WHAT:
The Cherokee Nation will celebrate the grand opening of its new 75,000 square-foot Tahlequah Early Childhoon Unit/Head Start located near the Cherokee Nation W. W. Keeler Tribal Complex.
WHEN:
Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 11 a.m.
WHERE:
Tahlequah Early Childhood Unit/Head Start
22675 S. Betty Sharp Smith St.
Tahlequah
WHO:
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Cherokee Nation Deputy Chief Bryan Warner
Cherokee Nation Cabinet
Council of the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation Education Services
Head Start staff and children
Tahlequah Community leaders
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Cherokee Nation is opening a new $40.5M state-of-the-art 75,000 square foot Early Childhood Untit/Head Start flagship facility in Tahlequah, located behind the Durbin Feeling Language Center and near the Cherokee Nation W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex.
The facility supports 163 children across 17 classrooms. The structure replaces the old Children’s Village Head Start with classrooms that were half a century old. The new center features four gross motor rooms, a commercial kitchen, two storm shelters, staff development space and playground equipment for different age groups.
The new facility is funded through the historic Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act of 2021, which was expanded in March of 2024 to provide an $80 million investment in replacing aging early childhood education Head Start centers across the Reservation. Upgrades are being made to existing facilities along with a comprehensive review of all early childhood education services for Cherokee citizens.
The tribe recently opened a new Head Start and Childhood Development Center in Pryor and Jay and construction is ongoing for other Head Start facilities within the reservation.