Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of education, health, nutrition, disabilities support, parent engagement and other services to enrolled children and their families.

Mission Neighborhood Centers had been a delegate agency from 1969 to 2014. In spring of 2014 MNC became its own Grantee and was awarded a Head Start/Early Head Start Grant to provide comprehensive early care and education services. We currently have 10 centers in the Mission, Excelsior, Bayview Hunter’s Point, and Mission Bay neighborhoods. We currently provide Head Start services to 280 preschool children ages 3 – 5 and Early Head Start services to 82 infants and toddlers.

Currently, 85% of the families served by the Mission Head Start program are recent US immigrant families whose primary language is Spanish. MNC’s child development program provides a bilingual curriculum in which children continue to build their native language while acquiring English as a second language. Our teachers are trained in techniques to promote early literacy in English language learners.

At Mission Head Start/Early Head Start, we engage parents in their children’s learning and help them make progress toward their own educational, literacy and employment goals. Significant emphasis is placed on the involvement of parents in the administration of local Head Start/Early Head Start programs.

A variety of early care and education options are available, including full-day Head Start and Early Head Start, full-day tuition-based (private pay) and State funded preschool and infant and toddler care. Now is the time to put your child on the path to success in school and in life. Give them a chance to reach their full potential. Click Enroll Today below to learn more about these options and how to enroll.