K
anawha County Board of Education members voted unanimously to renew grant funding for the district’s Head Start program during their regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 16.
The funding ensures the early education program continues in the county through the 2025-26 academic year, officials said Thursday.
Head Start is a national program that provides early learning and development opportunities to preschool-aged children. According to information on the West Virginia Head Start Association website, the initiative is "the longest-running and most successful school readiness program in the country."
In Kanawha County, Head Start and other board-approved preschool programs provide early education to eligible three- and four-year-old children at 80 sites throughout the school district. Most full-day preschool programs in the county have in-class instruction four days a week. Fridays are used to provide home visits and conferences, according to information on the district's preschool website.
Pinch Elementary adding preschool class
On Thursday, Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Tom Williams said a new preschool classroom would be opened at Pinch Elementary during the 2025-26 academic year.
“There's a room vacant at Pinch,” Williams told the panelists. “Literally within the last hour, we made that decision [to add the program there].”
Officials said the need for Head Start programs in the district is high, but physical space is limited.
“Anytime we can find a space, we put them [Head Start classrooms] in,” Williams said.
Other business
Also during their Jan. 16 meeting, board members:
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Approved more than $25 million in bills for December 2024, including payments of $62,533.05 for the KCS Public Library Excess Levy Fund and $421,230.39 for the Public Library Fund;
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Approved the personnel agenda, which includes 11 upcoming retirements, three leave of absence and two new hires, among other items; and
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Established several special meetings for January and February, some related to the hiring of a new superintendent for the school district, which comes amid Williams' planned retirement at the end of this school year.
Board members' next meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Jan. 30 at the KCS Central Office in Charleston.
