Changes in the Head Start program prioritize children and families in the face of winter storm damage

Students in the Head Start program at Markham Elementary met a warm welcome in a new classroom home while their school undergoes repairs from the recent winter storm. Head Start staff shifted services for 18 children and their teachers to the Neighborhood House Head Start location at the Children’s Center at Stephens Creek Crossing (SCC).

Staff worked quickly to continue services the first week after the school was closed. The first priority was supporting families with food and meals. Head Start teachers worked on plans for take-home bags with activities and resources for at-home learning. The family service and nutrition team helped to connect Markham families to the Neighborhood House Free Food Market.

Then they started coordinating how to move the Markham students into available space at the Children’s Center at Stephens Creek Crossing, where there was one open classroom.

“We are thrilled that we have this space and the opportunity to continue to teach many of our students,” said Julia Pitner, Mental Health and Inclusion Manager for Head Start program. “Supporting our students, families, and staff is always our number one priority.”

The extra classroom allowed us to keep the Markham children together and make sure they felt welcome and safe in their new environment. Most importantly, the Markham Head Start teachers were able to stay with their classes at the new location, creating a sense of continuity for their young charges.

“My aunt always told me, ‘Be a needle in people’s lives, not scissors,'” Amina said. “Be a positive and hopeful force for others to bring them together.”

Head Start Teacher Amina Abdulrahman

“It can be scary for a little kid,” Head Teacher Amina Abdulrahman said. “We had some children crying on the first day in the new classroom.” She and the other teachers spent one-to-one time with the children who were having trouble, which helped with the transition. They made the new classroom as familiar as possible, bringing children’s name tags, favorite toys and other classroom items from the Markham classroom.

The Head Start families at Markham Elementary are mostly refugees, Amina said, which means they’ve experienced a lot of change in their lives. “They’ve seen so much change already. But change affects everyone.” It’s important to keep a positive attitude, she said. “My aunt always told me, ‘Be a needle in people’s lives, not scissors,'” Amina said. “Be a positive and hopeful force for others to bring them together.”

Head Start staff have been affected by the Markham closure, too. Assistant Teacher Zahra Mohamed has a kindergartner at Markham who was reassigned to Maplewood Elementary. It takes a lot of coordination to get her daughter, Rayaan Abu, to the new location. “Before, I just dropped her off at her classroom and went to my own classroom to work,” Zahra said. Now, they use a trickier combination of bus, friends and family.

Not that Rayaan minds. She is thrilled to take the bus, “like a big kid,” with her good friend from preschool, mom Zahra said. “It’s going to be an adjustment” for Rayaan to stop taking the bus when Markham re-opens.

Other Markham families were offered the option for online school, which includes virtual small group and story time, weekly education bags, and family service well-being check-ins.

According to Portland Public Schools, the Markham campus will be closed until at least mid-February. Head Start will keep the program at SCC until Markham is reopened.

Fox12 News covered the story of children and families’ resilience with the move. See pictures from their visit to the classroom below.

I started using the Free Food Market. I learned about more programs that could help us. But the biggest change wasn’t the services themselves.

It was how I was treated. 

For the first time in my entire life, I was met with dignity. 

I wasn’t talked down to. I wasn’t made to feel ashamed for needing help. I wasn’t forced to “prove” I deserved to survive. At Neighborhood House, people spoke to me with genuine respect, something I have so often not been given, simply due to my circumstances. That changed everything. Even now, it still brings tears to my eyes. 

When you’re disabled, when you’re parenting alone, when you’re just trying to get through the day without falling apart…asking for help is hard. Being treated with kindness backed by action? It’s life-changing. 

That kindness empowered me. 
I joined the Head Start Policy Council. 
I became involved in statewide advocacy work. 
And eventually, when someone asked if I would consider joining the Neighborhood House Board, I said yes. 

Being on the board fills a need I’ve carried my whole life: the deep need to give back. There is so little any one person can do alone. But when we connect, when we come together as a community, everything becomes possible. 

People sometimes ask me why services like Neighborhood House still matter. 

My answer is simple: 

Because income inequality is growing. 
Because our systems do not prioritize people in poverty. 
Because without places like Neighborhood House, people really would go hungry. Children would go without resources necessary to thrive. Housing insecure families would be turned out into the streets. 
And that is simply not acceptable.

Until we change the systems that create these conditions in the first place, we need community-based organizations that keep people alive, keep families housed, and treat every neighbor with dignity.

And there’s one more thing I want you to know:

No one chooses this. 

Everyone is doing the best they can. 
Sometimes people just need a little boost.

When you donate or volunteer at Neighborhood House, it is truly life changing. You may never meet every person you help—but please know there are so many of us who feel overwhelmed with gratitude because these services exist.

I am one of them.

So today, as we close out the year, I’m asking you to help more neighbors like me.

Here’s how you can help right now: 

  • Make a gift today — your support goes directly to families who need it most.
  • Start a food dr​ive — our Food Security Program is a lifeline and always needs support. 
  • Share my letter with a friend who believes in a more just and caring community.

Thank you for believing in this work.

Thank you for believing in people like me. 

With gratitude,

Love 
Board Member & Program Participant 
Neighborhood House 

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