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Q&A
Current Head Start enrollment and vacancy concerns
1:18:53
ยท
118 sec
Council Member Rita Joseph inquires about the current enrollment and vacancies in Head Start programs. DOE officials reveal that there are 3,793 enrolled students with nearly 2,000 vacant seats.
- The DOE has been conducting outreach campaigns and marketing initiatives to fill these seats.
- They have put out a Head Start RFI to get new providers and delegates to take on additional seats.
- The high number of vacancies has led to a reconsideration of seat allocation in the upcoming grant recompetition.
Rita Joseph
1:18:53
How many children are you currently serving in your Head Start?
1:19:03
Good morning.
Monique Scales
1:19:06
Currently in head start
Amber C.
1:19:07
we have
Monique Scales
1:19:16
one second.
1:19:18
We currently have 3,793 enrolled students.
Rita Joseph
1:19:23
Do you have any vacancies?
Monique Scales
1:19:25
We do have vacancies,
Rita Joseph
1:19:26
yes.
1:19:27
How many?
Monique Scales
1:19:30
So it's approximately just a little under 2,000 vacancies.
Rita Joseph
1:19:36
Under 2,000?
1:19:40
Okay, I'm gonna put my Miss Joseph hat on right now.
1:19:44
So we have 3,792, but you have under almost 2,000 seats that are vacant.
1:19:51
What are we doing to do outreach for these seats in order to fill in these seats?
1:19:55
We know head start.
1:19:56
The purpose of head start is to make sure children have a head start in schools.
1:20:01
So talk to me.
1:20:03
Talk to me.
Monique Scales
1:20:04
Yes.
1:20:04
So we have we have been doing the outreach campaign, the the initiative that city council has so graciously helped to fund.
1:20:12
We've been doing marketing and outreach.
1:20:15
We had previously put out a hard head start RFI where we tried to get in, new providers, new delegates to take on additional seats for our head start.
1:20:26
But as first deputy chancellor said, we had to recompete for the grant, so that's what's coming up.
1:20:32
And we looked at the system, and based on the data, it's been determined that we should potentially age down.
1:20:39
So there's a recompete.
1:20:41
We we we put in an application, and we looked at the seats, and we decided to age down.
1:20:48
So it's a reconfiguration of the seats that we originally had.