KALAMAZOO, Mich. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA) with a $3.1 million federal Office of Head Start grant. KRESA has received this grant since 2013.

The Office of Head Start administers grants help provide services to more than a million children every year. Head Start programs promote school readiness for children ages birth to five from low-income families.

“Today’s announcement will help countless families, parents, and children across the Kalamazoo area,” Upton said. “This program helps give children a head start and a leg up in their educational careers, setting them up for future success in school and post-graduate opportunities. I’m proud to continue to support our local schools and our educators.”

“KRESA has been honored to be a grantee of the federal Head Start program since 2013. The program allows us to partner with families to provide comprehensive services that focuses on the whole child and whole family,” Dave Campbell, Superintendent of Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency.

Head Start through KRESA is offered at 14 locations around Kalamazoo county. According to KRESA, Head Start provides children with learning activities that focus on social/emotional, physical, and intellectual growth, as well as early math and literacy skills.