To assist in conducting the District's Head Start Community Assessment as required by the federal Head Start Performance Standards

The federal Head Start Performance Standards Subpart A, 1302.11 (b)(1) states, "To design a program that meets community needs, and builds on strengths and resources, a program must conduct a community assessment at least once over the five-year grant peri­od." The last program assessment was conducted in 2017, and the Office of Early Childhood Education will contract with Philadelphia Health Management Corporation (PHMC) to assist with conducting the District's Head Start Community Assessment.

Per the federal guidelines, in Phase I, PHMC will collect and analyze quantitative data about the education, health, nutrition, and social service needs of Head Start-eligible children and their families. As part of Phase I, PHMC will provide the Office of Early Childhood Education with detailed data and analyses by neighborhood of the following key components of the assessment: family health indicators, children experiencing homelessness, home languages other than English, children in foster care, children with disabilities, children in families experiencing trauma, mental health, and/or substance use challenges, food insecurity/hunger, and domestic violence.  In Phase II, PHMC will work with the District to identify professionals and organizations in the field whose insight will help the District plan for its Head Start programming, and interview a diverse group of respondents (e.g., nonprofit leaders, providers/directors, grantee leaders, and advocates) to help inform the assessment.  

The resulting assessment will be used by the District to identify specific programming needs and high-need neighborhoods that should receive priority for preK services. National research demonstrates that participation in high-quality preK enhances a child's development, reduces achievement gaps at kindergarten entry, and contributes to long-term academic success. The District's support of preK programming aligns with both the academic and socio-emotional components of the Board of Education's Goals and Guardrails.