Federally-funded head start programs help prepare young children from low-income families, ages birth to five
years old, and their parents for the social and educational challenges that young children face as they
develop. Each head start program focuses on providing comprehensive services designed to enhance a child's
emotional, social, cultural, language, reading, mathematics, science, health and nutrition education.
This head start center locator page contains links to listings of programs offered in the 65 counties in the state of Nebraska. Each listings page contains the name, address and contact
information for a specific county's available centers. From that page, use additional links to explore
individual center facts, application instructions and directions.
Our head start center locator features the number of head start centers per county in parentheses ( ) to the
right of the county names. To see a current list of your county's head start centers, click your county's
name.
Income eligible children 3 to 5 years of age can participate in this comprehensive educational program. The program consists of dental/health exams, vision/hearing/language tests, immunizations, nutritious meals, and educational activities. Parents of the children attend parenting meetings and are involved in the children’s activities. Parents of children with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children. Head Start programs provide educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to enrolled children and families.
The Saunders County Head Start Program strives to educate young children, empower families and form partnerships to make a positive impact on the overall community. This is our 18th year of service to children and families living in Saunders County. Wahoo Public Schools is the delegate responsible for the operation of the Saunders County Program. Two Head Start classrooms are located in the Wahoo Elementary Building and one Head Start classroom is in the Ashland-Greenwood Elementary Building.
Project Head Start, launched initially as an eight-week summer program by the Office of Economic Opportunity in 1965, was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. Recruiting children age three to school entry age, Head Start was enthusiastically received by education, child development specialists, community leaders, and parents across the nation.
Head StartHead Start offers a qualitypreschool education to childrenages three and four years old.Head Start focuses on the whole childintellectually, emotionally, physically andsocially. Children engage in age appropriate activitieswhich include school readiness, literacy and language.Head Start services include three options: full day/fullyear, part day/part year and a home education program.
Services are provided to over 240 children and their families (ages 0 to 5 years and pregnant women) through center-based or home-based options every year.Head Start promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of education, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.
Who does Educare Serve?Educare serves children from the Omaha area who are positioned to benefit dramatically fromthe provision of quality early childhood services. All children served by Educare met the incomeeligibility for Early Head Start or Head Start. A majority of children served identified as part of aminority racial or ethnic group. Roughly half of all children served have been male.  A smallerbut significant proportion of the population served has also been verified for special educationor were English language learners. ÂÂ
Two program options—Center Base and Home Base
Qualified staff in the field of Early Childhood Development
Researched based curriculum with sound child development principles are implemented in each program option
Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers & Two’s (center base)
Parents As Teachers-Born to Learn Pre-natal to 3 year olds (home base)
Both curriculums are practical and easy to understand
Individualized education plans are developed in partnership with the staff and parents
Staff continually conduct child assessments throughout the year to meet each infant and toddlers individual needs
Activities are planned to offer infants and toddlers opportunities to explore and discover the world around them
A nurturing, safe, clean, attractive and suitable, classroom environment fosters optimum learning and development with age-appropriate equipment, materials and activities available
Interactions between infants, toddlers and adults are respectful and supportive of their gender, culture, language, ethnicity and/or family composition
Infants and toddlers have the opportunity to build trust, to develop an understanding of self and the world around them
Communication between staff and parents about their infant or toddler is open and encouraged
Home visits and/or parent teacher conferences for infants and toddler are planned collaboratively with parents to support their child’s optimal development
Parents are supported by staff in their roles as their infants or toddlers "first" teachers
Head Start is a comprehensive child development program which serves children from age 3 to 5 and their families. This is a child-focused program and has the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families. The program involves the whole family through the four cornerstones of Head Start: child dvelopment, family partnerships, community partnerships, and staff. To learn more about Head Start, click on National Head Start Association (NHSA) to visit the web site.
Head Start is a federally funded, early childhood development program for income eligible children and their families, which involves the child’s entire family. Emphasis is placed on meeting the need of the TOTAL CHILD. Head Start performance standards are divided into three major areas.