WHAT:
Cherokee Nation leaders and Stilwell community members will gather to celebrate the grand opening of the new Stilwell Head Start facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
WHEN:
Wednesday, May 6 at 10 a.m.
WHERE:
Stilwell Head Start
215 W. Ash St.
Stilwell, Okla.
WHO:
Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Deputy Chief Bryan Warner
Cherokee Nation Cabinet
Cherokee Nation Education Services
Stilwell community members
STILWELL, Okla. – Cherokee Nation leaders and Stilwell community members are gathering to celebrate the grand opening of the new Stilwell Head Start facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new 9,300 square-foot facility features two classrooms and an indoor gross motor room which also serves as a FEMA rated storm shelter. Additional investments include a large outdoor playground and office space for Head Start employees.
The tribe has invested millions into Head Start facilities across the reservation through the Hoskin/Warner law, the Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act, which was reauthorized in 2024. The law authorized the tribe to inject a total of $80 million into five facilities across the reservation. The Stilwell Head Start marks the final facility to be upgraded under the scope of the 2024 law.
Cherokee Nation currently serves over 900 children through its Head Start programs, which were first started in 1978. Cherokee Nation’s Head Start students range from six weeks to preschool age and are taught cognitive, language, motor and social skills as part of the tribe’s program.
Across the country, federal Head Start programs provide comprehensive services to more than 1 million children each year.