Helpful Voice: An administrator of Head Start dedicated to Hispanic community.

Byline: Sherry Youngquist

Dec. 5--BOONVILLE -- Angelina Rodriguez Melvin said she is passionate about the Head Start program she helps to administer, because she has seen it change lives.

"I haven't seen a program that matches Head Start. It's comprehensive," said Melvin, 52, the early-childhood-education supervisor for Yadkin Valley Head Start.

Melvin often tries to put herself in the shoes of the Hispanic children and parents who come to the program with limited English. There is a lot of hesitation and worry. There are lots of unknowns. And she remembers how she felt when she came to California from Baja California, Mexico, in the 1970s with her American husband and later moved to Yadkin County with her two small daughters.

Those experiences are a part of what brought her to the Head Start program, she said. …