E Center Head Start Leadership Mission Vision

Some organizations operate a program. E Center is built around a belief.

The belief: that every child in Yuba and Sutter Counties — regardless of family income, ZIP code, language spoken at home, or any other circumstance — deserves a genuinely excellent early start. And that the best way to give children that start is by supporting not just the child, but the whole family.

That belief has guided E Center since 1966, when Head Start was brand new and this community needed it. It guides the program today.

Sixty Years of Serving Yuba-Sutter Families

E Center has been the federally designated Head Start and Early Head Start provider for Yuba and Sutter Counties for six decades. That’s a striking fact: through leadership changes, funding cycles, policy shifts, and community changes, E Center has continued operating because the families of this region continue to need it — and because the organization has continued to earn that trust.

Since the national Head Start program began, more than 37 million children across the country have received Head Start services. Tens of thousands of those children called Yuba and Sutter Counties home.

Many of those children are now adults — parents themselves, in some cases. Some have sent their own children to E Center. That is what a 60-year community institution looks like.

Who We Serve and Why It Matters

E Center’s service area — Yuba and Sutter Counties — includes communities that face significant economic challenges.

Yuba and Sutter Counties consistently show child poverty rates above state and national averages. Agricultural work is a primary economic driver for many families, bringing both seasonal income variability and, for many farmworker families, language barriers and geographic isolation that limit access to services.

Head Start was designed specifically for communities like this. The program’s federal mandate targets families with the greatest need — those for whom the gap between what a child can access through their family’s resources and what they need for a successful start is widest.

E Center’s work is to close that gap.

The Comprehensive Model: More Than Preschool

What distinguishes E Center from other early childhood providers isn’t just quality — it’s comprehensiveness.

A child at E Center doesn’t just receive preschool education. They receive:

Education: Evidence-based, federally aligned curriculum delivered by trained, credentialed teachers
Health: Medical, dental, vision, and hearing screenings within 45 days of enrollment; connection to ongoing healthcare
Nutrition: Free breakfast, lunch, and snacks every school day
Mental health: Social-emotional support and mental health services for children and families
Family support: Dedicated Family Services staff who partner with parents on goals, connect families to community resources, and provide a consistent relationship through the program year
Disability services: Specialized support for children with disabilities or developmental delays, with 10% of enrollment reserved for this population regardless of income

This comprehensive model is not accidental. It reflects a fundamental understanding: you cannot fully serve a child without serving the family.

Our Standards of Excellence

E Center’s programs operate under the most comprehensive federal quality standards in early childhood education. The Head Start Program Performance Standards — updated and strengthened by federal legislation — govern everything from child-to-teacher ratios and teacher qualifications to curriculum quality, health screenings, and family partnership requirements.

E Center is also subject to regular federal monitoring — on-site reviews that assess program quality across all domains. Maintaining that federal designation requires continuous demonstration of program quality.

Beyond compliance, E Center pursues quality because that’s what the mission requires. The children we serve deserve nothing less than excellent.

The Role of Families in Governance

Head Start is unusual among educational programs in one important way: parents govern it.

مرکز E شورای سیاستگذاری is a parent-led governing body that provides real oversight of program operations — including input on budget, policies, curriculum decisions, and program planning. This is a legal requirement of the Head Start program, and it reflects Head Start’s foundational philosophy: parents are not recipients of services; they are partners and leaders in the program.

Parents who participate in Policy Council gain leadership experience, a voice in a program that matters to their family, and a community with other engaged parents. Many Policy Council alumni describe the experience as transformative — not just for their child’s program, but for their own growth.

A Community Partner, Not Just a Program

E Center’s impact extends beyond the families directly enrolled. As one of the largest early childhood organizations in Yuba-Sutter, E Center:

Connects enrolled families to community resources across housing, healthcare, food, employment, and education
Employs community members — the majority of E Center staff live in Yuba or Sutter County
Partners with local agencies including school districts, health departments, the regional center, and nonprofit organizations
Advocates at the local level for policies and resources that support children and families

E Center is woven into the community fabric of Yuba-Sutter in ways that make the region stronger.

Looking Forward

The next generation of children being born in Yuba and Sutter Counties right now will arrive at the schoolhouse doors in three to five years. The developmental experiences they have between now and then — the words spoken to them, the relationships they form, the environment that surrounds them — will shape those arrivals profoundly.

E Center’s work today is building the academic, social, and developmental foundation that Yuba-Sutter’s schools will receive in 2029 and 2030.

That’s the stakes. It’s also the opportunity.

سوالات متداول

Is E Center a government agency? E Center is a nonprofit community organization, not a government agency. Our Head Start and Early Head Start programs are federally funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We are the federally designated grantee for Yuba and Sutter Counties, which means we hold the federal grant and operate the programs under federal oversight.

How is E Center funded? The majority of E Center’s funding comes from federal Head Start grants, which are renewed and monitored regularly. E Center also pursues additional grant funding and community partnerships to support program quality and family services.

How do I get involved with E Center beyond enrolling my child? There are several pathways: volunteer in the classroom, join the Policy Council, participate in parent workshops, or simply engage with your child’s Family Services staff member. Families who engage most deeply with E Center consistently describe the experience as valuable for themselves, not just their children.

Can I trust that my child will receive quality care and education at E Center? E Center’s programs are subject to among the most rigorous federal oversight of any early childhood program in the country. We are required to demonstrate quality across education, health, family services, and administration on a regular basis. The 60-year track record of serving Yuba-Sutter families speaks for itself.

Join the E Center Family

E Center has served Yuba and Sutter Counties for 60 years. We’ll be here for the next 60. And we’d like your family to be part of what we’re building.

???? با تیم ثبت نام ما به شماره ‎(866) 417-4255‎ تماس بگیرید. — ما آماده‌ایم تا به سوالات شما پاسخ دهیم ???? درخواست آنلاین در ecenter.org — پیش‌نیازهای خود را در عرض چند دقیقه شروع کنید ???? برای ورود به آدرس ۸۶۰ پلازا وی، یوبا سیتی، کالیفرنیا ۹۵۹۹۱ مراجعه کنید.

Six decades of trust. One child at a time.

E Center is the Head Start and Early Head Start provider for Yuba and Sutter Counties. We have served children and families in this community since 1966. All programs are free for qualifying families.