Last year local Early Childhood Academically Approved programs in Natchitoches served more than 650 children under the age of 5 across 22 sites. The combination of seven Natchitoches Parish School Board schools, five Head Start programs, and 10 Type III Childcare centers were given a Network score of an overall “Proficient” rating. On a scale of 0 to 7, and with scores across the state ranging from 4.86 to 6.42, Natchitoches scored 5.77.

Act 3 groups Head Start, private Type III centers, and public-schools together to ensure all are preparing children for academic success. During the past school year, our Head Start centers went up 0.51 points, private Type III centers combined went up 0.42, and public-schools increased 0.15 points for a system improvement of 7% year-over.

Study after study recognizes the best opportunity to greatly enhance a child’s academic success exists in direct correlation with access to quality early childhood education. Louisiana Department of Education has taken these Performance Profile scores a step future to honor Early Childhood Programs that met their criteria for being recognized as one of the three Honor Roll sites: Excellence, Top Birth to Three, and Top Gains.

Natchitoches has Early Childhood sites that meet two of the three Honor Rolls.

-Top Gains (most improved scores): Breda Town HeadStart, Campti HeadStart, and A to Z 1 2 3 Preschool & Learning Center.

– Top Birth to Three (sites with the highest scores): A to Z 1 2 3 Preschool & Learning Center and Vaughn Early Learning Center

The Natchitoches Early Childhood Care and Education Network meets monthly with all program administrators and work as a team to ensure all programs are receiving assistance, professional developments, materials, and more. “We are extremely proud of all 22 of our programs and the hard work that it takes to ensure all children are receiving quality care and education.”

To learn more about these sites please visit http://www.louisianaschools.com