Jay Fergusonjay@deepcreekvacations.com301-501-0420
Menu

Nearly $1.7 million for Garrett Head Start

Elaine Blaisdell

Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the Garrett County Community Action Committee with a $1,696,669 grant for Head Start. Head Start is a federal program that promotes school readiness for children under 5 from low-income households.

“Head Start is a major priority for Community Action and we have been working on it for a number of years,” said Duane Yoder, president of GCCAC.

The Head Start program runs from Feb. 1 to Jan. 30 and if it’s prorated it’s the largest grant that GCCAC has received, according to Yoder.

“Today’s announcement of the HHS Head Start grant for Garrett County Community Action is good news for my constituents in Maryland’s westernmost county,” said 6th District Congressman John Delaney on Monday. “Head Start is one of our most important federal programs because supporting early education clearly benefits both individual children and our society as a whole. Every child in America deserves a world-class education and an opportunity to pursue the American dream.

“I have been impressed by the work done by the Garrett County Community Action Committee, which is a tremendous on-the-ground resource for the people of Garrett County in implementing federal programs and helping people in need. Partnerships that combine federal resources with local expertise can often produce better results, especially with a dedicated staff such as the one at the GCCAC.”

GCCAC has an Early Head Start program which is for children up to age 3 and the Head Start program is for ages 3 to 4. The Early Head Start, which has 80 children enrolled, has the largest waiting list and the Head Start program has 220 children enrolled, according to Yoder.

“The Head Start school readiness scores for children coming out of Head Start, which is for low- to moderate-income students, are the same as the rest of the population. We are the only place in the state that has scores that are the same as the rest of the population,” said Yoder.

Last year, the Head Start program closed for a month due to the federal government sequestration and during that time the school readiness scores dropped, according to Yoder.

“We have worked very hard on this and have 11 different classes around the county and have infant home visiting,” said Yoder.

The majority of the classrooms are at the Dennett Road facility and there are classrooms at Friendsville, Grantsville, Accident, Kitzmiller, Crellin and the Overlook Child Development Center in Oakland.

Founded in 1965, GCCAC is a private nonprofit corporation that provides services to Garrett County residents. It is governed by a 15-member board of directors composed of community leaders. Delaney toured its headquarters in Oakland earlier this year and met with Yoder to discuss the organization’s needs and priorities.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

More here.

Comments

comments

Published by

Jay Ferguson

Who I Am My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service! Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well. I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’. Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you. Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about! Honesty. Integrity. Results.