Prince William, Manassas Park schools receive grant

A $1.7 million federal grant will buy class time for 216 Head Start students in Prince William County and Manassas Park over the next two years.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will pay for 14 new Head Start teachers in the county and two teachers in Manassas Park, said Kathy Channell, the administrative coordinator for Head Start and the Virginia Preschool Initiative.

Money from the grant, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will also be used to buy a bus to take students to six new classrooms at Manassas Park, Westgate, Potomac View, Bel Air, Sinclair and Yorkshire elementary schools, Channell said.

The children who will attend each of the new classes will be selected for the program based on eligibility, Channell said.

They must turn 4 years old by Sept. 30, live in a district served by one of the six new classrooms and live below the federal income guidelines of $22,050 for a family of four, Channell said.

“It will be the children with the highest needs,” Channell said.

The Head Start program in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park currently serves 289 children per year, but Channell estimates that there are more than 1,000 students who qualify for the program that provides low income children with educational, health and nutrition services. 

“We’re not even scratching the surface,” Channell said.

Still the money will be welcome, she said.

“This is our first expansion since 2002, so we’re extremely excited about serving children who we have not been able to serve in the past,” Channell said.

Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.