All 3 of Angela’s kids went through the Head Start program with Community Progress Council.
“I recommend the program to anybody I know who has younger kids,” she said.
But Angela’s family has also benefitted from Community Progress Council’s whole-family approach. As her youngest child, now 4, prepared to enter kindergarten, Angela stepped back and considered her own goals. With her children each six years apart, Angela had focused for a decade-plus only on her role as a mother.
But, living doubled up with her father, she also dreamed of getting their own place, and eventually purchasing her first home.
Her Coach at Community Progress Council provided a sounding board and a guide for Angela as she considered her options for employment.
“I knew I wanted to go back to school,” Angela said. “So I can have a better chance of getting a job. With being out so long, I didn’t have any real skills.”
Fortunately, the hours of the Head Start classroom for her son mostly aligned with the phlebotomy and medical assistant programs she chose to pursue through the York County School of Technology’s Adult and Continuing Education Center.
“It definitely opens up the door to an actual career, instead of just a job,” Angela said. “It gave me the ability to know that once I’m done here, I should be able to get a job and support my kids and myself.”
She chose a short program so she could stick with it, she said, admitting with a smile that her attention can wander. Her Coach has helped her set standards and hold herself accountable, planning for her future.
“We talk about my goals, and if I’m slipping, I have somebody I’m accountable to,” Angela said. “It’s not just an idea in my head, it’s an actual plan for me.”
In addition to their scheduled check-ins, her Coach is available for emerging needs.
“She’s always there if I have any concerns. It’s not just for the youngest child, it really is for the family, which is nice.”
But, she adds, the experience for her youngest son has affirmed what she’s always loved about Head Start: The program’s focus on education and the child’s emotional and social growth.
Diagnosed with high-functioning autism and a speech delay, her son is getting all the supports that he needs to develop socially and prepare for kindergarten — in one place.
“He’s more social than he was,” she said. “He will play with other little kids, where before he would just watch them. His speech has improved, where he’s talking more and feels more confident in talking to people. The teachers have been fantastic.”
“He’ll be more prepared for kindergarten,” she said. “And he’ll have his IEP in place.”
When Angela considers the progress she’s made over the past year toward employment and finding her career, she’s most proud of going back to school.
“My kids get to see I made a goal, I’ve been working toward my goal,” Angela said. “I want a better life for all of us.”
She’ll graduate from her Medical Assistant program in May, and will get the excitement of walking across the stage in her cap and gown, a formal recognition in front of her kids for all of her hard work — even more important to her as she models the importance of education for her oldest child, now looking at colleges, and her middle son, who’s faced his own challenges in school.
And, she’s looking toward her future goals, including work with Community Progress Council’s housing education and financial counseling programs, to help her prepare for homeownership.
For now, her message to others is simple: “It’s possible.”
“It’s actually very possible,” Angela said. “You need to have the help, and take the help. A lot of people will be like ‘Oh, I don’t want to ask for help.’ But you need to ask for the help, so you can meet your goals.”