West Union Head Start teacher Sara Converse leads her students, including (front to back) Chloe Sparrgrove, Michael Horstman, and Kayleigh Stewart in a musical selection during a recent class time. The Head Start program, which includes West Union and 14 additional sites across seven counties is celebrating 50 years of preschool services. (Janell Bradley photo)
Preschoolers celebrating a 50-year Head Start
Janell Bradley
Contributing Writer
Forty-two years ago, Head Start came to West Union, offering preschool-aged children a step up before starting kindergarten.
This year, Head Start is celebrating 50 years, even if the first center didn't come to West Union until 1972.
From its humble beginnings in the basement of United Methodist Church, the program has grown over the years, with up to 257 children currently being served at 15 sites across a seven-county area. Although the program was in the church for the majority of its history, it moved to the Antes Center next to the former North Fayette Middle School building, and then moved to Rainbow Land Preschool in Fayette in 1995. The program moved to the North Fayette Elementary building about 2006-07 to be more centrally located for the clientele served.
In Fayette County, there are three Head Start classrooms in Oelwein and one in West Union. Although licensed for 20 children, the West Union site serves 19 preschoolers in a classroom at West Union Elementary. Children ages 3 through 5.