Douglas England pointed to objects heard on audiotape as Christina Musgrave, health aide, provided a hearing test at Head Start.

children at Head Start learned food groups in a social setting with dramatic play time. From left, Keith McMullen, Kaneisha Bryant and Jonathan Tackett.

Troy LaMont, left, painted a picture at Head Start as Debbie Lincoln, an aide, watched him.

Though Head Start classes are yet to get under way, staff at the local branch of the federal program for preschool-aged children are busy preparing for the first day of school.

And like at educational institutions throughout the area, facilities are being cleaned and classrooms readied for the return of students.

However, as preparations are made for the start of classes today and the entire school year, the staff at Head Start knows one commodity will be in short supply -- volunteers.

"We never have enough," said Debbie Lincoln, a member of the Head Start staff. "We desperately need volunteers all of the time. And that is an important part of Head Start -- community involvement."

The work of volunteers is vital to the program because although Head Start receives its funding from the federal government, 20 percent of its budget must come from in-kind services from parents and the community.

Volunteers are needed to work directly with the 72, 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds at the Cape Girardeau Head Start Center, which is housed in the East Missouri Action Agency building at 1111 Linden. In addition to working with children in the classroom or as bus and cafeteria monitoring, volunteers are also needed for a variety of other tasks, including cooking, cleaning and repair work.

"We're always doing new things with Head Start and like to have lots of volunteers," said Elizabeth Wake, Head Start coordinator for Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Madison counties.

While a focal point of the program is education, Head Start staff members are quick to point out that they do much more and go beyond just helping their diminutive charges.

"We wrap around the whole family and get the parents involved," Lincoln said.

The five primary components of the program are education, social services, parent involvement, health, and identifying and dealing with disabilities.

"We work with families if they are in need of anything," Wake said. "We assist families in finding resources and putting them in contact with those resources."

Lincoln said the social services aspect of the program includes everything from helping family members get their driver's license to finding them housing or financial assistance and helping them get utilities hooked up.

"Just any problem they have, we try to help them deal with it," said Wake.

Head Start children are also provided with needed medical and dental care. If the family does not have private insurance or Medicaid, the program will cover the cost. When possible, staff members work to meet a need by using community resources. For example, if children need glasses, staff members would work with community groups known for helping children with vision problems.

"We try to use community resources as much as possible," said Wake.

Parent involvement is the most important aspect of the program.

"We stress that parents be involved because education in a child's early years is important to their success," Wake said.

Not only are parents encouraged to become volunteers and be involved with their child's education, they are always welcome at the center.

"Parents are allowed to stop by at any time," said Wake. "That's something a lot of day care centers do not like. They want parents to drop kids off in the morning and not come back until it's time to pick them up."

Parent volunteer time is kept track of and each hour of volunteer work earns them tickets to purchase items from Head Start's parent store. The store is open twice a month, and for a certain amount of tickets parents can purchase a variety of donated goods. Though some canned goods are offered, the store primarily is stocked with hygiene items and paper products, which cannot be purchased in stores with food stamps.

Parents can also use their volunteer work as a reference when seeking employment.

"There is such a closeness between Head Start staff and parents," said Lincoln. "We make them feel important and it helps build their self-esteem."

Classes are held four days a week, Monday through Thursday, for four hours a day. "It's like a regular preschool-type program," Lincoln said.

The school year runs from late August until May, roughly the same as the public school year.

And Head Start, the purpose of which is to help at-risk children get ahead, works closely with public school systems, particularly in letting them know the needs of individual students.

"Public schools work with us to provide needed services," said Wake. "It's really a beneficial program for both us and them."

In addition to the children involved in standard Head Start classes, there are two home-based programs in the area serving 21 children. In this program, a worker visits a family's home for one-hour a week.

"Some parents prefer this because they are not as ready for their kids to leave home, but they understand their needs," Wake said. This program is also helpful for families in outlying regions where the bus that brings children to Head Start center doesn't run.

Those in the home-based program gather at the center for socials or go on group field trips a couple times a month.

Head Start accepts applications year-round.

Though in most areas there isn't a waiting list to get a child enrolled, Wake said there is in the Cape Girardeau region. The criteria are family income, family needs, disability needs and parental status.

"But that is good," she said, "because it shows the need in the community and if additional funds for the program become available, we know where to apply them."