Students Return Ready for their Head Start
LCCAA Head Start students returned to all our centers in phased in events designed to make every child and family feel welcome and ready to learn.
Our classrooms are full of learning at every turn: from circle time, story time and family meals to free choice
time where students learn to cooperate by playing together.
Head Start serves the entire family with resources designed to meet unique goals. Attendance is critical. We want to see you and your child every day!
School Year Begins with New Administrators
LCCAA Head Start began the new year with a few staff members in new roles.
After nine years as Site Administrator at Griswold Head Start, Diana Gifford was promoted to Education and Disabilities Specialist over the summer. Jennifer Bartlebaugh left the agency for a position with the State of Ohio.
Central Plaza Head Teacher Delilah Jones was promoted to lead the
Griswold site, a change that came on the heels of her earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati this spring.
“As I begin my 30th year working for LCCAA, I reflect back to when I was a Head Start student, and the late Jeanette Wilson was my teacher,” Jones said. “I will miss being in the classroom with the children, but I’m looking forward to working in
Staff Spotlight: Tarnisha Freeman
What makes Head Start special?
my new role and making connections with all the families.”
Griswold Head Teacher Sabah Ajeel-Jamar was promoted to administrator of the Firelands Head Start site and the agencies collaborative partnerships.
A former Head Start parent, AjeelJamar began with LCCAA at the former Cascade site in 2019. She transferred to Griswold in 2020.
Current Site: Wellington
Current Position: Family Service Associate
Years with LCCAA: 31 Years in Current Position: 24
Head Start is not just a preschool that serves children. We serve the whole family; in many cases we build long lasting relationships!
What personal or professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
A personal accomplishment I’m proud of is beginning my adult journey as a single mom and being able to provide for my family while growing as a person and building meaningful relationships along the way. I’m proud to be able to work in a profession that I truly enjoy, earning my Child Development Associate and building longevity in my career.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
My husband and I are foster parents; we’ve been fostering for about nine years. During this time, we’ve fostered nine children and adopted a sibling group of three.
Committee Meetings
X Oct. 15: Head Start Men Making a Difference, 8:45 a.m., Griswold.
X Oct. 20: Policy Council Shared Governance
X Oct. 23: Education & Disabilities Advisory, Central, 9 a.m.
X Nov. 20: Health Services Advisory, HopkinsLocke, 9 a.m.
Upcoming Days Off
X Oct. 10: No School, Planning Day
X Oct. 13: No School, Home Visits
X Oct. 20: No School, Home Visits
X Oct. 27 to 31: Fall Break
X Nov. 3 & 4: No School
X Nov. 11: No School, Veterans Day Firelands, LaGrange & Wellington will be in session Nov. 11.
Attendance Matters
From the moment your child steps into his or her Head Start classroom, the day is carefully planned to maximize learning.
A healthy meal and a class meeting are two ways the teachers prepare the students for the day ahead. Being on time and present for both of these important daily components is key to a successful day in school.
Regular attendance is also critically important in our quest to build lifelong learners. Preschool is a time for building the social, emotional, cognitive, and language skills needed for school readiness.
Many of these skills build on one another, so absent children may miss the foundational skills needed for the next skill. Additionally, following the predictable daily routine helps to build confident and eager learners.
Help your child become a lifelong learner by getting him or her to school each day, on time!
Policy Council Elections Held
Officers and representatives have been elected for the 2025-26 Policy Council.
Head Start requires convening of a Parent Policy Council for each program throughout the country. Parents are encouraged to participate to help make decisions about the program.
Council members were elected at each site’s Parent Meetings at the beginning of the school year and officers were elected Sept. 15.
Community Representative and Policy Council veteran Genesis Rodriguez (pictured) will serve as President which also gives her a seat on the LCCAA Board of Directors. Her children previously attended Hopkins-Locke and she has held other officer positions.
Alisia McCoy from Griswold will serve as Vice President. Griswold parent Jaylan Moore will serve as
Secretary. Griswold’s Eryn Bailey and South Elyria’s Angelia Dean will share Assistant Secretary duties.
Other representatives include Vicki Butera from Central Plaza, Jessica Garcia from Firelands, and Amaree Jackson from Griswold. Hopkins-Locke representatives are Tiara Alston, Anthony Donald and Mercedes Williams.
Michaela Purcell represents LaGrange, Natalie Taylor will represent Wellington and Rebekah Johnson represents the home-based families.
Serving as alternates are Allyssa Earl from Hopkins-Locke, Ashley Ready from LaGrange and Lexi Hinkle from Wellington.
Representatives are still needed from Little Lighthouse and Horizons. Several alternates are also still needed. Contact your site administrator if you’re interested in serving.
Parents are Key Partners
We all send our children to school with dreams of academic success. We hope for inspiring teachers who will motivate and challenge. Did you know that creating a partnership with these teachers can enhance your child’s experience even further?
Parent involvement in school has been shown to result in improved reading and math skills, as well as increased confidence and social skills. This is why your Head Start community has many ways for you to be involved.
Aside from your required home visits and parent/teacher conferences, you can increase this part-
nership in a variety of ways, such as: volunteering in the classroom, completing activity logs or learning links, attending enrichment activities, attending monthly parent meetings, or joining committees.
Please see your teacher or family service assistant to learn more!
Global Reading Event Expands
LCCAA Head Start annually participates in a global reading experience that promotes both early language and social emotional development.
This year, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, typically celebrated in October, will be a 20-week event in honor of the program’s 20th Anniversary.
Starting the week of Oct. 13, each week will spotlight a different beloved book from the event’s history. LCCAA teachers will receive weekly activity guides and learning resources inspired by beloved children’s books from past campaigns.
The celebration will culminate
in Read for the Record Day on February 26. The selection for the February event is “See Marcus Grow” by Marcus Bridgewater (also known on social media as Garden Marcus) and illustrated by Reggie Brown. All LCCAA Head Start families will receive a copy of See Marcus Grow.
Classrooms will join others across the country and around the world on Feb. 26 to read the book together for the event.
Upcoming Books
Oct. 13: The Little Engine That Could
Oct. 20: The Story of Ferdinand
Oct. 27: Corduroy
Nov. 3: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Nov. 10: The Snowy Day
Nov. 17: Llama, Llama Red Pajama
Nov. 24: Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad
Dec. 1: Otis
Grandparents Visit Classes
Central Plaza classrooms invited grandparents to visit for a special event Sept. 9. Several grandparents took the time to read to classes.
“The children absolutely loved having you visit and were so excited to listen to the stories you shared,” said one teacher. “Your presence made the day truly special and created memories the children will cherish.”
Book of the Month: Rosie Goes to Preschool
Starting preschool for the first time can be scary for many kids because they don’t know what to expect. Having the summer off and then coming back to a new teacher or new classroom can be just as scary to a 4-year-old! Talking about what to expect and reading books together helps ease kids’ anxiety because they will know what to expect.
Rosie Goes to Preschool by Karen Katz is a simple story with simple illustrations, but it’s filled with preschooler insider “Rosie Tips” that are helpful bits of advice or information. The book is available at the public library and this read aloud is easy to find on YouTube too!
Home-Based Events
Oct. 10: Socialization, Hopkins-Locke, 10 a.m.
Oct. 24: Socialization, Hopkins-Locke, 10 a.m.
Nov. 7: Socialization, Hopkins-Locke, 10 a.m.
Nov. 21: Socialization, Hopkins-Locke, 10 a.m.
Dec. 19: Socialization, Hopkins-Locke, 10 a.m.
Wear purple October 16 in support of survivors of domestic violence.
Wear pink October 24 to promote Breast Cancer Awareness.
Scan this code to see the latest menu for most of our Head Start Centers.
Potty Mastery Takes Time, Patience
Parents and teachers work in a variety of ways to foster independence in preschool-aged children. Toileting independence – usually known as “potty training” – often results in fierce battles and frustration on both sides.
LCCAA Head Start teachers and staff learned a new approach as the school year began. One of the training sessions staff attended featured Joan Morganstern, author of Potty Mastery: A Child-Centered Approach to Toileting.
Morganstern’s training shifts the mindset from “potty training” to “potty learning” encouraging the child to fully own the process while adults support them – instead of adults trying to control the develop-
ment of this skill.
The approach is compatible with Conscious Discipline which is used throughout our Head Start centers. Instead of just a task to check off, potty mastery is a developmental learning process. The training included both a discussion of the deeper developmental layers of this learning and practice tips to integrate toileting and body awareness into the classroom rhythm.
LCCAA Head Start is Wild About Health
LCCAA Head Start is Wild About Health and will show you just how wild at two events later this month. Join us for an evening of family fun, learning and healthy living on Oct. 22 from 5 to 7 p.m.
All LCCAA Head Start families are welcome at either Griswold Head Start, 631 Griswold Road, Elyria or HopkinsLocke Head Start at 1050 Reid Ave., Lorain. Both events will include door prizes and a tasty dinner provided by our Food Service staff. The menu includes spaghetti with meat sauce, Texas toast, fruit salad, cookies, juice and water.
Community organizations will also be present and all activities will have a health focus.
If you have questions, contact your child’s teacher.
Here are some strategies to help your child begin to master the toileting skill:
X Set up a comfortable bathroom environment.
X Use consistent support and gentle reminders.
X Be patient and encouraging.
X Allow children enough time.
X Use dolls or puppets to help children identify the cues from their bodies.
X Celebrate the successes - even the small ones.
If you need help implementing strategies at home or have questions about potty mastery, please contact your child’s teacher or family service associate.
Thanksgiving lunch will be served on Nov. 21. Directly operated sites will receive turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, green beans and baked apples.
Out of the Box Series Returns Dec. 3
LCCAA Head Start Nutrition Staff members use their unique Out of the Box cooking demonstrations to expand families’ cooking skills and their kitchen equipment.
The series returns this December with two recipe demonstrations perfect for the coming colder months. The increasingly popular series features a video demonstration shared by Zoom.
Those who register and attend then receive a box
of ingredients to make the recipe at home. The boxes also include various pieces of kitchen equipment that would be useful in making the recipes.
The video demonstrations feature Head Start Chef Luis Aguilar and Dietician Marge Robison from our partner Pisanick Partners (right).
Aguilar often discusses knife skills and other cooking techniques while also letting families know what to expect at each stage of the recipe.
Crunching is coming to LCCAA Head Start classrooms on Oct. 9.
Once again, students and staff will participate in the Great Apple Crunch along with hundreds of students across the Great Lakes region.
Our center-based classrooms will receive a locally grown apple for snack time. Classes in Firelands and Wellington will receive apples to take home and a recipe for Apple Crisp for One.
Robison shares different ways to customize the recipe as well as nutritional and budgetary information.
The recipe for Vegetable Barley Soup will be
shared on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. The recipe for No Knead Bread will be shared on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. Watch for a registration form to be shared by your child’s teacher.
October 16 Try Day
Features Pumpkin
LCCAA Head Start’s Nutrition Staff use Try Days as a way to introduce children to new foods.
Classrooms receive the food in raw form and investigations involve all five senses. Sometimes information is shared on how the food is grown or a story about the food is read.
The week of Oct. 13, classes will receive a small pumpkin to explore during the week. For breakfast on Oct. 16, students will be served Pumpkin Overnight Oats.
Lobby tastings for parents will occur Oct. 14 at HopkinsLocke and on Oct. 17 at Griswold.
Order Produce Every Week
Residents throughout Lorain County can take advantage of the LCCAA Produce Center every week.
Households living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible to order from the center.
Ordering windows are open from 8 a.m. Monday to 11 p.m.
Sunday or until all appointments are full. Pickups are the following Wednesday and Thursday.
Appointments must be made via the online system and honoring appointments is critical.
Please follow all signs and staff instructions. Staff will bring food orders to your car.
LCCAA operates the Produce Center in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.
For more information or if you have questions, contact Center Manager Deirdre Paynter at 440-457-0327.
Pathways HUB Provides Help
Every pregnancy is different. The LCPHUB is here to help guide you every step of the way.
Community Health Workers who have lived - and parented - in Lorain County will connect you with resources and help you understand what to expect.
LCPHUB is focused on making sure you and your baby stay healthy. We’ll walk with you throughout pregnancy and your baby’s first year helping you set goals and find your path.
You are not alone! Contact us today for personalized attention and support at LCPHUB@lccaa.net.
Winter Crisis Begins Nov. 3
Beginning Nov. 3, the Winter Crisis Program will help you if your primary heating source is disconnected, a disconnection notice has been received, or you have less than a 10-day supply of bulk fuel.
If you receive a disconnect notice during the crisis period, make an appointment right away. If you make an appointment for at least 48 hours before your scheduled disconnection AND you enter your utility account number, the utility will put a hold on the disconnect while you are waiting for your appointment.
If you miss or reschedule your appointment, the hold is removed and you may lose service.
Appointments for Winter Crisis can only be made online beginning in mid October. All appointments will be conducted over the phone.
For annual HEAP benefits or to enroll in the PIPP program, you can apply online through the state’s portal. Learn more on our website.
Community Connections Can Lower Energy Costs
LCCAA’s Community Connections program has returned.
Teaming up with Ohio Edison, the program offers energy-efficient refrigerators, freezers and light bulbs to income eligible Ohio Edison customers.
LCCAA is contracting with Greener Homes to conduct energy audits for low-income families. If appliances are assessed as inefficient, the program replaces them.
Customers can also receive energy efficient light bulbs for all fixtures.
Clients must live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line and be a customer of Ohio Edison. Renters can qualify if they own the appliances. Verification and a waiver of liability from the landlord is required.
For a full list of requirements and an application, visit our website.
Make a Plan to Vote Nov. 4
LCCAA encourages all Lorain County residents to exercise their right to vote this fall.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 6 and in Ohio, you can now register online if you have all your information. Visit www.ohiosos.gov to check, update or start your registration. You can also request an absentee ballot for any reason.
Visit the Lorain County Board of Elections at voteloraincountyohio.gov to check your polling place and view a sample ballot. You can also update your registration or request an absentee ballot at that site.
Ohio has a voter ID law. When you vote, you must show an unexpired photo ID such as: an Ohio Driver’s License, State of Ohio ID card or military ID. You cannot use an out of state license or a utility bill. For a complete list, visit www.ohiosos.gov.
Ohioans who are 17 or older can receive a free state ID from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles if you do not have a valid Driver’s License and can provide proof of your identity.
Early Voting begins Oct. 7 and continues through Nov. 2. Hours expand as the election nears. For a complete list, visit voteloraincountyohio.gov. Polls on Election Day, Nov. 4, are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. LCCAA encourages you to get registered and make a plan to vote.
Applications for the Mary Lee Tucker Clothe a Child program are due by Oct. 10. See your Family Service Associate for details.
Start classrooms will be closed on Election Day this year.
offices will also be closed on Election Day.
X Thanksgiving lunch will be served on Nov. 21 to all centers supplied from our central kitchen.
X LaGrange is closed Nov. 24 to 28.
X Firelands and Wellington are closed Nov. 26 to 28.
X Central, Griswold, Hopkins Locke and South Elyria are closed Nov. 27 and 28.
X LCCAA offices are closed Nov. 27 and 28.
Dec. 16 through 19
Families will be invited to join our centers in some fun winter activities.