If you are a qualifying military family living overseas, then Sure Start may be the right start for your preschooler. Sure Start is a Department of Defense Education Activity program for command-sponsored children stationed at overseas installations. The program provides more than a cookie-cutter preschool experience. It offers:
- Education services
- Lunch and snack provisions
- Health and nutrition services
- Social and parent-involvement services
- Dental, medical and developmental screenings
Talk about starting on the right foot. Now, find out if your military kid qualifies for Sure Start.
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Sure Start
Sure Start assists qualified preschool-age military children living overseas by providing education, health and nutrition, and social and parent-involvement services based on income and need guidelines. So, aside from your location on the map, what else makes your preschooler Sure Start-eligible? To qualify, your child needs to turn 4 years old by Sept. 1 of the current school year. Your child also has to meet one of the eligibility requirements listed below.
An eligible child:
- Lives in a single-parent household
- Had a low birth weight
- Has a severely disabled older sibling
- Lives in a home with four or more kids close in age
An eligible child has at least one parent who:
- Ranks between E-1 and E-4 or rates the civilian equivalent (Exceptions may be made, but these kids are given priority.)
- Did not graduate from high school
- Was a teenager when the child was born
- Speaks anything but English as their primary language
- Is on a remote assignment or temporary duty for at least three months
What's the difference between Sure Start and Head Start?
If you think that Sure Start looks familiar - good eye - it is built on the same foundation as Head Start. The main difference is that it's been made over to fit into the Department of Defense Education Activity culture and regulations.
It's important to understand the eligibility requirements and the similarities and differences between Sure Start and Head Start. You have a handle on the requirements. Now compare the two preschool programs.
Both Head Start and Sure Start:
- Use a four-tiered delivery system - education, health and nutrition, social services and mandatory parent involvement
- Run medical, dental and developmental screenings for students and provide follow-up assessments if needed
- Provide no-cost, nutritious lunches and snacks
- Encourage family involvement
- Cater to students' ages, individual needs and cultures in environment, curriculum, materials, routines and daily activities
- Follow a full-day program
How is Sure Start different from Head Start?
- The Department of Defense Education Activity oversees the Sure Start program.
- Sure Start considers a military sponsor's rank its first priority for enrollment, while Head Start uses income to determine eligibility.
- Sure Start does not use a child's disability status to determine eligibility, while Head Start reserves at least 10 percent of slots in each classroom for children with disabilities.
- Parent involvement in Sure Start is mandatory.
- Sure Start staffs two adults for every 18-20 students. Local or state licensing boards determine Head Start's staff-to-child ratios.
- Sure Start staff work with Department of Defense Education Activity special education staff to determine the best placement and services for a child.
- Sure Start programs follow the Department of Defense Education Activity's Pre-K Foundational Standards curriculum. Head Start chooses curriculum at the local level.
If you think your preschooler may be a good fit for the Sure Start program, contact your school liaison, your installation's elementary school or your Military and Family Support Center. You can look up contact information at MilitaryINSTALLATIONS. A great start overseas is a sure thing for your preschooler with Sure Start.