Nearly 50 years after it was established, Head Start is still serving thousands of children locally and keeping parent involvement a top priority.
"Parent involvement has always been an integral part of Head Start," said Janis Santos, executive director of Head Start in Western Massachusetts which includes locations in Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Ludlow and Palmer.
Parents such as Raymond Akers Sr. and Carolynn Lorion, who's 4-year-old daughter is in the Ludlow program, spend much of their time volunteering in the classroom or sitting on the council.
Akers is currently a mentor for the program since his son no longer attends Head Start, but he says the knowledge he has gained has been helpful as his son navigates the public school system.
"They teach you to advocate for your child," he said. He also said Head Start is transparent, giving the council access to yearly budget information and discussing any policy changes with them.
"If you have a question you can ask it and get a straight answer," said Lorion.
[For more of this story, written by Elizabeth Roman, go to http://www.masslive.com/news/i..._a_look_at_head.html]
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