MEDIA ADVISORY
For: Thursday, October 11, 2012
Contact:
Terry Carter—(213) 700-5617
Blanca Gallegos—(213) 500-9594
Children, parents, community advocates go on rolling tour with giant key to “open” shuttered and non-operational South L.A. Head Start Centers
WHAT:
Families locked out of their Head Start programs by new operators, Volunteers of America (VOA) and Crystal Stairs, will be joined by community allies on a bus tour winding through South Los Angeles. At each stop, children will attempt to “open” their Head Start center with a giant key representing the “Key to Children’s Success!”
After the tour, frustrated parents will hold a press conference to highlight the Office of Head Start’s role in this unnecessarily rough transition as program oversight passes from CDI Head Start—the temporary operator of these programs for the past several years—to VOA and Crystal Stairs. They will be joined by community leaders and Head Start staff, many of whom have served generations of families.
WHY:
The new operators kept parents and former Head Start staff in the dark all summer long and only started telling parents late last month—weeks after the originally publicized start date—to re-enroll their children to get on waiting lists for a program their child was already enrolled in. Most of these agencies’ centers in Compton, Lynwood, and Paramount remain locked up or unready for kids. Many highly qualified staff members, with more than 3,000 years of combined experience, have not even been offered interviews. Families, staff, and community leaders are fed up with this sloppy transition.
WHO:
Local clergy, community leaders, local elected officials, Head Start parents and children.
WHEN:
Join us after the tour…
Press Conference ***RAIN OR SHINE***
Thursday, October 11, 2012, 11:45 a.m.
N. 502 N. Bowen Ave., Compton
VISUALS:
Bus travelling across town with banners, children with their giant “key” trying to open centers.
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SEIU Local 99 represents 45,000 employees in public and non-public organizations in early education, child care, K-12, and community college levels. SEIU Local 99 members are: Teacher’s Assistants, Playground Workers, Special Education Aides, Bus Drivers, Gardeners, Custodians, Cafeteria Workers, Maintenance Workers, Family Service Workers, Child Care Providers, and others working in schools, colleges, and administrative offices throughout Southern California.
