Head Start facility opens

Published 3:26 pm Wednesday, May 16, 2018

A Head Start facility in Lunenburg County is set to better serve the students and families who are involved with the program.

STEPS Inc., which runs the Head Start program, held a grand opening for the location at 2401 Nottoway Blvd. Recently, the former site of Wright’s Grocery Store.

Jessica Lehman, vice president of early childhood education with STEPS, said the Head Start facility currently serves 36 students, but expects the number to rise to 40 for the 2018- 2019 program year.

Lehman said 32 of the children are between 3-5 years old and four children are between 6 weeks to 3 years old.

She said the expanded location will create seven jobs, will have a new playground and school buses.

“When STEPS took over the Head Start grant a key focus was the addition of Early Head Start services,” Lehman said. “No Head Start grantee in our area had previously provided services for infants & toddlers.”

Lehman said the location will be able to serve families.

“STEPS has the ability to begin working with parents while they are pregnant, through our Expectant Mothers’ Program, and then hopefully enrolling the infants in Early Head