Head Start, a free preschool program, returns to Louisville after 2 years

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Head Start, a free early childhood program, is back in Louisville after two years without funding.

The Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to open Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Public Schools had relinquished a $15 million federal grant in 2018 after a blistering federal report that had uncovered within the JCPS program a culture of child abuse and neglect.

On Monday, OVEC cut the ribbon at its Newburg classrooms inside St. Ignatius Martyr. The cooperative plans to open sites throughout the Louisville area. The program will help hundreds of Jefferson County's youngest learners in some of its highest poverty areas.

Karen Pruitt, of Fern Creek, has been looking for a program to help her 3-year-old granddaughter, Addy.

"I started getting information about Head Start because she has a speech delay," said Pruitt, who plans to enroll Addy in the Newburg program. "Having that early start is paramount to us, and we just want to have an opportunity for her to thrive."

Along with Newburg, OVEC plans to open other locations in 2020, including in Fairdale, downtown Louisville, Buechel/Lynnview, Parkland/Park DuValle, Okolona, PRP, Valley Station, Taylor Berry and Shively.

The year-round program will serve children, ages 0-4, for 9 1/2 hours each day.

OVEC Head Start Director Kim Fithian said the program provides consistent education.

"So children aren't shifted from a sitter to a grandmother to an auntie. They can get here in the morning stay here all day," she said. "They'll get breakfast, lunch, a snack and get a nap. They'll have a beautiful play environment indoor and outdoors."

JCPS said it plans to partner with new Head Start providers to offer students additional services.

It's a step ahead that's giving families, including the Pruitts, hope.

"My prayer is that (my granddaughter) no longer has a speech delay, that she's able to be on target with the rest of her peers and hit all of her milestones for her age group," Pruitt said.

Parents can apply for the program here.