Pedro Baca Head Start Cluster Pedro Baca Head Start 1700 Centro Familiar SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 452-2214 Los Padillas Head Start 2525 Los Padillas Rd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 873-3841 Mary Ann Binford Head Start 1400 Corriz SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121 836-0276 Rio Grande Head Start 2300 Arenal Rd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 877-0157 South Valley TVI Head Start 5816 Isleta Blvd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 873-0905

The Pedro Baca Cluster is comprised of five NAEYC accredited centers, serving the South Valley. The largest center, Pedro Baca, is located in the heart of the South Valley at 1700 Centro Familiar, SW. The five centers serve an area bordered by Paseo del Volcan on the West, the Rio Grande River on the East, I-40 on the North, and I-25/Isleta Indian Reservation on the South. The South Valley is one of the largest areas, with a significant part of it being outside the Albuquerque city limits. Over 4,000 children in the area are under five years old of whom over 1,300 live in poverty. The Pedro Baca Center enrolls sixty children and offers two full day classes and one part day class in addition to forty children in two half day Pre-K classes. The Los Padillas Center enrolls 40 children in one full day and one part day class. The Mary Ann Binford Center enrolls 54 children in two half day classes and one full day class. The Rio Grande Center, located on the grounds of the Rio Grande High School, enrolls 20 children in one full day class. The South Valley TVI Center enrolls 20 children in one full day class in addition to forty children in two half day Pre-K classes.

Head Start is one of the most successful federal programs for children ever created. The YDI Head Start program provides comprehensive services for children 3 to 5 years old.

Head Start centers provide a nurturing safe environment for preschoolers. Comprehensive services include a multicultural educational program that is tailored to children’s individual needs, fosters their self-esteem, and develops cognitive, language, motor, and social skills; medical and dental screenings and follow-up treatment, along with classroom lessons that emphasize a variety of preventative health practices; nutritious meals and snacks eaten in family style settings; evaluation, diagnosis, and special services, in a nurturing mainstreamed classroom environment for children with special needs; and regular field trips where children can enjoy and explore the world around them

Parents are welcomed in the classroom and on the bus as involved participants in their children’s growth and development. They serve on the Head Start Policy Council and on Center Committees and have a voice in administrative decisions and programmatic evaluation. YDI Early/Head Start also has a comprehensive social services component. Staff and families develop a partnership agreement that identifies family strengths and goals and they work together to assist family members to achieve their goals.