Early education resources

Home Visiting is a voluntary, home-based program offered at no cost to your family.  Our home visitors are well-trained professionals who use a compassionate approach that offers information and support during pregnancy, and empowers you as the parent with skills, tools, and confidence to nurture the healthy growth of your child through the earliest years – a critical time of development.

With a main office in Canton and additional sites in Akron and Boardman, the Early Childhood Resource Center (ECRC) may be one of this region’s best kept secrets. As part of its mission to promote the healthy development of young children, the organization offers numerous programs aimed at strengthening families; improving the quality of early childhood care and learning experiences; and increasing school and community readiness, while also helping to inform public policy. Services offered include: -assisting families in finding child care that fits their unique needs, -running the SPARK kindergarten readiness program, -leading professional development for early childhood educators and child care providers, -providing a wide variety of parenting courses, -distributing safety items and other supports to those who qualify, -serving as a site for supervised visitation, - connecting individuals to other helpful community resources, and more! Call the Early Childhood Resource Center today or visit our website to learn more. Better yet, stop by our Canton location to tour our children's library, production lab, and free indoor and outdoor play spaces! Regular hours of operation: Monday/Wednesday 8am-4:30pm; Tuesday/Thursday 8am-8pm; Friday 8am-4pm Seasonal hours (December 1 - March 31): Tuesday/Thursday 8am-8pm

AHEAD Inc. is a local non-profit that has supported Massillon children and their families for more than 30 years. Our purpose is to help remove the barriers that can make learning difficult, so every child has the chance to grow, succeed, and feel supported. We work side-by-side with Massillon City Schools and community partners to connect families with meaningful services and resources. AHEAD offers a variety of supports designed to strengthen students both in school and at home. We have a Behavior Coach in both elementary buildings and for 4th–5th grade at the Intermediate School. The Behavior Coach provides one-on-one and small-group support to help students with challenging behaviors build coping skills, manage emotions, and improve behavior so they can be more successful in the classroom. We also offer multiple supports for families and students experiencing homelessness. AHEAD has staff support on every CARE Team in the district and provides family outreach and support during the summer months working alongside the districts’ Food Truck out in the community. We also coordinate SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids) for three- and four-year-olds at East Elementary. SPARK helps families build early reading, language, and social skills to make the transition into kindergarten smooth and successful. AHEAD is here to support families, strengthen connections, and help every child in Massillon thrive. Let us know how we can help you.

The Stark County ESC had its inception in 1914 with the establishment by the Ohio Legislature of county boards of education. Currently, the ESC provides shared services to 15 local and 6 city school districts, 1 exempted village, and one career center in Stark, Carroll, Summit, and Tuscarawas counties.  Together these districts enroll over 60,000 students. The Stark County ESC is experienced in meeting the needs of a diverse population of students.  There is a range in size of districts from 711 to 9,536 students with equally large ranges in minority population, special education population, and district wealth.  Serving the needs of such diverse learners and districts in an age of scarce resources requires all of the constituents to collaborate and share services. Shared services provided by the Stark County ESC include special education and pre-school classes, psychologists and other related service providers, curriculum development and supervision, and professional development.  The Stark County ESC serves as the fiscal agent for Help Me Grow, CARE Teams, the Stark/Portage Area Computer Consortium, Stark County Family Council, Stark County Schools' Council of Governments and State Support Team 9.