All the families who sign up to participate in the Greater Oshkosh Even Start program will be offered all four of the key areas. Of the typical, national Even Start Program, part of GOES:

Education for Adults - We provide GED, ASED, and ESL - English as a Second Language classes for adults.

Education for Children - Head Start provides instruction for children 3-5 years old and newParent Program provides Parents as Teachers information to parents with children under 3.

Parenting Skills Education - Classes are held on a variety of topics which the parents have an interest in. Classes such as cooking safety, and punishment are just a few of the topics.

Parent & Child Together Activities - Once a month the parents and chilld are invited to a PACT event. During the children's early childhood class, parents are encouraged to spend time with their children each day for approximately 15-20 minutes. Parents participate in a craft project related to their children's Head Start classes. Later, the parents and children play together. The children direct their parents to the area they wish to play in.

Evaluation - After a family has completed 25 hours in the program, they will consult with the program staff to develop personal plans and goals. The family is linked throughout the year to Bonita Guarino, Program Coodinator. After the completion of 80 hours the family again meets with the staff to identify personal family progress and satisfaction. The program is then given a final evaluation by our independent evaluator and a report is produced. From this report changes to the program can be made to enhance the program, as well as personal re-evaluation of personal goals and identification of personal achievement and success. This is an outcome achievement based program that is constantly monitored. Our evaluators are John Koker, UW-Oshkosh math professor and Tracey Starck, UW-Oshkosh math graduate student.

Home Visits - Each student is visited by a home visitor 3 times per year or more if necessary.