CLEVELAND, OHIO, UNITED STATES , September 3, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Step Forward Head Start locations will welcome both Early Head Start and Head Start students back to its early learning centers on Tuesday, September 7th.

Step Forward serves more than 2,700 students and their families each year through the Early Head Start and Head Start programs. Students are served in one of three ways: at one of Step Forward’s 10 Early Learning Centers, through the Home Base Head Start program or at one of our collaborative partnership locations in Cuyahoga County.

Because of the pandemic, Step Forward transitioned to virtual learning during most of the 2020 school year to ensure the safety of Head Start students and their families. With new safety protocols in place, Step Forward is prepared to safely welcome students back to the classroom.

Early Head Start and Head Start class sizes will return to traditional school year numbers with up to nine students per Early Head Start classroom and up to 20 students per Head Start classroom. Head Start staff will monitor local, state and federal CDC recommendations for additional precautions to keep staff, children and their families safe.

Step Forward Head Start’s 2021 – 2022 school year safety protocols include:
• Daily screenings/temperature checks of all staff, children and guests entering Head Start buildings.
• Parents and guardians will be allowed to drop students off at classroom doors after completing and passing a COVID-19 screening.
• Masks are required for all teachers and staff, plus any guests visiting the building. Masks are encouraged, but not required, for students over the age of
2.
• Teaching staff will continue to sanitize classroom spaces regularly.
• Teachers and staff will use layered strategies such as wearing face masks, ventilation, hand-washing, and cleaning to help reduce the spread of COVID-
19 when maintaining physical distance is not possible.

Head Start serves children from ages three to five and Early Head Start serves pregnant women and children from birth – age three. Both programs are still enrolling for the 2021-2022 school year. To learn more, or to enroll, please visit stepforwardtoday.org/head-start or call (216) 589-9922.

Step Forward helps people find hope, believe in their future and take steps to make it a reality. As the State’s designated anti-poverty agency for Cuyahoga County, Step Forward is tasked and trusted to lead the fight on the ground against poverty in our community. The nonprofit organization helps low-income individuals and families address immediate needs and build long-term skills to transform their lives through early childhood education programs, adult skills training and other support. Programs include Early Head Start (birth to three), Head Start (three-five years of age); personal development programs to enhance life skills, manage anger or get on track with personal goals; career planning and job training to enable people to learn or enhance skills, earn certifications or improve readiness to pursue and win better job opportunities. Step Forward also delivers the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). For more information, visit stepforwardtoday.org.

Taylor Wilson
Step Forward
+1 216-696-9077
email us here