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DeSoto Ready Start

2025 - 2026 Blueprint

The DeSoto Ready Start Network is a small rural early childhood network in northwest Louisiana. The network is rated as "High Proficient'' within the early childhood rating system. In the 2025/2026 school year, 425 children, ages birth to five, are being served in the community. The Network has made steady growth on the district performance profiles over the last five years, increasing to a 'High Proficient" rating for the network. Currently, three sites are rated 'Excellent', five are rated 'High Proficient, two are 'proficient.'

Our Vision

All DeSoto Parish children, birth through age five, are afforded opportunities to achieve maximum pre-kindergarten and kindergarten readiness skills. These children should also be provided equitable access to physical, emotional and high quality educational support they will need to enter school ready to succeed.

DeSoto Ready Start Goals

Goal 1

Equip and empower families to increase social, motor, brain and vocabulary development by providing educational materials, books, and hands-on activities .

Goal 2

Identify children with disabilities early so intervention can be started as soon as possible

Goal 3

By 2028, the quality of early care and education in the network will improve by increasing the number of "high proficient" or "excellent" centers to 90%.

Strategic Plan

Please select the green plus circles in each section to learn more about each goal.

Goal 1:

Equip and empower families to increase social, motor, brain and vocabulary development by providing educational materials, books, and hands-on activities

  • Provide opportunities within each community for parents to learn the best practices for working with their children with educational materials for parents to check out.
  • Publish videos on our website to highlight strategies that parents can use with their children.
  • "Blast Off" to begin the school year where parents can collect information from the district about the services available to their child, connect with community partners, and receive information from their particular school.



Existing Resources

DeSoto Ready Start website, DeSoto Ready Start bus, partnership with Fundamental Pediatric Therapy who will provide developmental videos for the website.


Needed Resources

Training platform for parents, partner with local libraries to provide information to parents.

Goal 2:

Identify children with disabilities early so intervention can be started as soon as possible



  • Child Search Coordinator will be available on our Ready Start bus when we go out into the communities to help identify possible children.
  • Work with Type III and Head Start centers to identify children through the ASQ and teacher recommendations.



Existing Resources


: DeSoto Ready Start Bus, Type III and Head Start centers that use the ASQ, Child Search Coordinator available for bus rides


Needed Resources


Teaching parents how to use the ASQ and what is developmentally appropriate


Preformance Metrics


If we are able to identify students before they enter kindergarten, we will be successful.

Goal 3:

By 2028, the quality of early care and education in the network will improve by increasing the number of "high proficient" or "excellent" centers to 90%.



  • Continued job embedded coaching provided weekly.
  • Professional Development on curriculum provided to Type III centers by vendors.
  • Professional Development on CLASS through online Teachstone modules and MMCI for new teachers.
  • Secure materials and resources needed to help teachers and staff promote high quality experiences for children.
  • Provide accurate intervention support using an itinerant early childhood interventionist across the early childhood network. (Focus on Instructional Support)


Existing Resources


Weekly job-embedded professional development clusters are scheduled weekly at all the PK sites. The Type III centers have received professional development from Northwestern State University and the Pathways system


Needed Resources


The Type III centers and Head Start have higher turnover. There is a need to find and develop employees for these centers.


Preformance Metrics


Track CLASS scores for improvement in the Instructional Support Domain.