Cherokee Nation to celebrate grand opening of Nowata Head Start Center

WHAT:
Leaders of the Cherokee Nation will gather with members of the Nowata community to celebrate the grand opening of the tribe's new Nowata Head Start Center.

WHEN:
Tuesday, November 19 at 1 p.m.

WHERE:
Cherokee Nation Nowata Head Start Center
1020 Lenape Drive
Nowata, OK

WHO:
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Deputy Chief Bryan Warner
Council of the Cherokee Nation
Nowata Head Start Center staff and students
Nowata community members

NOWATA, Okla. - Leaders of the Cherokee Nation will gather with members of the Nowata community Tuesday to celebrate the grand opening of the tribe's new state-of-the-art Head Start Center in Nowata.

The Cherokee Nation Nowata Head Start Center is a $7.3 million, 9,300 square-foot facility that will provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent-involvement services to low-income families with children ages 3 and under. The children will be taught cognitive, language, motor, and social skills as part of the tribe's Head Start programs.

Funding for the Early Head Start Center in Nowata was provided by the Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act, which was reauthorized by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. earlier this year with support from the Council of the Cherokee Nation. The legislation doubled the tribe's investment in Head Start construction from $40 million to $80 million to replace or rehabilitate all of the tribe's Head Start centers with new, state-of-the-art facilities. Nowata's facility officially marks the completion of the first replacement project under Chief Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner's initiative.

The Cherokee Nation Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act is named in honor of Head Start Director Verna Thompson, who has worked for the Cherokee Nation and in early childhood education for 40 years.

Cherokee Nation currently serves over 900 children through its Head Start programs, which were first started in 1978.

Across the country, federal Head Start programs provide comprehensive services to more than 1 million children each year.