Pre-school targets parents to help Springfield children

Knowing where to go to get information and resources that will help a person become a better parent can make a large difference in a child’s life, and a nonprofit wants to make that easier for Springfield families.

Miami Valley Child Development Centers Inc. hosted a Bold Beginning event at the Springfield City School District’s Clark Center on Thursday morning that brought local resources together. The gathering was targeted for parents of children who attend Head Start, a federally funded pre-school program.

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The event is important to the community, Head Start consultant Jeanette Taylor said, especially for young parents.

“In this day and time, people are struggling with knowing where to go, as far as for legal aid or as far as getting books to their children, as far as any kind of resources to help them,” she said.

Many parents filed into the Springfield City School District Board of Education conference room and spoke with experts from many different fields, including women’s organizations, mental health associations, fatherhood groups and others.

“We are targeting parents that have children under the age of 6,” Taylor said.

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Parent Savannah Hay said the event can make a lasting difference on Springfield families.

“There are parents that come here and they don’t know where to get information,” she said. “Having events like this is able to provide them with information and provide information where they can get it and by doing so it betters them and it betters their children.”

She said when she first became a parent, Head Start helped her family. She now has two more children participating in the program.

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“It means a lot,” Hay said. “Six or seven years ago, my son was in Head Start. I didn’t know what I was doing or the information that I could get. And having events like this helped me get information that I needed for my son.”

The next event will take place on Feb. 23 and it will be hosted again at the Clark Center. The focus of that event will be helping improve child literacy.

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