Sacramento State provides services to children raised from low-income homes with the junction of two programs, the Head Start program and the Jumpstart program.

The programs provide emotional, academic and financial support for children who might otherwise be deprived of proper education, said Karen Horobin, a teacher education professor involved with the programs.

In the Head Start program, Sac State students work with preschool students to help curb some of the hardships they may be experiencing, Horobin said.

“We currently have 40 students and 14 leaders that are ready to be placed in 30 designated areas around Sacramento, where they will aid students as classroom assistants. That allows for a preschool student/college student ratio of one to one,” Horobin said.

Both programs began once teachers realized there was not enough parental involvement with the preschool students. In order to aid in the student development, Horobin created the affiliate Jumpstart program at Sac State.

“We started the Jumpstart affiliate program by applying for grants. We applied for the Jump Start Challenge Grant that awards $20,000 to begin the affiliate program,” she said.

The Jumpstart program provides a comprehensive approach to child development that includes increased family involvement and academic success, Horobin said. Jumpstart works to create an environment of life-long learning for children, according to the program?s Web site.

Implementing Jump Start at Sac State led Horobin to apply for another grant that would allocate an additional $90,000 from the California State Governor?s Office to help run the programs.

“We then applied for the Jumpstart National Service grant, which is an AmeriCorps three-year collaborative grant,” Horobin said. “With both these grants, I was able to develop a program that would allow students to aid the community and get paid at the same time.”

Students participating in the program will receive $10 an hour and an educational grant of $1,100 at the end of the one-year commitment. Students also receive cooperative education credit for their time.

“We encourage anyone to apply if they are interested in joining our Jumpstart and Head Start programs. We like to have students with a broad background of majors, because then we are not limited to one area. This also allows students to make a difference in the community and to be able to give back (to) those who are less fortunate than they are,” Horobin said.