Denise Olson’s 4-year-old son, Jase, may not need special education services in kindergarten next fall due to improvements in his speech and communications skills from help he received in the Head Start program operated by Community Partnership for Child Development.

Olson, a board member of the nonprofit, said Jase had received preschool services through the Resource Exchange but was too old to continue in that program and moved in 2021 to Head Start, which helped her family avoid paying for childcare services they couldn’t really afford.

“We had gone through a difficult time and lost our home and cars, so living paycheck to paycheck it was difficult to afford childcare,” Olson said. “One of the reasons Jase excelled in Head Start is because they offered alternative learning structures, such as hands-on learning.”

The Colorado Springs-based nonprofit also operates other early childhood education programs and this year became a provider in Colorado’s new Universal Preschool program.

About 600 children, who are in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten, are enrolled in CPCD’s preschool program and receive at least 15 hours of instruction that are blended with its Head Start program to provide additional hours of instruction to qualifying families, said Steven Lewis, who became CPCD’s CEO in December. The nonprofit expects up to 300 additional children will be enrolled in its Universal Preschool program by the end of the school year.

CPCD had previously operated the 30-year-old Colorado Preschool Program, which was replaced by the Universal Preschool program, locally for 374 local children. Under the new universal program, parents can choose any licensed provider, which can include public-school classrooms, private childcare centers, churches or licensed homes. Families with a low income and another qualifying factor, such as homelessness, can qualify for additional hours of instruction.

The nonprofit’s Head Start program offers a half day of early childhood education for nearly 1,000 children ages 3 to 5, so adding the universal preschool program allows parents who qualify to get instruction and care for their children for the entire day. CPCD also operates the federal Early Head Start program for about 200 children up to age 3.

Together the three programs provide care and services to nearly 1,800 children up to age 5 at 27 locations in Harrison School District 2, Widefield School District 3, Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, Colorado Springs School District 11, Academy School District 20 and School District 49. The nonprofit also works with Early Connections Learning Centers, Little Tykes Learning Center and District 11’s Adult and Family Education program.

All CPCD programs are free to eligible families, such as those receiving help from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Supplemental Security Income payments; those who are homeless; have a child in foster care; or if the family’s income is at or below 130% of the federal poverty level.

CPCD receives about $80,000 annually from the Empty Stocking Fund, money used to help fund the Early Head Start program, which requires support from the fund and other donors because the nonprofit is required to fund about 20% of the program’s cost, Lewis said. That funding helps CPCD, which has been one of 20 agencies supported by the Empty Stocking Fund since 2015, hire qualified teachers, provide health support, nutrition services and education for Head Start parents, he said.

CPCD, was started in 1987 as a spinoff of Catholic Charities, which had operated the local Head Start program, and received a federal grant the following year to take over the program in the Colorado Springs area. CPCD now has an annual budget of $27 million and employs 350 people to operate the three programs.

To learn more visit: www.cpcdheadstart.org.

CPCD classroom