Jefferson Parish will open a new Head Start center in January in the building that once housed the Our Lady of Divine Providence Catholic School in west Metairie.
The center will provide free, early childhood education to 92 children ages six weeks to 5 years old from low-to-moderate income households.
Funded by the federal government and administered by the parish, Head Start has a 56-year history in Jefferson Parish. It currently serves 825 children.
Due to a staff shortage, however, almost 500 children remain on a waiting list, according to Christi Langoni, director of Jefferson Community Action Programs.
In particular need are entry-level childcare workers, Langoni said. Only a GED is required for the role, and pay is $11.99 an hour, according to parish records. Langoni added that the parish will cover the cost of schooling so those childcare workers can get certified as teachers.
Children enrolled in Head Start get a full day of instruction, as well as dental and medical care. Their families also receive wraparound social services, Langoni said.
Jefferson Parish also offers a program through Head Start that connects pregnant women with comprehensive pre- and post-natal care. Once a child is born, they’re automatically enrolled in Head Start.
“These kids are going to be taking care of us,” Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said at a ribbon cutting Wednesday. “This is the next generation.”
During its heyday, Our Lady of Divine Providence School offered a nursery and its own pre-school classes, with a particular emphasis on children with special needs. But due to declining enrollment, it closed in 2019.
“We just didn’t have enough kids anymore, with the demographics changing in the area,” said the Rev. Mike Mitchell, a pastor at the church.
It’s a familiar problem in Jefferson Parish, which has roughly 44,000 fewer kids today than it did four decades ago, according to census records.
The church is near Delta Playground, one of six facilities that Lee Sheng has pinpointed for reinvention due to lagging participation rates.
Jefferson Parish Council member Dominick Impastato, whose district includes the new Head Start center, lauded the Archdiocese of New Orleans for partnering with the parish on the project.
His son attended St. Thérèse Academy for Exceptional Learners, which used the building before relocating earlier this year.
"To see this facility be able to be revitalized and used in an ultra-productive necessary way is extremely exciting for me personally and the parish," he said.
The parish agreed to spend roughly $4,400 a month to rent the space, Langoni said.
Head Start is one of several programs offering subsidized childcare in Jefferson Parish. In August, the Parish Council agreed to spend $275,000 to cover the cost of sending 53 tots to private preschool programs.
Earlier this year, the state Legislature set aside $84 million for early childhood education statewide.
Jefferson Parish Council member Scott Walker said that’s a good start. But, he added, “when the state starts taking its early childhood education as seriously as it does its football, we’ll be in a real good spot.”