Three Head Start locations in the Lynchburg area are up and running under interim management, according to a Friday statement from the federal Administration for Children and Families.
The Thomas Road Head Start Center and the Bedford Head Start Center opened in the last week of August, and the Madison Heights Head Start Center opened Tuesday. Like other school systems, Head Start classes traditionally start in August and wrap up in the spring, with a summer break between school years. In recent years, the Lynchburg-area Head Start program has run classes at up to seven locations.
Head Start is a federal program that is free for eligible families and prepares 3- to 5-year-old children to succeed in school. The federal Office of Head Start, run by the federal Administration for Children and Families, distributes grant funding to 1,600 local agencies across the country that operate Head Start for their communities.
The Lynchburg Community Action Group, known as Lyn-CAG, operated the local Head Start program for more than 50 years. But it lost its grant to do so over the summer break from classes after failing to comply with federal policies regarding financial management and other program goals.
The federal Office of Head Start asks a nonprofit group called Community Development Institute Head Start, or CDI, to become the interim manager when local operators lose their grants, until a new permanent program operator is selected. CDI Head Start took over the management of Lynchburg’s program on Aug. 1 and is managing 10 other Head Start programs across the country today, according to its website.
In August, CDI Head Start hired staff, prepared facilities and secured necessary licensing and insurance in the Lynchburg area, according to its webpage. Now, CDI-run classes are starting.
In the 2024-25 school year, the Lynchburg-area Head Start program served more than 200 students across seven school locations in the city of Lynchburg and nearby Bedford and Amherst counties, according to a Lyn-CAG annual report.
This school year, CDI Head Start is operating three locations — one for each locality — and is still “serving the same number of children as were served previously in the Lynchburg area,” according to the Friday statement sent from the federal Administration for Children and Families.
The three locations are fully staffed and at full capacity for students, according to the statement. Staff who worked for Lyn-CAG were given the first chance to apply for available positions with CDI Head Start, according to the interim management group’s webpage.
Parents who want to join the wait list or have questions can reach out to the program director, Stanley Cobbs, at scobbs@abcvahs.org or 434-201-6674, according to the statement.
Cobbs was formerly the executive director of Head Start when it was operated by Lyn-CAG.
Early Head Start services in the Lynchburg area, for children up to 3 years old, are funded by a separate federal grant at a separate nonprofit called HumanKind and will not be affected by the management transition at Head Start.
Some parents felt ‘in the dark’ during management transition
Amherst County resident Tiffany Lane, a mother of four, has seen Head Start’s power at work, she said. Her 5-year-old son, Tobias, attended the program last school year and the one before. Her family had strong connections with Tobias’ teacher and social worker, who made a personalized plan to help him learn and communicated with the family frequently, she said.
“Tobias had a lot of speech issues, and because of Head Start, he is ready for kindergarten,” Lane said. “He speaks clearly, and I’ve seen his behavior change because of the work they did with him. I truly believe in the program.”
When Tobias started kindergarten this school year, it was an obvious choice for Lane to make sure her 3-year-old son, Rowan, was enrolled to begin Head Start.
But her experience this time around felt different, she said.
“Normally in August, I would have had a sense that plans are settled,” she said. “This August, I felt frustrated and angry and in the dark.”
Lane said that she didn’t have answers until Friday, when she was told that Rowan had secured a Head Start spot and that the program was up and running. A meet-and-greet with Head Start staff was held on Tuesday for Amherst parents like Lane, and Rowan’s first day of school is Wednesday.
The uncertainty with Rowan’s plan was difficult to juggle last month, as Lane managed back-to-school schedules for her three older children — one who is homeschooled due to special needs with ADHD and autism.
“Things that I had planned to set up for home school were derailed until I knew what would happen with Rowan,” Lane said.
She said she feels better now, knowing that Rowan will get the education that his brother did and having met Head Start staff at Tuesday’s event who seem “on top of it.” But the program still won’t feel the same, she said, especially because she has to add an extra 30 minutes to her drop-off and pickup routes. The Madison Heights center is out of the way from Lane’s other children’s schools — unlike the Amherst location that Tobias attended last year, which is closed now.
Lane isn’t alone in navigating the summer’s uncertainty, said local nonprofit leader Tori Howard. When Howard posted about the Head Start management shift on Facebook, parents flocked to the comment section and to her email inbox to share how they had received little to no communication about what to expect for the school year, whether their children had been successfully enrolled and when class would begin. Many parents, and staff too, still have unanswered questions about what’s next, she said.
Howard, the founder and executive director of a support and wellness services nonprofit called A Sure Word Community Outreach, said Head Start is a “pivotal, cornerstone” resource that needs to be protected in Lynchburg.
“If you’re trying to go up the stairs and there’s a step missing, that can be detrimental,” Howard said. “That’s how I think about Head Start. It’s that steppingstone to entering the school, it’s laying down that foundation for education.”
Erin Sabina, who has worked with Head Start programs for about 10 years, said Head Start is crucial because it provides free child care in communities that need it most, at the age when children need it most.
“We know that the first five years of a kid’s life are the most important for their development, and so really getting them that jump into education, into social and emotional learning, is important so they’re more prepared for school,” Sabina said. She is a partnership development manager at Teachstone, a Charlottesville-based education company that provides classroom tools and trainings, including a classroom assessment system that the Office of Head Start uses to evaluate its programs.
Head Start is seeking a new grant recipient
CDI Head Start, the interim management group, is designed for “ensuring children and families continue to receive uninterrupted, high-quality services” until a permanent provider is in place, according to the Friday statement from the federal Administration for Children and Families.
Local groups can view the Head Start grant opportunity and apply to become the new grant recipient online. The Administration for Children and Families estimates that applications will be due in December and the new program operator will be named in July 2027, according to the statement.
The grant is up for grabs because Lyn-CAG’s Head Start grant expired in June and wasn’t renewed, according to a July statement from the Administration for Children and Families. Seven quality conditions determine whether a local grant is renewed, and an agency can’t have two or more deficiencies, which are defined as “systemic or substantial performance failures,” the statement said.
“The Lynchburg Community Action Group received deficiencies in its personnel policies, fiscal infrastructure, and program goal achievement,” the July statement said.
Lyn-CAG did not correct those issues during a federal monitoring review initiated in December, according to the administration’s July statement. As a result, the federal Office of Head Start “decided to deny refunding to the agency and placed the service area under interim management,” the statement said.
“Lynchburg Community Action Group is disappointed to be losing the Head Start program, but our team is committed to assisting the students, family members, and staff during this transition,” said Tamara Rosser, the nonprofit’s CEO, in an emailed statement. “Our commitment to serving our communities remains the same and we will continue to provide assistance through our other programs.”
Sabina said she understands that Head Start management transitions can bring uncertainty for parents and staff alike. She was on the board of directors for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency when it gave up its Head Start grant in 2024 while facing deficiencies of its own. The United Way of Greater Charlottesville took over the Head Start program in 2025, following an interim management period by CDI, Sabina said.
“The ultimate goal is to have as minimal disruption to coverage as possible. But as things transition, logistically there are possibilities for disruptions as they’re hiring new people, figuring out leases, sorting all of that out,” she said.
Sabina encouraged parents to get involved with CDI Head Start’s policy council, which gives parents a space to voice concerns and stay informed about program changes. The group will convene “shortly after services resume,” according to the CDI webpage for Lynchburg.
Sabina encouraged nonprofit leaders who are interested in applying for the Head Start grant in Lynchburg to keep an eye on evolving conversations regarding proposed rule changes that the Administration for Children and Families is considering that could reduce regulations for Head Start programs.
“It’s a tough time for anybody to be new to Head Start, I would say, with just how much uncertainty there is with that rulemaking,” Sabina said. “Head Start is more important than ever, but it’s also kind of trickier than ever, not knowing what that process is ultimately going to end up looking like.”
