SEAFORD — Using a hybrid model, Children & Families First opened the doors of the Seaford Head Start Center on Monday, welcoming children for their first in-person day of school.

“This was a big day for us, for our staff who have worked so hard to make this happen and for the kiddos and their families who were so excited to begin their in-person learning,” stated Children & Families First CEO Kirsten Olson.

Monday’s opening of the Head Start Center at 517 Bridgeville Highway followed months of diligent preparations, targeted recruitment and hiring, rigorous training and extensive program development.

Karen Santana, the Seaford center’s operations coordinator, shared that staff and children were all smiles behind their masks when the program began this week.

“Our opening was a success! These children have been isolated at home for so long. Seeing them in a classroom, excited, having fun, learning — it was truly amazing,” Ms. Santana said.

Fifteen children ages 3 to 5, divided into A and B groups, are receiving instruction four days a week — two days in school and two remotely. Most students are from the greater Seaford area.

“Because we are doing the protocol in not having too many children at the center at the same time, we broke it up into two groups,” said Ms. Santana.

There is no instruction Wednesdays, while teachers prep for the next day and/or next week’s lesson plans, and the center is disinfected and cleaned.

Named the interim grant manager for Kent and Sussex Head Start programs in July, Children & Families First’s Head Start programs include 13 early childhood learning centers and home-visiting services throughout southern Delaware.

A robust virtual curriculum, done in partnership with Shine Early Learning, has been offered since October. The Seaford Head Start Center was the first to begin opening their building under a hybrid model.

The next Head Start centers to use the hybrid program will be Stockley in Georgetown and then the Dunbar site in Laurel, Ms. Santana said.

“We already know the process that we needed to do. I think the basic challenge is just the new process, the drop-off and pickup of how we have to greet the parents outside. That was the biggest challenge,” said Ms. Santana. “We do screening of the parents. We take their temperatures, and as soon as that is cleared, the children come in. We escort them inside the building.”

Children attending in-school sessions receive breakfast and lunch.

Head Start is a federal program that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition and parental-engagement supports to at-risk children and families who are typically low-income.

Children & Families First’s mission is to provide Delaware’s most vulnerable children and families with evidence-based programs and services to overcome challenges, build resilience and gain self-sufficiency.

“When the Office of Head Start offered us this opportunity, we jumped at the chance, since these programs are a natural fit for CFF,” Ms. Olson said.

CFF’s Head Start Director Clara Martinez spoke with pride and gratitude about the Office of Head Start’s Region 3, Shine Early Learning, her staff, the CFF administration and board and the enrolled families.

“I can’t possibly list the many individuals who came together and worked so hard to make this happen,” said Ms. Martinez. “Monday was the start of great things to come as we implement best practices and expand access to high-quality early childhood learning opportunities.”

Laura Rimmer Bartus, CFF’s development/communications manager, said the program is significant, especially during the pandemic.

“With the COVID-19 crisis continuing to impact and create challenges for us all, access to high-quality education and family supports are vital as our whole community strives to heal and thrive,” she said.

In the coming months, CFF will begin in-person learning at additional centers, and families who are interested in enrolling their children are encouraged to learn more at cffde.org/headstart or by calling 934-1642.

“Our commitment to the prevention, intervention and healing of childhood adversity is the framework for everything we do,” said Ms. Olson. “We know that when children and families thrive, communities grow stronger.”