Maine's Gardiner Center: Head Start Program

Gardiner Center
1 Plummer Street
Gardiner, ME 04345
Phone: 207-582-7858
Fax: 207-626-3412

This Center's Offerings: (provided by http://www.skcdc.org/early_child_ed_programs.html)
1: 4 preschool classrooms - 16 children each classroom
2: 3 classrooms providing part day Head Start for children ages 3-5, 4 hours per day, 4 days per week, 32 weeks per year. No fee for services.
3: 1 classroom providing full day Head Start and/or private or subsidized child care children ages 3-5, 6:30am-5:30pm, 50 weeks per year. Fee based on income or private rate.

My Experience With the Center:
My opportunity to use this program began in September of 2005, when I brought my son (age three) and step daughter (age four) to the Gardiner Center. This was my step daughter's third (and final) year in the program and my son's first.

It wasn't long before this group of teachers and administrators made us feel like we were part of a family. I attended parent meetings (that year, they were held once a month), agenda meetings (once a month) and I was voted in as a Policy Council Member (meetings once a month in Augusta). Volunteering in the classroom wasn't something I could take advantage of as often as I liked, but when I could I was always welcomed with open arms. This was also true for volunteering to attend and help out during field trips.

My step daughter doesn't attend any longer (she started Kindergarten this year), but my son is attending for his second year. Though there have been some staff changes, the experience and the "family feel" is still present. This year is different from last year, though, because my son attends two days a week (rather than for like last year - he's in another preschool program in conjunction with this one this year) and I'm not a member of the Policy Council. This decision wasn't made because I was dissatisfied with the program or the center, but rather because I needed to put my energies toward other projects and commitments.

As far as the classroom goes, both years I found the staff, the curriculum, the disciplinary measures and overall structure to be extremely good. What I took special note of was their routines and how important the children felt by their encouragement of independence. For example, during mealtime, each child is encouraged to serve themselves from the "buffet style" table settings.

That's another point of interest with this preschool program: their attention to health and healthy eating habits. The menu is worked through detail by detail, making sure allergies and other issues are taken into careful consideration.

The staff is always available to answer questions, address concerns and share plans for what's on tap for the year. They're constantly encouraging parent involvement, which is very important and exciting when it comes to your child's early education and development. Assessment testing, hearing test and developmental tests are just a few of the areas you an expect teachers and administrators to work on with your child.

Overall, my experience with this center and with this program as a whole has been very positive. I'm going to be sad when it comes to an end this year and my son moves on to Kindergarten next year. I've made some close connections and friendships that I'll miss and will try to keep intact even when my children aren't part of this program anymore.