East Bay Community Action Program Head Start hosts Senator Whitehouse

East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) Head Start hosted Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Monday for a visit at its Newport Head Start Center. Senator Whitehouse read a book to the children and gained a firsthand look at Head Start’s approach to early learning. Following a tour of the Center, Senator Whitehouse took questions from the assembled group of parents, staff, and board members and acknowledged the concerns that EBCAP and other early childhood education providers are facing with post-COVID staffing. Linda Laliberte, VP of EBCAP’s Head Start and Early Head Start stated, “We thank our early childhood teachers who care for and teach children at a time when brain development is optimal for learning. Without caring and nurturing employees, we cannot open classrooms safely and we have many families on our wait list. This is a missed opportunity for our community and for young children, it is time we recognize the need to provide pay parity for the teachers of our youngest students.”

“We were honored to host Senator Whitehouse at our Newport Head Start Center, so he could witness the impact we have on the lives of so many children and their families,” said Laliberte.

In July EBCAP’s Head Start was one of only 13 Head Start programs in the nation to be accredited as a Program of Excellence by the National Head Start Association. According to the National Head Start Association, this distinction was awarded based on this program’s demonstrated “excellence in program management and service” and its “support of robust positive outcomes for children birth-to-five, pregnant people, families, and the communities where they live.”

East Bay Community Action Program is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation that provides a wide array of health and human services to the residents of Rhode Island’s East Bay. EBCAP has Head Start Centers in the following municipalities: East Providence, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton, and Warren. For more information about enrollment at EBCAP’s Head Start Program, visit https://www.ebcap.org/programs/head-start-early-head-start-pre-kindergarten-early-childhood-education-programs/. For Head Start job opportunities, visit https://www.ebcap.org/careers-internships/careers/.