Hacienda La Puente Unified awarded $3.5 million for Headstart programs

The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District has received a $3.5 million federal grant to continue its Headstart program in area schools. Teachers and staff had faced an uncertain future when the funding ran out at the end of the school year.

“This is great news, now we have funding for five more years,” said Gabriela Chavarria, the district’s director of childhood development and preschool programs.

Chavarria said the federal money will allow the district to serve more than 363 children 3 to 4 years old. All the elementary schools in La Puente offer a Headstart program, as does Kwis and the former Glenelder elementaries in Hacienda Heights.

“The grant also includes almost $400,000 in startup funding for a new portable classroom for Headstart at Lassalette school,” the director noted. “We hope to have that new classroom set up by the end of the year.”