MARC Head Start welcomes new direct service providers

Thanks to new and existing partners, MARC Head Start is serving the same number of students following the end of the YMCA of Greater Kansas City’s partnership as a Head Start and Early Start provider in spring.

MARC staff worked with current and potential providers to take on the 234 Head Start and 104 Early Start spots the closure left. A request for qualifications was also released by MARC to seek new partners in Clay, Jackson and Platte counties. After the completion of the proposal, two new providers were found.

Four months later, MARC Head Start is proud to announce that all 338 student spots have been redistributed to new providers or existing providers who were interested in expanding.

“We had four current partners who stepped up to take on additional slots during this transition,” said Kasey Lawson, MARC’s Head Start director. “We currently have 17 direct service providers, the same number we had before the closures. And we are able to continue services at the previous capacity level of 2,350 students.”

Lawson said the transition presented existing providers with new opportunities to expand their offerings and allowed MARC to work with varied types of child care providers. For example, Lawson said Render’s Hope Day School is a faith-based program and Mattie Rhodes is an arts-based program. 

“We are still hiring staff, and we are still enrolling students, specifically at Render’s Hope and Mattie Rhodes — the two providers opening soon,” Lawson said. “We’re still open for business. We’re still serving children and families in Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri.” 

Current MARC Head Start Direct Service Providers

MARC Head Start partners with 17 agencies, eight school districts and nine community-based programs to deliver services to 2,350 children and families in Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri:

MARC became a Head Start grantee in November 2005 and remains committed to serving the children and families through Early Head Start and Head Start Preschool services.

“We are proud to continue providing high-quality preschool and early learning services in 2025 as we continue to celebrate the 60th anniversary of national Head Start and observe October as Head Start Awareness Month,” Lawson said. “We are grateful to our direct service providers, because they are true partners in providing early learning services to the children and families in our community.”