JULY 12, 2005 | Even solid relationships need updating from time to time, and it usually means opening some new lines of communication.

Such is the case with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and its 27 Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Pulaski County.

Until recently, the lone computer in the College Station Head Start office sometimes refused to perform on its dial-up connection. Thanks to an SBC Foundation grant, the computer now zips through its online tasks and communicates easily with the UAMS Head Start main office.

The charitable giving arm of SBC Communications Inc. awarded $35,000 to enable as many as 20 Head Start sites to switch from dial-up to high-speed Internet access.

All 20 locations should have the faster connection before school begins in August. The grant also will provide additional computers for classroom use.  

“It’s going to be terrific for our staff and our families and our children,” Mary Kaye McKinney, director of the UAMS Head Start program, said at a news conference June 23 to announce the grant. “The high-speed Internet connection will help us in our collection of child, family and program information and identify resources that help with our families and referrals.”

The existing dial-up connections have limited the Head Start sites’ access to UAMS’ e-mail, intranet and Internet services, which has hamstrung efforts to communicate with staff, parents, governing bodies and community partners.

Head Start and Early Head Start offer health, education and social services to low-income children.

Head Start has been a part of UAMS under the Department of Pediatrics since 1998 and serves up to 1,090 Head Start children and 40 Early Head Start infants and toddlers in Pulaski County.

UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., noted the uniqueness of the institution’s Head Start partnership.

“We’re one of maybe two or three academic programs in the country that have a Head Start connection,” Wilson said at the College Station news conference. “I think it’s really a marvelous program.”

Head Start sites have one computer each that on average are four to six years old. Once the high-speed connection is ready, a portion of the grant will be used to replace Head Start’s oldest computers and printers.

SBC Arkansas President Ed Drilling said the company’s foundation has invested in education- and technology-related programs around the state.

The foundation, the company and its employees contribute about $1 million annually in Arkansas, he said.

“We know that the economy and the future of this state and the quality of life we all want to enjoy really depend on improving education in Arkansas,” Drilling told reporters, UAMS officials and state lawmakers during the news conference. “You cannot start too early in trying to provide an excellent education to these students. This is a great example of that.”

UAMS’ Community Pediatrics, a program of the Department of Pediatrics, has provided comprehensive services to low-income families since 1989 through the Infant Health and Development Program and Comprehensive Child Development Programs. In 1998, Community Pediatrics began operating Head Start and Early Head Start.

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