Head Start

Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income, at-risk children (three to five years old) and families.

We have two types of programs:

• Part-day program
  • For the 154 part-day Head Start slots, families must meet the federal poverty guidelines ($24,000/year for a family of 4).
• Full day program
  • o For the 57 full-day Head Start slots, parents must receive a child care subsidy from DSHS or City of Seattle and make monthly co-payments directly to Denise Louie Education Center based on income.
    o We also have limited Private Pay slots available for the full-day option
    For the 57 full-day Head Start slots, parents must receive a child care subsidy from DSHS or City of Seattle and make monthly co-payments directly to Denise Louie Education Center based on income.
  • We also have limited Private Pay slots available for the full-day option

Family demographics

• Most of the families Denise Louie Education Center serves are immigrants and refugees and over 80% speak language other than English at home
• Over the last 30 years, Denise Louie Education Center has developed culturally appropriate programs to best serve this population
• Our staff mirrors the target population in ethnic and linguistic diversity
• 97% or 201 of the 208 children served in 2008-2009 were children of color. Denise Louie Education Center's diversity statistics show that year after year, there are over a dozen linguistic and ethnic groups in our school's population.

Children with special needs

Denise Louie Education Center recruits, identifies (through screenings) and serves children that require special services (speech, occupational, physical therapy) through our partnership with Seattle Public Schools, Asian Counseling & Referral Service and other community partners.

Curriculum

Children enrolled at Denise Louie Education Center receive comprehensive, multi-cultural Head Start. Denise Louie Education Center utilizes the Creative Curriculum, a play-based, experiential curriculum, the Anti-Bias Curriculum and the Second Step anti-violence curriculum that teaches children problem solving and social-emotional skills. Please go to the Curriculum Page to learn more.

Health Safety and Nutrition

Every day, children have family style, well-balanced meals and snacks provided by FareStart. Since dental health was identified as a major concern in the children, Denise Louie Education Center teaching staff makes sure the children brush their teeth after meals and participate in monthly nutrition activities.

All children in the program have a Denise Louie Education Center arranged dental and medical exam and Denise Louie Education Center ensures that there is proper follow-up care if there are concerns.

Individualized plan

Each child has an individualized plan developed jointly with the parent that lists outcomes in socio-emotional development, literacy, language development, mathematics, physical health, science, creative arts, and approaches to learning.

Each of the 12 Denise Louie Education Center classrooms develops a language plan to promote the reinforcement of the home languages of each of the children in each classroom. Classrooms are print rich with each language represented and lessons are developed to introduce each child's language(s) to the entire classroom.

Socio-emotional assessment

Due to the generosity of private foundations, Denise Louie Education Center was able to implement the DECA (Devereux Early Childhood Assessment) in all classrooms. The DECA is an assessment tool that teaching and family service staffs use to identify strengths and concerns about social-emotional behavior in individual children or in classrooms as a whole. The DECA gives specific tools to address any negative behaviors identified. The goal of the screening and tools is to promote resiliency in children as they grow up.

Cultural appreciation

Denise Louie Education Center's approach to language development was featured in the book Soy Biligue, published in 2003 by Sharon Cronin and Carmen Masso. They state that "The Denise Louie teaching team has developed advanced cross-cultural and tri-literacy skills as a group… Denise Louie Education Center clusters children with a teacher and family service worker that speaks their primary language” (pages 123 and 124).

Denise Louie Education Center hires and retains staffs that have the linguistic skills and shared ethnic backgrounds of the children and families Denise Louie Education Center serves. Wherever possible, Denise Louie Education Center translates written materials into the primary languages we serve: Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. These include parent handbooks, letters sent out to families, parent meeting announcements, and parent education materials.

Parent Meetings/Trainings

Parent meetings/trainings occur at least monthly and are conducted with translators or in the parent's first language. Each Family Service Specialist is assigned their family caseload based on language. In addition, we have a substantial language bank of consultants and staff.

Transportation

Denise Louie Education Center provides bus transportation to about 30% of the enrolled children making their participation possible.

Classroom Accommodation Plan (CAP)

We make individual accommodations to children with special health or developmental needs. These include dietary changes, additional classroom staff, diaper changing protocols, and classroom health plans for children with asthma, allergies or other health conditions.