Resources & Applications

The EOP Birth to Five School Readiness Program is a federally funded early education program known as Head Start and Early Head Start.  It is a complete and comprehensive Kindergarten Readiness program, providing services to families in Chemung County.  This program is free of cost for families who qualify.

​

Overview

• Center and Home-based program options

• Expectant mother services and referrals

• Research-based curriculum

• Health and Developmental screenings

• Referrals

• Socialization skills

​

The foundations for school readiness begin in pregnancy and continue throughout early childhood. For

infants and toddlers, school readiness refers to the developing capacity of children to:

• Self-regulate

• Develop close, secure personal relationships with adults and peers

• Demonstrate curiosity in, pay attention to, and explore people and objects in the environment

• Exhibit a sense of self-confidence

• Communicate effectively

​

Early Head Start (Birth to 3 years old)

Early Head Start provides similar services as preschool Head Start programs, but they are tailored for the unique needs of infants and toddlers.  The program runs year-round. Early Head Start programs promote the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers through safe and developmentally enriching caregiving. This prepares these children for continued growth and development and eventual success in school and life.

​

Head Start (3 to 5 years old)

Head Start serves young children from low-income families to help prepare them to succeed in school. It runs on a 10-month schedule, September-June.  the primary goal is to promote children's development through services that support early learning, health, and family well-being.

​​

 

Center-Based  (18 months to 5 years old)

The center-based option prepares children for a classroom setting.  The Early Head Start classrooms run 12 months a year (18m-2yrs old).  The Head Start classrooms run 10 months a year from September-June (3-5yrs old).

​

• Multiple locations throughout Chemung County. 

• Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM - 2:30 PM

• Nutritious meals

​

Home-Based (Expectant to 5 years old)

Home-based services offer an opportunity to work directly with the parents, as early as pregnancy to support healthy family growth and development.  Parents, the most important people in the world to a child, are offered parenting education in the setting that is most familiar and has the most meaning to both the child and the parents. Promoting secure parent-child interactions and school readiness experiences in the home provide a foundation for parents to weave learning moments into the family's daily routines.