After being closed for more than a year, Gilliam Head Start Center in Greenwood has reopened under new leadership and a new name.
Delta Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization, now operates the center, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. It had been closed since July 2020 after Mississippi Action for Progress Inc., the state’s largest Head Start agency, chose not to continue operating in Leflore County.
The preschool has been renamed Greenwood Head Start/Early Head Start.
Delta Health Alliance acquired Gilliam Head Start last year but was not able to offer in-person classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Leigh-Anne Gant, associate vice president of early years education programs.
Leigh-Anne Gant
Classes started Aug. 9, and an open house was held Wednesday.
The Early Head Start program serves children from 6 weeks to 3 years old and operates on a year-round schedule. The Head Start program is for children from 3 to 5.
The preschool’s schedule will be similar to that of the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District, with the same holiday breaks, since many Head Start parents also have children in elementary and high school in Leflore County.
A typical school day for a child at the Head Start program goes from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gant said the center has the capacity to hold almost 417 students and has 33 classrooms, but not all rooms are being used because more teachers are needed.
Currently, there are 17 rooms for Head Start students and 10 for Early Head Start students.
Delta Health Alliance was already partnering with Sunflower and Warren counties to provide Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The Greenwood center will use the same curriculum as those locations, and each program has the same motto of “bigger, bolder and better.”
The Greenwood Head Start Center is partnering with the local school district through Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative Act.
“All pre-K children in Leflore County will be dual enrolled in Head Start so they can receive comprehensive services,” Gant said. “Working with the school district, we want to make sure that all children have the same experiences across the board.”
All three buildings of the preschool and many of the classrooms in the Greenwood Head Start Center were extensively renovated beginning in November. Some of the work included upgrades to the library, playground and kitchen areas.
The work cost $360,000.
“We’ve renovated lots of classrooms and have redone all of the heating and air in 95% of the classrooms so it could be usable space,” Gant said.
The Head Start center is looking to hire teachers, assistant teachers, program aides and bus drivers. Gant said they need “anyone that has a good attitude and is trainable and wants to work with children and families.”.
-Contact Drew Richardson at 581-7233 or drichardson@gwcommonwealth.com.
