I had the opportunity to spend some time speaking with Mr. Boston, FCR Director, to explore his thoughts on the Orange and Durham merger. With the erasure of boundaries, FCR is now one grant and one program and it erases more barriers for families and staff. Sharing of resources is another means to increase innovation.

The consolidation is foundational in building capacity and allowing for more flexibility programmatically. This change, particularly in how we analyze and respond to the needs of constituents, allows for more fluidity in programming and providing resources and training for staff and accessing resources for families. As a unified program, it allows us the program to be less restrictive and makes FCR a more dynamic force across the different communities. In essence it gives FCR families a more robust Head Start.

As we spoke about the 2021-22 school year, Mr. Boston shared that in his ideal vison, as a community, he imagines FCR getting back on mission following time in COVID. He used the analogy of Feeding – imagining a system where everyone eats. A year in which Education (staff), in a real way, see the value of their contribution and where they are encouraged professionally. Where they know that we, as the FCR community, have a stake in their well-being and they truly come to know we esteem and value them very highly. He goes on the note we have a purpose and an important mission and that we are determined to achieve and fulfill that mission. He states that Head Start is a Head Start for everyone and a place for all to rise up and achieve their personal goals.