By BusinessWest Staff September 24, 2024
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), Holyoke Chicopee Springfield (HCS) Head Start, and dignitaries announced the opening of an HCS early-childhood program on the STCC campus.
The opening of the facility will provide affordable childcare for qualifying families in the region, as well as learning and training opportunities for STCC students.
The announcement came at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 23 in front of the new Head Start location in Building 14. Earlier in the year, the Assoc. of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the National Head Start Assoc. (NHSA) initiated a partnership to increase the number of Head Start programs co-located on community-college campuses. STCC is the first community college in Western Mass. to host a Head Start center.
Also attending the ribbon cutting were members of the Springfield state delegation, STCC trustees, and faculty, as well as HCS Head Start board members and leaders.
At the STCC campus location, HCS Head Start will provide services in one of the historic brick buildings located on the south side of the campus near State Street. HCS Head Start will have two classrooms, one for infants and toddlers as well as a preschool classroom.