STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Maria Saracs looked at the dark-haired 1-year-old squiggling next to her and sighed.
There would be no Head Start preschool for him to attend—not with the Hailey preschool being shuttered.
“I’m happy and glad that three of my boys had the opportunity to be part of the Head Start program,” she said. “For my 1-year-old it’s not going to happen. I guess I’ll have to put him with a babysitter.”
What should have been a happy occasion—the graduation of 18 youngsters from preschool—turned into a bittersweet, tear-filled afternoon this past week as teachers and parents bid adieu to the Head Start program that has been a part of Wood River Valley life for 26 years since1991.
The College of Southern Idaho, which hosts the regional Head Start program, terminated the federally funded preschool program for children of lower-income families, citing budget shortfalls. It left 10 other centers, including those in Twin Falls, American Falls, Buhl and Hagerman, intact.
“It’s a death in the early childhood niche of our community,” said Pati Meyer, who worked with the program from 1996 to 2006. “It’s a wonderful program that’s needed by the children. I don’t understand why they cut it.”
The Head Start program provided free preschool for children whose parents could not afford other preschool arrangements. It hosted 20 students this year.
Each child got a meal each day, ensuring they wouldn’t go hungry. They got a safe place to make new friends, learn problem solving and get their hands dirty doing art.
What’s more teachers made home visits, teaching parents how to set and achieve such goals as how to set a budget, provide more nutritious meals for their children, pursue educational opportunities of their own and buy a car.
“We teach parents to have students and we teach students to be students,” said the program’s director Jennifer Peterson.”
The children were largely oblivious to the emotional state of their parents and teachers as they poured salt through funnels I the salt box and gathered around Dean Nosworthy and his guitar. In a symbolic gesture, a few shoveled the sand that they would no longer need in their sandbox into sandbags for Hailey flood victims.
That effort didn’t last long for most of the children.
“I’m tired of this,” Emily Chavez told Sophia Guillen after filling half a bag. The two girls left, leaving Jatziri Guzman holding the bag.
Dutifully, she kept scooping in sand on her own.
Head Start was able to teach youngsters social skills they need to make a successful entry into kindergarten, said Peterson.
She pointed to a young boy who appeared to be one of the leaders of the group.
He spoke no English when he entered Head Start and he barely spoke Spanish, she recounted. He kicked, he bit, he threw chairs. He was terrified because he had no idea what he was being thrust into.
“He would be our class valedictorian if we had that,” Peterson said. “He’s one of our best learners. He’s going to be an asset.”
She pointed to a girl whom her daughter Devon Peterson had met while riding her horse through Bellevue. The 4-year-old was almost like a wild feral child but has made a remarkable turnaround, Peterson recounted.
“I don’t think people will fully recognize what has happened here until a few years from now when kids come straight to school without speaking English and without knowing how to behave around adults and children who are not in their family. If you can’t sit with your peers, you can’t learn.”
Brenda Torres moseyed up and hugged Peterson.
“Thanks for everything I love you so much,” she said.
Peterson mustered a smile as she looked around at her brood.
“These kids are little rock stars,” she said. “I’m so proud of them. They’ve made big improvements. They have a long journey ahead and I’m glad we were able to give them a foot up.”