Otto Bremer Foundation presents check for almost $200,000

Left to Right are: 
Howard Barlow, Bremer Bank Community Service
Representative;
Kelli Rohrer, L&P Child Care Resource & Referral;
 Brian Hagen,  President, at Bremer Bank;
Joe Pederson, Executive Director Lakes & Prairies;
Colleen Murray, Director, L&P Family & Community
Services.  

Lakes & Prairies received a $188,000 grant to benefit low-income children and families.  The check was presented on behalf of the Otto Bremer Foundation by Brian Hagen, president at Bremer Banks.  The grant will be used to: expand Child Care Resource & Referral services; initiate a community-based “Circles of Support” program,  and provide match funding for special projects and initiatives including Group Workcamp Home Repair, the Lakes & Prairies Tax Site, Food Support outreach, and Clay County Seniors.

At the presentation, Pederson spoke of the
importance of this grant to maintain and expand needed services for children and families.

Top Ten Head Start Outcomes

Top Ten Lakes and Prairies CAP

Head Start Outcomes!

Our program has been fully enrolled with a waiting list all year.
 
Our average daily attendance is 88 percent.

We are one of eight Head Start programs in the nation selected as members of a Learning Community around Parent, Family, & Community Engagement.

96.3% of enrolled Head Start children left last year’s program up-to-date on a schedule of preventive well child care.

98.7% of children left the program having had a dental exam. All of these children left with a “dental home” also.

99.6% children left the program with all of their immunizations up-to-date.

There were 57,915 nutritious meals and snack served to Lakes and Prairies Head Start children this year.

Each child enrolled in one of our classrooms had 65 hours of large motor play outside or in the gym this school year.


School Readiness Goals are aligned with the Minnesota Early Learning Standards and the Head start Outcomes Framework.

All CLASS observations have met or exceeded the minimal criteria as determined by the Office of Head Start

It was a beautiful early summer evening.  I sat at a picnic table at Gooseberry Park with five Head Start moms.  The End-of-the-Year picnic had come to a close.  It seemed like a great time for a Transportation Committee meeting.   We’ve just lost $80, 000 in state funding and need to drop a bus route.

 The EOY picnic is a bittersweet time and the mood is right.   Parents are glad school is out for summer, but terrified of what they are going to do with these kids all day.  The children dash off hand in hand, oblivious to the fact that they just saw their friend an hour ago.  But I’ve never played with you here before!  It’s a joy to see how fast they can climb to the top, how quickly they find friends, how much less needy they are than when we first began.

  

Teachers feel the relief of being nearly done-- done with the burden of risk, done with assessing school readiness, done with high overlook and the dizzying sensation it brings.  Look how much they’ve changed.

As a manager, I’m ready to be done with daily operations for another  year.  There’s a sweet sameness about this annual event.  I have to hug the past Head Start siblings  that tag along for the picnic.  When did you get so tall?  When did I get so old?  

The Transportation Committee stays late to brainstorm, to problem-solve, to be solution-focused, to make it work.  

How are we going to get 144 kids on two 38- passenger buses two times each day for 128 days? 

Mobile Surplus Food Drop scheduled for Wilkin Co.

Mark your calendars!  Thursday, May 24th has been set for the Free Surplus Food Drop in the communities of Rothsay, Campbell and Breckenridge.  Your help in getting the word out to those who would benefit is appreciated.  There are no income eligibility qualifications to participate.  If you eat, you are eligible.  Thank you to our community partners for their part in making this possible

Tax Filing Season a Success Thanks to Volunteers

Thanks to the work of 27 volunteers who contributed 897 hours of their time to assist low and moderate income households with their 2011 tax filings, we can report:

• Federal and State refunds of $1,538,761 for 709 households
• An estimated $170,000 saved in filing fees
• Screenings of 182 households for eligibility for other benefits

Doing the math:  Whether tax site volunteers were greeters, tax preparers, reviewers, or providing clerical support, each hour any volunteer contributed had the outccome of refunding an average of $2,170 to an individual or family.  Volunteers do make a difference! 

Volunteers represented their communities, Concordia College,
Minnesota State University - Moorhead (MSUM), and
North Dakota State University

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services were offered in Moorhead, Hawley, Barnesville and Breckenridge, MN.  Volunteers and support staff celebrated their accomplishments with a meal, a half hour of Zumba, and some bowling for those who still had the energy.  Thank you volunteers!  Our thanks to West Central Initiative,and Bank of the West, for their generosity and helping make this program possible.  Our thanks to the IRS team in Fargo, ND who provided valuable support from start to finish and a grant from the MN Department of Revenue.

Holly Nett completes CCR&R Leadership Development Program

Holly Nett, Child Care Consultation Manager at Lakes & Prairies Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R), completed a 3-year leadership development program offered by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).  Nett was one of four individuals selected nationally for the intensive mentoring, training, internship, and service opportunities program in the Child Care Resource & Referral field.  During those three years, Nett completed two, 2-week internships.  One focused on child care consultation at the Indiana Association of Child Care Resource & Referral in Indianapolis, IN, in 2010 and a national public policy internship in Washington D.C. in 2011.  Nett has been with Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership, CCR&R for 17 years.  The CCR&R program provides services in northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. 

Lakes & Prairies Head Start chosen to go to Harvard!

Going to Harvard!

Well, for a few days anyway.   Lakes and Prairies Head Start staff are excited to be part of a Professional Learning Community on Parent, Family and Community Engagement.  Pam Bernstein, Head Start Program Director, Kristin Phillips, Early Childhood and Special Services Manager, and Shanna Grefsrud, Transportation/Parent Involvement Manager, will travel to Boston, MA  in late March to work with other Head Start Staff at the  Harvard Family Research Center.