Four St. Louis-area nonprofit organizations celebrated 60 years of Head Start in the region on Tuesday.
Four of the largest Head Start providers include YWCA Metro St. Louis, Youth in Need, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation.
They served nearly 5,000 students under age 5 in 2024.
The celebration comes after many Head Start providers were scrambling to understand possible cuts to federal funding earlier this year.
The Trump administration had floated the possibility of ending federal funding for the program but later walked back the proposal.
The program, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support, is now funded through 2026.
Pat Holterman-Hommes, president and CEO of Youth in Need, said investing in child care is critical for local economies to thrive.
“Investing in our children is the most important thing that we can do, and that is investing in our community,” Holterman-Hommes said. “Head Start not only gets children off to the very best start they can get off to in life, but it helps their parents to be able to work, knowing that they not only have childcare, they have safe, reliable, high-quality child care.”
The event was held at the YWCA South County Head Start Center, which is readying itself to welcome back over 170 students in two weeks.
The event was attended by nonprofit leadership, current families and state and federal lawmakers – including Congressman Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, who said he’d like to see legislation introduced in Congress to protect Head Start.
“Introducing legislation to protect Head Start because it's so important with respect to our future as a country to make certain that that great equalizer, which is education, is there for all of our young people,” Bell said.
Cheryl Watkins, president and CEO of YWCA Metro St. Louis, emphasized that Head Start stands in the gap in child care and early childhood education for low-income families that span urban, suburban and rural settings.
“What Head Start does is level the playing field for a lot of our children,” Watkins said, “especially in our communities … that are disenfranchised. Many times, that's how children break out and move to the next level.”
Diana Hayes, CEO of Jefferson Franklin Community Action Co., said that though changes to federal funding for Head Start are not new, the advocacy from local organizations and families helped protect funding.
“If you are a supporter of Head Start, don't be afraid to speak up and say that to your government officials, to your elected officials,” Hayes said. “We are having to prove ourselves again, and so if it's made an impact on your life or anyone in your family's life, it's time to talk about it and share those stories.”
