A cooperative effort between Head Start and the Paducah Area Technical Center has given an old bus a new purpose.

Head Start staff, carpentry and body shop classes from the Paducah Area Vocational School, and community supporters gathered at the Head Start Offices on December 2 to commission a new literacy bus nicknamed "Roadie".

Head Start Director Frances Smith said the vision fo the literacy bus began when she received word that a 1984 "short bus" would be removed from the fleet and retired.  Smith asked if she could have the bus in order to create a reading bus.

Smith asked Donald Wann, the director of the PATC, if he could help in refurbishing the bus. Wann agreed to have auto body and carpentry students work on the bus. Over the past year, the bus interior of the bus has been gutted and shelves, tables, and seating have been installed, and the exterior has been re-painted.

Smith's vision is to have the bus stocked with books and travel to area neighborhoods and community events, offering children books and a place to read. She hopes to find community groups that will donate books so children can take them home after reading.

Volunteers are needed to drive the bus and read with children when Roadie goes out to neighborhoods. Smith hopes to take the bus out at least once a week. If you would like to help, you can volunteer by calling the Head Start office at

You can see pictures from ribbon cutting here.

Board of Education Chair Danette Humphrey led the installation ceremony for  the Policy Council into office for the school year, 2011-2012.

Superintendent Dr. Randy Greene began the annual training event for Head Start Policy Council with a discussion of the importance of early childhood education.

Paducah Public Schools, which is the grantee for the Head Start program,  establishes and maintains  a formal stricture of shared governance though which parents can participate in policy making or in other decisions about the program. In addition to parents, community representatives are elected by the parents to serve on the Council. 

Head start parents and students enjoyed music, games and food at Head Start's Back to School party. Parents met teachers and staff while receiving resources that would help their students get off to a good start.

You can see pictures from Head Start Back to School here.

Information about requirements for enrollment in Head Start for the 2011-12 school year have been posted. You can see them here.

Head Start applications are taken year round to maintain a wait list to fill vacancies as they occur.

Head Start students from Clark, McNabb, and Morgan attended Musical Story Times at the McCracken County Public Library on March 10.  The program, a new project sponsored by the Paducah Symphony Orchestra and the McCracken County Public Library, featured PSO flutist Esther Julian and library storytellers Cherri Cunningham and Retta Folsom.

The goal of the program was to promote music and literacy, and the close connection between the two was evident as the group listened to the books "Henry Possum" and "All the Little Horses" to the accompaniment of Ms. Julian and sang the "Library Ode to Joy", taken from a theme of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.