Drake University Head Start has classroom locations in Ames, Ankeny, Boone, Des Moines, Knoxville, Newton, Norwalk, and West Des Moines. Children must be 3 years old by September 15th of the program year to enroll in a Head Start pre-K classroom.
Most classrooms operate for 6.5 hours, Monday through Friday. Half-day programming is available in Ames and at the Southridge location in Des Moines.
Families in Polk County may also select Drake University Head Start’s home-based pre-K option. Home-based programming consists of weekly, 90-minute visits with a Head Start teacher in the family’s home. Teachers support parents through weekly interactions, demonstrating for the parent how they can prepare their child for kindergarten with different routines and activities.
Children who are 2 years of age by September 15th of the program year are eligible for Drake University Head Start’s Early Head Start (EHS) toddler classroom. Drake University Head Start has toddler classrooms in Ankeny, Des Moines, and West Des Moines. All EHS toddler classrooms are located in sites with Head Start classrooms. Many children who complete the year in the Early Head Start toddler classroom reapply for Head Start upon completion and enroll in a Head Start classroom within the same facility. Starting pre-K in the same building often alleviates some of the anxiety young children often experience with entry into a preschool classroom.
Drake University Head Start’s Early Head Start (EHS) Home Visiting program serves children birth to three in Polk County by providing weekly visits in the family’s home. Drake University Head Start believes that the parent is the child’s first and most important teacher. Infant/ Toddler Specialists meet with families for 90 minutes each week. During weekly visits, staff provide enrichment activities for children and teach parents how to implement learning strategies with their infant or toddler children.
Early Head Start Zero to Three (ZTT)
One of the EHS home visiting caseloads is dedicated solely to families involved with Polk County’s Safe Babies Court Team. Families who enroll in this caseload are involved with Iowa Health and Human Services to ensure safe living conditions for their child, and are actively working toward reunification through the court system.
In December of 2014, Drake University became one of 275 awardees nationwide to receive a new cutting-edge Early Head Start grant that partners with local childcare centers. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) developed this new grant to encourage collaboration between new and/or existing Early Head Start grantees and local child care providers to further support high-quality early education for children from birth until age 3 through layered funding. Drake University Early Head Start chose to partner with six Des Moines Urban Core child care agencies offering services at eight locations. This grant is designed to assist with increasing the existing quality efforts of year-round, full-day services for infants, toddlers, and two-year-olds.
As a result of grant funding:
These efforts are extended through collaborative partnerships with United Way of Central Iowa and Polk County Early Childhood Iowa, as well as the Iowa TEACH program, to provide program-wide supports and share the wealth of resources for these eight childcare sites.
Early Head Start currently serves 88 infants, toddlers, and two-year-olds in Polk County as part of a larger grant, as well as an additional 838 Head Start children ages three to five. This new Partnership grant allows for an additional 90 children, effectively doubling the Early Head Start services overseen by Drake University Head Start in Polk County.
Multiple classrooms are available to families at the participating childcare centers in the Urban Core, which are also a part of a Childcare Coalition established by United Way of Central Iowa and Polk County Early Childhood Iowa to enhance the quality of childcare. The centers serve a diverse population: one is in a residential drug treatment center, two are in high schools serving teen parents, one is in a low-income housing project, one is a bilingual program, and three are in areas with access to serve the homeless.
To apply, please contact one of the participating centers to complete their applicable childcare application process. At that time, the applicable director will contact an Early Head Start Childcare Partnership representative to complete an Early Head Start application.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program through the USDA that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children and adults. CACFP contributes to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children and adults in the United States
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