OXFORD – SAD 17 directors considered a plan Monday night that would provide two preschool Head Start classrooms in the new Paris Elementary School in collaboration with Community Concepts Inc.

The plan is to use one of the classrooms to house 18 students under the Head Start program and to put another 10 preschool students in the second. The first year, most costs, including the teacher salaries, would be paid for through the federally-funded Head Start program. The towns in the district would be responsible for providing transportation and meals.

“We’re trying to help the students who really need the services,” explained Community Concepts representative Deb Florenz of the need to expand the Head Start services to the school.

The nonprofit Head Start was created some 40 years ago to address the needs of low-income children. It currently offers Head Start programs within the district, such as in Norway. Representatives said Monday night that the need for program expansion is great, and a “partnership” with a school district will help that happen.

After the first year, both SAD 17 and Community Concepts Inc. representatives would negotiate the terms of a partnership that would allow the school district to seek reimbursement on some of the costs. Enrollment is based primarily on income eligibility.

If approved, the program would begin in September. Four-year-old students would receive the top priority. Florenz and Tina Wilcox of Community Concepts, who was also at the meeting, said they anticipate a mix of children primarily from Paris, West Paris and Hebron.

The first classroom of 18 students would operate about four hours a day, four days a week under the supervision of a certified teacher and educational technician.

The second classroom would provide two, two-hour days for children who are not as developmentally ready for so-called longer day classroom. The service in the second classroom would include two home visits per month. No transportation would be provided for students in that classroom.

The move would not only provide additional services to Oxford County preschool kids through the Head Start program, but could bolster the program’s presence and longevity in this area, Florenz said.

“The growth depends on the arrangement. We’re locked into budgets just as your are,” said Florenz, who conceded that this new partnership is important to the program’s continuation.

While directors expressed support for the program, saying it was needed in the area, some questioned how children would be selected, what problems might be encountered in transporting 3-year-old children on school buses and other issues.

Discussions on the plan are expected to continue in the coming months.