The Lake Today

The class full of children got to their feet as Carol Loges turned on one of the Osage Beach Head Start class’s favorite songs.

The music started and the kids began dancing around as the music and lyrics echoed through the classroom. Then, they kids were told to stop, with all freezing in surprisingly perfect stillness before, as cued, to start dancing again. This action made the parents, school administrators and special guests to the Osage Beach Head Start Open House Oct. 4 at its location in the old Heritage High School building in Lake Ozark chuckle and smile.

After this energetic experience, Loges, the Osage Beach Head Start lead teacher and director, sat with the children as they sang and signed to “One Small Voice.” When finishing, Osage Beach Head Start Family Advocate Nancy Cornett stood in front of the class and told the audience just how important that song is not only to the children but also to the Head Start family, which has now been in existence going into their third year.

“That song means a lot to us here at the Osage Beach Head Start,” she said. “It exemplifies just how strong we are and how much we want to grow and reach out to the community. And that is why we are all here today.”

For the Oct. 4 Open House was not only for the parents of the 17 children who currently attend the year-round program and supportive School of the Osage faculty, but also for the community to help in honoring this growing local program and Head Start itself, which celebrates Head Start Awareness Month in October.

About Head Start

Head Start is a federally funded program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and established in 1965. Its mission, according to the program’s website, is to promote school readiness for children, ages 3-5, in low-income families by offering educational, nutritional, health, social and other services. Its programs promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families, engaging parents in their children’s learning and helping them in making progress toward their educational goals, the website noted.

Each October, Missouri Head Start programs along with hundreds of others across the nation celebrate in their communities and make them aware of the importance of the families, staff and children’s work that go into making a Head Start program successful.

On the Osage Beach Head Start Open House Oct. 4, Cornett, Loges and their fellow three staff members also celebrated Head Start Awareness Month with Lake Ozark Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos, who signed a proclamation to honor the designated month and local program.

Inside Osage Beach Head Start

Officially open in late September 2009, a staff of six has taken hold of a long awaited Head Start center in “the heart of Lake of the Ozarks.” Like other Head Start facilities in the Lake Area and surrounding communities, this Head Start was organized and is currently under the responsibility of Missouri Ozarks Community Action.

This organization is a nonprofit community action agency, People Helping People. MOCA is dedicated to helping families and individuals in the eight central Missouri counties including Camden and Miller counties. It also is headed by a board of directors who is vested in the fiduciary and fiscal responsibility of the corporation and its subsequent programs, such as Head Start.

In spring 2009, the process began with organizing this Head Start facility and came about with the help of Lake community advocates, as well as former School of the Osage Superintendent Dr. Mary Ann Johnson and Assistant Superintendent Mary Ann Graham, who had the longtime passion to have a program in the area.

Through these joint efforts, this facility found a home in the Heritage Building, where the old School of the Osage middle school used to reside and where administrative and other school district programs now are located.

“Dr. Johnson has wanted this program in this area for some time and has worked hard to help get it established,” Cornett previously told The Lake Today.

Within a month under their belt, the Head Start saw 15 enrolled children attend a five-day, part-time classroom full of life and learning experiences to give them a “head start” before entering school. Cornett said during fall of 2009 they had 10 children and families on a waiting list and several people to contact as well. They hoped, at that time, to eventually move into a full-time position where the children attend all day, four to five days a week. Now, they have.

“We have been very fortunate to keep our bus services and now serve 17 children for a full-day,” Cornett told The Lake Today during the Oct. 4 Open House.

She added the program has children from Brumley, Kaiser, Osage Beach and Lake Ozark.

“There was definitely a need for another Head Start facility in the Osage Beach-Lake Ozark area,” she stated.

Children in need are selected from many different levels of criteria, some being low-income families and special needs. However, MOCA Head Start facilities promote “social competence” for every child no matter their background as life experiences they can take on with them as they grow. Social competence allows the child’s everyday effectiveness in dealing with both his or her present environment and later responsibilities in school and life. It also takes into account the interrelatedness of social, emotional, cognitive and physical development.

The staff of now five takes care of the children Monday through Friday. During this time, the children find learning, socializing and friendship at the forefront of this nationally recognized program.

As the children arrive each day, they have breakfast, brush their teeth and then do a group activity, such as the color exercise. Cornett said the children then split into four different learning centers where they can interact with each other.

“The learning centers allow them to enhance their motor skills, brain power and social skills,” she said, noting that the children also learn about science, language, discovery and even home life. This is just part of the day’s worth of educational, nutritional and fun activities they participated during the day.

Cornett and Loges added that each meal is also served in a family style setting.

“The children pass the bowls and pour their own milk,” Loges previously told The Lake Today. “These are skills that they can take and practice at home. Nutrition is important at Head Start and we make sure they eat the right foods and have a balanced diet.”

Head Start Awareness

These skills not only carry on as the children head into their first days of kindergarten but also in their home life. MOCA Head Start fosters the role of parents as the primary educators and nurturers, of and advocates for, their children. The Head Start staff works in close partnership with parents to assist them in developing and utilizing individual and family strengths in order to successfully meet personal and family objectives.

Parents are encouraged to become involved in all aspects of the program, from participation in children’s activities to direct involvement in policy and program decisions. Cornett added that the parents are asked to attend monthly meetings and build their own agendas in which to follow and involve themselves with their children, the program and the community.

Cornett added the families have a point system designed to encourage parents and the community to interact with Head Start program through volunteering, attending meetings and activities through the program. This, along with an in-kind program, can help the Head Start reach goals needed to apply for grants and provide even better equipment and services through their local Head Start.

As October comes to a close, the new Head Start facility serving the Osage Beach and Lake Ozark area begins to thrive and is a true example of why the U.S. Government as declared October as Head Start Awareness Month. The community has begun to embrace the growing need for these programs and see the results through the happy eyes of the children and the appreciative eyes of the parents.

Cornett said she, Loges and the staff are very appreciate of the community help they have received over the last two years since the program’s beginnings. They hope to garner further awareness and encourage more involvement with the Lake Area community.

“We want to get more community awareness that we’re here. We have seen the need here in our community and how much support we have received from the community so far, which we greatly appreciate,” she said. “That is what Head Start is all about, serving the child and the family. We help the parents grow as well and build a solid foundation for families in their community.”

The Osage Beach Head Start is always looking for volunteers and accepts donations from the community, as well.

For more information, contact Nancy Cornett at 573-552-8370. For more information about MOCA and its Head Start programs, visit www.moca-caa.org or mocaonline.org.