Head Start Preschool
When a parent enrolled her child in TRI-CAP’s Head Start Preschool, she identified a major personal goal during a Family Partnership conversation: obtaining her driver’s license. For years, a fear of driving had prevented her from becoming licensed, and she relied on others for transportation.
With encouragement and support from Head Start Preschool staff, she worked toward overcoming this challenge by studying for her exam and building her confidence. Through hard work and perseverance, she successfully earned her driver’s license.
Soon afterward, she achieved an important milestone by driving her child to preschool independently for the first time. This accomplishment increased her confidence, strengthened her family’s self-sufficiency, and improved her ability to meet her children’s needs. Her success highlights the positive impact of goal setting, family engagement, and determination.
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A TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool parent sought assistance in finding employment resources and was connected with local staffing agencies by a Family Advocate. With this support, the parent successfully secured a position at a school, where she will assist in the cafeteria.
She expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity, noting that it will allow her to strengthen her English language skills while also contributing financially to her household. This outcome highlights the value of targeted support in helping families achieve greater stability and personal growth.
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A TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool parent recently shared that she was having a difficult time finding a dentist for her family. After we connected her with a local provider accepting new patients, things quickly turned around!
She’s now received the paperwork to get started, and appointments for her entire family will be scheduled soon.
Moments like this remind us how impactful a simple connection can be. We’re proud to support our families in accessing the care they deserve!
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One of our amazing moms has held her cosmetology license for 8 years, building her experience working in franchise salons and renting booths. This past year has been extra special – one sister graduated cosmetology school last year and another just two months ago. Now, the three sisters have taken a huge leap together and opened their very own salon, which they proudly co-own.
We love seeing hard work, family, and dreams come together. Congratulations to these inspiring sisters on this exciting new chapter!
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TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool staff identified some Head Start Preschool students who needed an additional follow-up with certain health documents. The families of these students worked with their Head Start Preschool Family Advocate and set up a Family Partnership Plan. The families were given multiple resources to assist them in completing the necessary follow-up. Through these plans, families have been able to obtain the health documents needed for their children.
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A TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool family needed assistance with securing transportation to and from school for their child. Local public transportation was full when they called to get rides set up. A Head Start Preschool Family Advocate assisted the family by linking them with other Head Start families who could provide transportation to and from school. By doing so, the family was able to secure reliable transportation for their child and the child has maintained consistent attendance.
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A TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool parent asked their Head Start Preschool Family Advocate if they could help them find a doctor who would accept their entire family. This parent was new to the area and didn’t know where to start. Their family advocate researched various family doctors who were accepting new patients and created a list to give to this parent. The list provided by the family advocate helped this parent find a doctor that accepted the entire family.
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A TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool parent completed volunteer orientation in order to regularly attend class with her child due to the accommodations needed for her child’s health condition. The parent’s hope was to be able to eventually transition out of the classroom so their child can become more independent. The parent shared her appreciation to TRI-CAP’s Head Start Preschool teachers who have been supportive and encouraging throughout the child’s preschool experience. The parent stated that their child is becoming more independent and feels confident in the care that the staff are providing. This parent is now able to bring their child to TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool in the morning and pick her up at the end of the day and was happy to see that her child enjoys coming to preschool!
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A TRI-CAP Head Start Preschool mother was getting nervous about sending her son to school. The mother told the teachers she was thinking of just not sending her son to Head Start Preschool because she felt that five full days was just too much. After speaking with her and reassuring her concerns, we discussed the option of her son attending Head Start Preschool three days a week or even picking him up after lunch some days if she was still worried once school starts. The first week or two of Head Start Preschool the mother picked her son up after lunch. It only took a couple of weeks for her son to get used to coming to school. Because of the son’s love for school and seeing how he is thriving, he will start attending Head Start all five full days now!
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A TRI-CAP Head Start parent shared that they wanted to become more involved in our Head Start Program. Information on how this parent could be more involved was given to them. At the beginning of the school year, this parent was voted as the classroom policy council representative. In addition, this parent also volunteers in the classroom and at parent meetings.
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Carson’s Story
From TRI-CAP’s Head Start Preschool to the U.S. Army
“TRI-CAP has been part of my life since I attended the Head Start Preschool at the Boonville site in Warrick County,” said Carson McElwain. “When I moved to Dubois County as an adult, I worked in the Weatherization program in Jasper. The Weatherization program is part of TRI-CAP’s housing programs. Weatherization provides energy saving measures in homes such as audits to see where energy is being lost, furnace repair or replacement, and adding or replacing insulation,” Carson said.
Carson stated, “I recently enlisted in the U.S. Army and am looking forward to serving my country. Not long ago, I volunteered at a TRI-CAP event and visited a Head Start Preschool classroom. It was fun sharing things with the kids and leading them in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.” “I believe in giving back and helping others,” Carson shared. “When offered the opportunity to make regular charitable contributions through my earnings in the military, I chose TRI-CAP. I believe in what TRI-CAP does to provide resources to assist people in becoming more self-sufficient,” Carson said.
Carson shared, “My education started well in preschool, and I learned great skills with various certifications in the Weatherization program that will be useful throughout my lifetime.”
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When a single mom of three lost her job unexpectedly, one of TRI-CAP’s Head Start Family Advocates offered support and referrals through the Family Partnership Process and guidance for additional TRI-CAP resources. The family was able to obtain assistance from TRI-CAP’s Energy Assistance Program and other community resources to get through the difficult time. Within a few weeks, the mom shared that she had a new job with a local company. TRI-CAP and our community helped this family on their way to a better future.
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A Head Start family of 6 were living in an apartment and in search of a home to call their own. Finding a home within their budget that would meet their needs was a challenge, but when they fell in love with a home in their price range, they hesitated to make an offer because the home needed updating. With encouragement from TRI-CAP’s Head Start team, the family planned to make an offer on the house that left room in their budget to make the needed updates. The offer was accepted!
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A mom of a Head Start student, who was interested in working, faced challenges finding a job that would align with her children’s school and day care schedules. The Head Start team helped her develop a plan to find a job that would meet her family’s needs. The mom recently shared that she is enjoying her new job that meets their needs and schedules!
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A Head Start family lost their home to a fire. This family was living in a room of their relative’s home. They were thankful for the roof over their heads but it was very inconvenient and not a lot of room to move around easily. The kids could not really play in the house because they had only room to sleep and that was pretty much it.
Although this family had homeowners insurance, they did not have insurance on the contents in their house so they lost everything. Many of the Head Start parents wanted to donate items to this family, so one of TRI-CAP’s staff members contacted the family. We were informed that the family’s church had a location for people to drop off clothes and personal items. This information was shared with the Head Start parents so they knew where to take their donations. TRI-CAP Head Start staff also let the family know that they were there to help them find resources to help meet their needs.
The family recently informed TRI-CAP Head Start staff that they were able to purchase a new home and they have officially moved in!
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“A former TRI-CAP Head Start student that is graduating high school now, came to visit me and the place where his education began. He shared memories of us releasing butterflies and catching ladybugs on the playground. This former Head Start student said when he has children of his own one day, he wants them to come to TRI-CAP Head Start and have the good experiences that he did. He said that he just wanted to come by and thank me and then gave me a hug. It really touched my heart that a former student of mine remembered me and came to visit! You never know what child you are impacting until they come back and touch your heart. This is why I do what I do, for the children. Even though they are mine for just a little while, they are in my heart forever.”
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At the time of enrollment, one of TRI-CAP’s Head Start families was homeless. Through the Family Partnership Agreement process, this family set several goals to better their lives and ultimately get them a place to live. Together, we worked on this goal and met every one of the family’s goals which included going to college, finding a job, and the family was able to meet their final goal of getting an apartment!
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“TRI-CAP Head Start is an amazing place! I love that my daughter goes to this school. They work well with her and she has learned so much since being there. She knows so much that I know she wouldn’t have known quite yet if it wasn’t for Head Start. The teachers and staff are all amazing, very helpful, and caring. They do very well making my daughter safe and comfortable at school. She loves going to school! I love that I know that I can send my kid to school and have no worries about her at all. Thank you Head Start for being such an amazing place, with amazing people. I’ll always talk positive about Head Start and I would recommend you to anybody!”