    Story submitted by: Dolores, Head Start parent and staff
    My name is Dolores, and I started out as a Teacher Aide and sometimes worked as the Bus Assistant in 1998 when I began working for Community Action Partnership of SLO at Valle Verde Migrant Head Start. After about five years, I got the position of Family Service Advocate and began working at Soledad Migrant Head Start.
    At that time, we had a three-year-old child in our program.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Olga

    Story submitted by: Olga, Head Start parent and staff
    As I began my education career at Woodland Community College, one of my electives was Early Childhood Development, and one of the requirements was to observe a childcare center. I went into a Head Start center and signed up to volunteer. I was very nervous, but the moment I saw the classroom, I had the best feeling. I knew I was in the right place and wanted to pursue this career.

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  • Head Start Stories
    Head Start Cuento de Juliana

    Story submitted by: Juliana, Head Start parent
    El programa está ayudando a mi hijo a ser más independiente de mamá; él busca realizar las cosas por sí solo. Esto se debe a la enseñanza de las maestras del programa. A mí también me ha ayudado a tener tiempo para realizar todas las tareas pendientes del hogar y, además, a tener la oportunidad de buscar un empleo, ya que ya no estoy preocupada por quién cuide a mi hijo.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Randi

    Story submitted by: Randi Head Start alumni, parent and staff
    I am Head Start!
    I started in Head Start as a young child back in 1980! I remember it vividly as we had actual nails, hammer and wood to practice with outside. As I got older, I did not have any interest in school, as I was a child of a depressed, drug-addicted mom. I struggled in school and only went because it was the only place I could receive a free hot meal.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Joyce

    Story submitted by: Joyce, Head Start parent and staff
    Back in 1987, I lived in a small community called Orange Cove, California, located southeast of Fresno near the foothills. It was mostly made up of farm workers, and I was one of them, picking oranges in the fields. To be able to work, I needed to enroll my son in preschool, so I signed him up for the Orange Cove Head Start EOC Program.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Adriana

    Story submitted by: Adriana, Head Start parent and staff
    When I separated from my partner and became a single mother of three, I needed a job to support my family. Fortunately, I found support for my daughter through the Head Start Home-Based program. Eventually I transitioned her to a center-based program. While she was enrolled, I was encouraged to join the Policy Council, which later led to a role on the Board of Directors as the Policy Council Representative.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Joy

    Story submitted by: Joy, Head Start Parent, and Staff
    I live in a small community, and over the years, I’ve had the privilege of serving three generations of children from many families. I know I’m making a difference, and I truly love what I do. My journey with the program began in 1984 when I was a parent. A teacher visited my home and helped both my child and me develop positive skills. My son had special needs at the time,

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Belinda

    Story submitted by: Belinda, Head Start Parent, and Staff
    My son Robert was born very premature and was treated at Children’s Hospital in Oakland. I didn’t know about Head Start until the hospital told me about it when Robert was turning 3 in 1988. Since there was no classroom option at the time, he became a home-based student. I learned so much about his development that I wanted to get more involved, so I volunteered daily.

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  • Head Start Stories
    My Head Start Story: Ramona

    Story submitted by: Ramona Topete
    Family Development Educator – Early Head Start
    Child Development Resources of Ventura County, Inc.
    This interview was originally published by Child Development Resources in May 2023.
    Ramona wanted to share the story about her daughter, Isis Topete, and her experience as a CDR Head Start student in the late 90s and how that journey guided her to a career as a successful pediatric optometrist.
    “I didn’t know about Head Start back then,”

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