After doubling its funding this year to improve early childhood centers, the Cherokee Nation has completed its first of seven renovated child care facilities.
Last week, the tribal nation cut the ribbon on a newly constructed $7.3 million facility in Nowata and has plans for upgrades to six other centers in eastern Oklahoma. The facility will offer services in early childhood education, health, and parent involvement for low-income families with children aged 3 and under, as announced by tribal leaders.
Earlier this year, the Cherokee Nation increased its funding for child care centers from $40 million to $80 million, aiming to replace or renovate aging facilities.
The tribe will also upgrade Head Start centers in Tahlequah, Jay, Stilwell, Salina, Kenwood, and Pryor’s MidAmerica Industrial Park.
In addition, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council approved a separate $77 million budget to build new child development centers in areas where such services are lacking. Among these projects is a new $25 million center in Catoosa, one of the tribe’s largest workforce areas, with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino nearby.
Currently, the Cherokee Nation’s Head Start programs serve 900 children.
Head Start, a federally funded initiative through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supports children from low-income households from birth to age 5. The program focuses on early learning, child development, health, and family well-being.
The tribe has been offering Head Start centers since 1978.
Hoskin highlighted the program’s positive impact on thousands of Cherokee families.
“This investment, coupled with our ongoing efforts to provide more quality, affordable child care across the reservation, ensures that our youngest Cherokees who rely on us for early learning have the resources they need to continue thriving,” Hoskin said in a statement.
The $80 million rehabilitation initiative is made possible by the Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act. Named after the tribe’s long-serving Head Start director, the legislation, passed in 2021, aims to enhance early childhood learning.
“Verna has been the cornerstone of these early childhood learning opportunities for decades, and we’re excited to see how our Head Start centers will take these efforts to the next level in the years ahead,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner.
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