My Head Start Story: Priscilla

Submitted by: Priscilla, Head Start Parent & Staff

My story began 22 years ago. I was a single mother and a survivor of domestic violence. I had been going to school but had to stop before my daughter was born due to complications with my pregnancy.

After my daughter was born, my whole world fell apart. Everything was uncertain. My seven-year relationship became a nightmare. I was facing eviction, dealing with social services for aid, going to SARB meetings at my son’s school district, and facing a panel of district personnel who only had criticism to offer.

Luckily for me, there was a therapist at that meeting who worked with an agency offering family support services. She helped get me on a waiting list for transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence. The wait took two years, and in the meantime, I had to move to Los Angeles to stay with family.

Eventually, I got my housing and was encouraged to sign my daughter up for Head Start. It was just what we needed. I didn’t feel so alone.

My daughter had wonderful teachers and a Family Advocate who didn’t just provide resources; she sat with me and helped me work through the difficult things that kept coming up. Then there was the Community Outreach/Parent Engagement Coordinator, who encouraged me to join the Policy Council. Now I had a voice and a say.

That motivated me to join other committees, the PTA, and to volunteer. My daughter also began receiving the mental health services she needed after living in such a chaotic environment at such a young age.

I was then asked to interview for a Data Entry Assistant position for Head Start—my Head Start. Well, it has been 21 years, and I am now the Data Analyst for Head Start in Alameda.

I credit Head Start for my family’s success. My son received free orthodontic care through a dentist who was providing services to Head Start families in Alameda and extended those services to older siblings of Head Start children.

I was working full-time and was eventually able to make the jump from subsidized transitional housing to fair-market housing in the City of Alameda. My children had stability.

I simply cannot say enough about the culture of Head Start and the way the whole family is supported in order to help children thrive. And it doesn’t stop there.

As a Data Analyst, I see the work our staff do and the outcomes they achieve. One stiff-collared analyst once wrote that the data showed the benefits of Head Start lasted only until third grade, and then scores dropped. But I know there is more to the story than that.

Too often, local school districts take a child-only approach to education. The family is removed from the equation. Families are criticized instead of supported.

Head Start is different. It understands that when you support the family, you support the child. That is the magic of Head Start, and I get to be a part of it every day.

We can’t lose that.