Yeled v’Yalda's Early Head Start offers a comprehensive, year-round program designed to serve children aged 0-3 from low-income backgrounds, as well as pregnant women and their families. Our program is dedicated to providing high-quality early childhood education in a nurturing, relationship-based environment, and is tailored to the individual needs of the children, families, and communities we serve. As a federally-funded initiative, we offer both home- and center-based services, including parent education, health and mental health referrals, prenatal and post-partum education, nutrition education, and family support services.

ABOUT EARLY HEADSTART

Our program focuses on fostering strong parent-child relationships and providing educational opportunities that empower parents to confidently engage in their child's early learning experiences. We implement a research-based curriculum and utilize established screening and assessment procedures to ensure optimal development and progress for the children and families we serve. Additionally, we actively support and encourage community involvement to provide culturally appropriate resources and support tailored to the unique needs of the families and children within our communities.

Services under Early Head Start

Parent & Family Engagement & Involvement: Yeled v’Yalda understands the vital role of parent and family involvement in the success of children's early education. We foster collaboration between parents, teachers, and other professionals to build positive, goal-oriented relationships that promote children's growth and progress. Our program staff partners with families and communities to ensure inclusiveness and respect for all cultures and languages. We support the development of key family relationships and interactions, recognizing the importance of the parent-child bond in a child's well-being throughout life.

Our Early Head Start program offers individualized services in various settings to accommodate each child and family's unique needs. With both center-based and home-based options, we provide early learning experiences in areas such as language, literacy, math, science, motor skills, social-emotional development, and creative arts. We utilize ongoing assessment and an evidence-based curriculum to ensure age-appropriate, inclusive learning experiences that help each child reach their full potential.

Our home visitors deliver comprehensive services through weekly 90-minute sessions, tailored to each family's schedule. This includes home visits with children and parents, and regular group socializations with other families in the program. We work collaboratively with parents to plan learning strategies that best suit each child's needs, emphasizing the crucial role parents play in their child's early development.

Our center-based program offers a range of educational and developmental services within a classroom setting, focusing on the cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development of infants and toddlers. We support parents as primary caregivers and essential teachers, helping families build resilience and achieve self-sufficiency in all aspects of their lives.

In addition to educational programming, we provide prenatal support, referrals to health services, and nutrition services, including meals and counseling. Our program also offers health education, mental health screening and referrals, and early intervention assistance.

We provide family engagement guidance, community resource referrals, assistance with goal-setting, parent education programs, leadership opportunities, advocacy skills training, and support during transitions between Early Head Start, Head Start, and public or non-public school systems.

Our outstanding Head Start program has been recognized for its excellence in various areas, including the 2020 Focus Area 1 Review, NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation, New York State STARS ratings, and the NYS Education Department's Outstanding Early Childhood Award. We take pride in our extensive community partnerships, rigorous facility licensure standards, and consistently successful child-outcome data.