Head Start, Pre-K classes still have room for 3-4 year olds
By Lynsi Musselman
Parents who need to pre-register their children for Head Start and pre-kindergarten for the 2020-2021 school year are encouraged to start the process.
New and returning Head Start families need to go to the Region 14 website www.esc14.net/page/cyl_my-headstart%20application.com to fill out a pre-registration form to qualify.
Required documents needed to fill out the pre-registration application for Head Start are income verification (tax return or pay stubs), birth certificate, immunization records, insurance card, CHIPS or Medicaid information, social security card, and proof of residency (parent’s driver’s license or identification card).
Head Start family service director Stephanie Jaco said Region 14 will then contact families for an eligibility interview and to complete the official enrollment paperwork.
“We cannot guarantee a time frame when Region 14 will contact applicants, but the families will be contacted,” Jaco said.
Jaco added that there is plenty of room for both three and four-year-old students.
“As long as a family meets the requirements, they will not be turned away,” Jaco said. “There is no waiting list right now.”
Head Start is a free, full-day, pre-school program for economically disadvantaged children that are three or four years old and who qualify for free meals.
Head Start is also open to students with specified disabilities.
Nancy Smith Elementary principal John Gallagher said parents of students who do not qualify for Head Start can come to the school office and pick up a pre-registration form to see if they qualify for pre-kindergarten.
Parents enrolling students in pre-kindergarten will need to provide proof of income.
Students who will be four years of age prior to Sept. 1 have priority over younger students if space is limited.
Criteria to qualify for the program include any one or more of the following qualifiers: eligible for free or reduced lunch program, having a parent that is on active duty in the military or who was injured or killed during military service, homeless children, students unable to speak and comprehend English, children in CPS, and children of a Star of Texas award winner.
The Star of Texas award is given to peace officers, firefighters, and emergency first responders who are killed or suffer serious injury in the line of duty, and to citizens who were seriously injured or killed while assisting Texas first responders.
Applicants will be contacted with their status once the form is complete.
Gallagher said once a family has been contacted, they will need to wait for the Aug. 5 in-person registration for pre-kindergarten.
Registration will take place at NSES along with kindergarten and all new families to the district.
All students being registered on Aug. 5 will need a copy of the child’s birth certificate, student’s social security number, proof of residency, and parents driver’s license or identification card.
Call NSES with question about Head Start and pre-registration for pre-k at 325-762-3384, during office hours from Monday to Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Birth Certificates
Parents who need to obtain a copy of their child’s birth certificate (or those who need to obtain a marriage or divorce verification, or a death certificate) can order online through https://txapps.texas.gov/tolapp/ovra/ if the event was properly recorded in Texas.
The price of the certificate is $23, and is non-refundable, even if the record can not be found.
Information required to order a birth certificate includes the full name of the individual on the birth certificate, the date and city or county where the birth occurred, and the full name of the father and mother, if they are recorded on the certificate.
The person ordering the birth record must be an immediate family member of the individual listed on the birth certificate.
In addition, they should have on hand their state-issued driver’s license or ID card, Social Security number, date of their birth, and their current address.
Overnight delivery is not available and shipping generally takes 10-15 business days.
To request vital records from events that occurred in other states, go to www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/index.htm.
