NC-ACTS! Head Start Collaboration

Member Campuses:  We are currently accepting slot requests for the 2009-10 academic year

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

NC-ACTS! (North Carolina-Activating Citizenship Through Service) is an AmeriCorps program of North Carolina Campus Compact. Through a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, NC Campus Compact provides 500 students across the state with a $1000 education award upon completion of 300 service hours in an academic year.

Goals of the program:

•   Foster civic engagement among higher education students
•   Promote the national service movement
•   Encourage positive relationships between campuses and communities

To learn more, visit the NC-ACTS! homepage here.

In 2009, NC Campus Compact launched a partnership with the North Carolina Head Start—State Collaboration Office to designate a cohort of 15 NC-ACTS! slots specifically for Early Childhood Education majors on our member campuses.  These slots are for designated schools in the eastern region of the state.

Head Start is a federally funded, comprehensive preschool program designed to meet the emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs of 3- and 4-year-olds and their families. Head Start helps develop social competencies in children and promotes self-sufficiency through a comprehensive family-focused approach.To learn more about Head Start state Collaboration Office, visit this link.

The NC-ACTS! Head Start Project participants will complete their 300 hours of service at a designated Head Start site within their county.  Participants in the project will serve as support staff in early childhood classrooms serving either infants and toddlers or preschool-aged children.  Placements will be made with respect to each participant’s interest.  Project participants will always assist existing Head Start teaching staff with administering quality, developmentally appropriate practices in an early care and education setting.  Activities might include assisting with the development and implementation of lesson plans; providing enrichment instruction in classrooms with exceptional children; and participating in parent-teacher conferences.   

In addition to the required pre-service orientation, participants will also attend a Head Start 101 meeting at the beginning of the academic year.  All other standard requirements of the NC-ACTS! program still apply  (e.g. completion of reflection sessions and exit surveys). In addition to receiving the $1000 education award that must be used for tuition or student loan payments, participants in the NC-ACTS! Head Start Project will receive a $100 mileage stipend for each semester in which they participate.

Students that successfully complete all requirements may be considered for full time employment at a Head Start program with the volunteer hours counting as relevant work experience.

For more information about the NC-ACTS! Head Start Project contact:

Leslie A. Garvin, MSW, NC-ACTS! Program Director

NC Campus Compact
nc-acts@elon.edu
(336) 278-7198