Taos Head Start Cluster Costilla Head Start Costilla Elementary Campus Garcia Rd. Costilla, NM 87524 586-1460 Llano Quemado Head Start State Rd. 382 Bldg. #68 Rancho de Taos, NM 87557 758-3425 Questa Head Start 148 Embargo Rd., Questa, NM 87556 586-0585 San Cristobal Head Start Camino del Medio, Bldg. #25 San Cristobal, NM 87564 766-8656 Vadito Head Start 5 Picuris Rd. Vadito, NM 87579 587-2337

The Taos County cluster is comprised of five NAEYC accredited centers, serving 204 children in communities across the country. The largest center is in Rancho de Taos. There are over 1,700 children under five years old in Taos County of whom 1,055 live in poverty. The Llano Quemado Center in Rancho de Taos enrolls 112 children in four half day (morning and evening) classes, two full day classes, and one part day class. The Costilla Center enrolls 20 children in one part day class. The Questa Center enrolls twenty children in one part day class. The San Cristobal Center enrolls sixteen children in one part day class and the Vadito Center enrolls 36 children in one full day and one part day class. The Vadito Center also enrolls four infants and 8 toddlers in its Early Head Start program.

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.