Carbon County Child Development Programs, Inc.

Director: Pam Smith
1801 Edinburgh
Rawlins, WY 82301
Phone: (307) 324-4951
Alternate Phone: (307) 324-9571
Fax: (307) 324-8424
E-mail: psmithcccdp@qwest.net

A brief history:

The Carbon County Child Development Programs, Inc. was started in 1965 as a summer pilot program for at risk preschool children. The eight week program served fifteen children using the kindergarten classroom of Pershing Elementary School in Rawlins. The teacher, Donna Tully-Lenz, volunteered her time and classroom for this experiment. The project was a huge success, the families liked the idea of being involved and the elementary teachers noticed the improvement in the children�s ability to cope with public school. This was the introduction of Head Start in Carbon County, Wyoming.

The years after this were a struggle for the program. Finding space for the classroom and operating on the meager budget were just two of the problems. The Catholic Church had a building used for community events, they let the program use this space. Many of the businesses in Rawlins gave desk chairs and file cabinets for the operation of the program. Within five years the program grew to include two classrooms of thirty-two children.

In 1989, the Carbon County Child Development Programs, Inc. applied for expansion funding to include another class. In subsequent years, classes were added in Hanna and Saratoga. These two sites are both forty miles one way from the Rawlins center. This has proven to be yet another challenge to overcome.

The program continues to expand, children attend classes part day part year in three centers of the county. Eventually the program would like to include full day full year classes to the provided services.

Carbon County Child Development Programs will continue to provide quality services to children and families.

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