Submitted by the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council
For North Andover families struggling with the cost of childcare, a nonprofit serving the community offers affordable, quality early education – and seats are currently available.
The Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Inc. (GLCAC) operates five Head Start Centers and the Perrault Childcare Center. A nonprofit, GLCAC serves North Andover, Andover, Methuen and Lawrence. Including early education, GLCAC has 16 programs – from fuel assistance to WIC – that served more than 34,000 people last year.
“All of our services are open to the families of North Andover, including the excellent education and care for preschoolers in our Head Start and Childcare centers. While North Andover and Andover are considered affluent communities, we know there are residents who could use our services, and we are reaching out to them,” said Vilma Martinez-Dominguez, Executive Director and CEO of GLCAC.
Starting with Head Start
Head Start is a federally funded program free for income-eligible families. GLCAC operates four centers in Lawrence and one in Methuen and welcomes children from North Andover. The centers serve children ages 15 months to 5 years old in a half-day program during the school year or a full-day program year long.
Across Massachusetts, more than 10,000 children are enrolled in Head Start, including 416 seats provided through GLCAC. The teachers follow a curriculum that prepares students to enter kindergarten, and they focus on child health, as well as building social and emotional skills. Head Start also has family advocates, a social service professional, who supports families and connects them to additional services they may need.
“Our early education and childcare programs do more than educate, they support the needs of the entire family. When a child enrolls with us, they begin a lifelong educational journey while receiving excellent care. Meanwhile, parents can use the time their child is with us to work and pursue their own educations,” said Angeline Bombard, Division Director of Early Learning at GLCAC.
Bombard started her career in early education more than 20 years ago as a Head Start teacher for GLCAC. With a Master of Education degree from Merrimack College, Bombard served for seven years as the director of the Dr. Thomas S. Perrault Childcare Center before her promotion to division director in August.
New Facility for Childcare
The Perrault Childcare Center, located in a new, purpose-built facility at 585 Andover Street, serves about 265 children from 12 weeks to age 11. It provides an affordable, multi-cultural educational environment, with full-day and after-school programs. The center offers competitive rates for private-pay families and state-funded financial aid is available for qualifying families.
While GLCAC has offered childcare services for 50 years, the new Perrault Childcare Center facility was designed and built for the purpose of preschool education. It features bright, spacious classrooms and activity spaces, as well as two outdoor playgrounds. It is fully licensed by the state and nationally accredited.
For more information on Head Start and the Perrault Childcare Centers, visit www.glcac.org, or call (978) 681-4920 for Head Start and (978) 681-4949 for the Childcare Center.
