St. Mary Head Start celebrates half century

St. Mary Head Start is marking its 50th year.

“The program has changed tremendously over the years,” said Winnie the Pooh Head Start teaching assistant Joyce Matthews. “Good things, for the better.”

This is Matthews’ 48th year working for Head Start. She first retired in 2012 at the 44-year mark. Matthews missed working with kids and families so much that she decided to come out of retirement.

Over her 48 years, Matthews has seen more children added to classrooms, improved teaching strategies implemented by teachers, and a broader mix of racial diversity among students.

Parent volunteerism is no longer about sitting in observation mode in a classroom with a child.

“We have different things they can do,” Matthews said. “They get into the classroom, but they don’t just sit down. We have things for them to do, working on activities with their children and other children.”

Generationally, families have experienced success both personally and professionally with the help of Head Start.

“The most impressive thing to me is generation after generation has been successful beginning their education in Head Start,” said Head Start former executive board member Darlene Castay .

“They are lawyers, communication people in television, teachers — I mean you can go down the line.

“And the good things that keep coming back are these testimonies that the children and their families have about Head Start being beneficial for the entire family and careers.”

Alumnus Craig Matthews is a staunch supporter and active board member of St. Mary Head Start.

Matthews also serves as a St. Mary Parish council representative for District 1 and senior pastor of Hubbard United Church of Christ in Vermilion Parish.

To say he started the Head Start program kicking and screaming is an understatement. He attended a Head Start center in Glencoe.

“I have been a part of Head Start all of my life,” Matthews said. “I can vividly remember, at 3½ years old, my first day when my dad brought me to my great aunt’s house so I could catch the bus there.

“And when the bus came, they fought with me to put me on that bus. I was kicking and screaming and fighting and pulling because I told them I was not going to no doggone school.”

He recalls a cousin having to ride with him to school in order for him to get on the bus. But the drama ensued after arriving at school and his cousin had to return back home on the bus.

“I took off running behind that bus,” Matthews said. “They had to go and get me out of the street. I was running behind that bus. And I remember that like it was yesterday.”

“I think subconsciously I knew that Head Start was going to grab me and hold me for the rest of my life,” Matthews said. “So, I was trying to get away.”

Many years later, Matthews became a father and enrolled his children in Head Start. After entering his first son in the program and away in college at Grambling State University, he became a Head Start volunteer.

He got involved working with the children and classroom activities.

Matthews recalled an unpleasant experience his child endured on a dentist visit with the program. And as a result, Matthews, infuriated, drove from Grambling to Four Corners to complain to the Head Start staff, he said.

“All I could think about was they pulled my child’s tooth and his parents were not there to calm him down to assure him that he was going to be all right,” Matthews said. “He went through that experience all by himself.

“It was a livid experience, to say the least.”

A Head Start employee contacted Matthews in order to rectify the situation. The center was not at fault for the incident, which gave him some peace.

Seven years later, after enrolling his second child in Head Start, he and St. Mary Community Action CEO Almetra Franklin reminisced and laughed about the incident.

During that time, Matthews became a member of the policy council. Six to eight months later, he applied for and accepted a grant writer position with Head Start.

Seven years later, he moved on to another position in finance with the St. Mary Community Action and Teche Action agencies. In his finance position, he became a board member.

Under his position as a grant writer, St. Mary Community Action was able to add Vermilion Parish’s Head Start as a collaborative program.

St. Mary Community Action was able to turn Matthews’ heart around to being an advocate for children and families over the last 30 years of his life as a parent and also as a community supporter, Matthews said.

“Head Start is in my blood,” Matthews said. “It is deeply rooted in my family. All my family has been deeply rooted in Head Start, I should say, throughout my entire life.”

When Matthews began working with Head Start in a staff position, it was at a crucial time in his life.

“Some things were transitioning,” Matthews said. “My life was being transformed from a life of not being sure of what I was going to do with my career and where I was going in my future.

“I was a young adult in my mid-20s. And so I didn’t have a full grasp of where I was going in life and where my family was going to end up.”

Working in the capacity as a staff member helped to shape Matthews’ focus in terms of the type of career he wanted to have.

“I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to public service at some point by serving my fellow man and being intricately involved or engaged in community work,” Matthews said.

“It’s been a labor of love, a lifelong journey filled with very, very rewarding experiences. I’m very happy about the relationship that I share with St. Mary Community Action Agency.

“And particularly, the Head Start program for giving me the initial early childhood experience which I believe has formed a foundation for the person that I am today.”

St. Mary Community Action will host a number of events from now and into 2017 to commemorate its 50-year presence in the community.

Nationally, Head Start has served over 32 million children since 1965, growing from an eight-week demonstration project to include full day/year services and many program options.

October was first proclaimed Head Start Awareness Month by President Ronald Reagan on Oct. 22, 1982.