Children attending Head Start Centers in Ouachita Parish showed rapid improvement in math, language, and social skills, according to a new report. PRIME TIME, Inc. (PTI), a distinct corporation of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, analyzed end-of-year data for 2017-18, the organization’s first year of operating the Head Start programming in Ouachita Parish. Through local, state, and national collaborations in education and family engagement, PTI has focused on closing the achievement gap and building a better future for children, families, and communities. The results after one year are promising.

During the 2017-2018 term, students showed significant academic growth on the Teaching Strategies Gold (TS Gold) assessments. PTI set goals for mastery of skills for 3-year and 4-year old students attending the program, aiming for 35% mastery in each domain by year’s end.

The 4-year old students due to begin kindergarten next year, exceeded these goals, with 47% of students achieving mastery in Social- Emotional/Approach to Play (SE/ALP), 41% mastery in Language/Literacy (L/L), and 38% mastery in Math/Science (M/S).

The assessment found even more marked improvement among 3-year old students, who displayed 72% mastery in SE/ ALP, 61% mastery in L/L, and 68% mastery in M/S. PTI is currently running a 7-week summer program. PTI is accepting applications for 3 and 4-year-old children for the 2018-19 school year, which begins in August.

Current families will receive more information about the upcoming school year at the end of July. Interested families can visit http://www.primetimefamily.org, or call 318-541-2315 for more information.

(The rest of this story continued next week)