Rutland County Head Start
High-Quality Early Learning and Family Support for Rutland County
Recognized locally and statewide as a “gold standard” program, Rutland County Head Start and Early Head Start deliver exceptional early learning and family support. Our dedicated staff, innovative curriculum, and deep community partnerships ensure that children are prepared to succeed in school and beyond.
Our Rutland Head Start and Early Head Start Programs and Services:
Meadow Street Location:
78 Meadow Street, Rutland Vermont
Discover Center for Early Learning:
15 Juneberry Lane, Rutland Vermont
About Our Rutland Community
Rutland County is a vibrant, proud, and tightly knit community where family involvement is unparalleled. The beautiful state of Vermont demonstrates very strong support for early childhood education making it a great place for families to live and raise their children.
Rutland County Head Start — Ready to Learn More or Apply?
Visit Rutland County Head Start’s website to explore their services and find out how to register your child.
78 Meadow Street, Rutland, VT 05701
802-775-8225
Career Openings: rutlandcountyheadstart.org/careers/
Where Children’s Curiosity and Creativity Lead the Learning
We are continuing to build art-inspired, child led activities in our classrooms. We have been selected to be a RIVET “Hub School.” The RIVET Initiative in Vermont focuses on promoting the Reggio Emilia approach in early childhood education. A group of RCHS/EHS teachers attended a Reggio Tour in Reggio Emilia Italy through a Building Bright Futures Grant in 2024. The classroom results were immediate:
Our Discovery/Visionaries summer teachers Kelly O’Neil and Kylie Moore, designed learning around children’s interests. The neighborhood cat “Bubbles” became an honorary classroom community member as he roamed outside the playground gate. The children talked daily about the cat and looked forward to seeing him everyday. Kelly and Kylie set up explorations so that the children could communicate this experience through artistic expression with clay. This is the essence of early childhood education. When children are this inspired and engaged, teachers thoughtfully embed learning.
Our Classrooms are Safe and Beautiful and Our Teaching Staff are Highly Trained, Loving, and Competent.
Rutland County Head Start and Early Head Start is situated in Rutland, Vermont and provides essential services to all of Rutland County. The program is delivered through Rutland Community Programs under the support of Community Care Network. Local school districts and Wonderfeet Kid’s museum are just a few of whom our programs partner with.
In 2023, Rutland County Head Start opened the first Early Head Start program in Rutland County, addressing the urgent need for 5 Star High-Quality center based care for infants and toddlers. Rutland County Head Start is referred to by local and state partners as the “gold standard” in early care and education and for good reason.
The support that we have received in grants from state, federal, and private organizations is phenomenal.These grants support innovative and groundbreaking programming addressing the needs of our families. In 2024, Rutland County Head Start and Early Head Start, in partnership with Community Care Network, sought and received funding for a new playground at the Meadow Street location. This project slated to open in early November 2025 is state of the art, extremely fun, and will be one of the many benefits to the community and children of Rutland.
Our Meadow Street location boasts beautiful murals by a local artist, connecting the program to the community culture. The program participates in many events like the annual Block Party in partnership with Come Alive Outside and the world-famous Halloween Parade with our very own float and contingent. Our families and staff proudly march alongside showcasing our foundation of community and family involvement!
Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide high quality early childhood education, health services, which include developmental screenings and nutrition, and family services that provide trainings and case management. The program offers Reggio-Inspired curriculum integrated into our research based Creative Curriculum and a new Developmental Classroom that partners with Rutland City Public Schools and Maple Leaf Clinic. This classroom supports Head Start children with early intervention and promotes strategies for school readiness.
Rutland County Head Start and Early Head Start exemplify the mission of Head Start, promoting child development for over 60 years nationally. “Head Start programs operate locally to help young children from low-income families prepare to succeed in school, promoting children’s development through early learning, health, and family well-being.