Work is underway to establish a Head Start program at the old C.E. Hanna School in Hobson City. Dora Jones, director of the Cheaha Regional Head Start organization, said the plan is to open the new facility Aug. 9. It will be open seven hours per day, Monday through Friday, for children between 3 and 5 years old.
“We’ll be able to have as many as 60 kids,” Jones said.
Cheaha Regional Head Start oversees 14 Head Start programs in Calhoun, Coosa and Talladega counties.
Jones, who visited the Hobson City Town Council during the regular Monday meeting, said work at the former school building is needed to bring the facility up to code – adding that the refurbishments and establishment of the Head Start are being paid for through federal stimulus funds, specifically the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
“We came in with plans to spend $70,000 to get the building up to code,” Jones said. “We’ve spent over $100,000 in Hobson City, and we’re not done yet. But we’re going to do what it takes.”
Part of the old school houses Hobson City Town Hall. The Head Start program will control the school’s kitchen, a hallway and three classrooms behind the facility’s gym.
Jones said refurbishment costs include $42,000 to update the plumbing and sewage system, $30,000 to repair the roof and $18,000 to paint the inside of the building. She added that between $60,000 and $70,000 will eventually be spent on new playground equipment.
Jones said Head Start is far more than a simple daycare center.
“We will provide a service to the community,” she said.
According to the program’s main website, Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.
“We will have mandatory training for parents … from fire safety to nutrition,” Jones said.
To Councilman Fredrick Striplin, the addition of a Head Start will provide some economic stimulus for a small town lacking in businesses and a strong tax base.
“It’s going to bring jobs and bring some revenue into the city,” he said.
Jones said about three or four people who live in Hobson City and work in the Head Start system have requested transfers to the new facility.
“That’s bringing money back to the area,” she said.
Mayor Alberta McCrory said there is need for a Head Start in the town.
“I think it will prove to be a beneficial thing for the community,” she said. “Staying in school, graduating … the education Head Start provides is the foundation for that future success.”
Striplin said he was glad a Head Start was moving into the town and into the old school in particular.
“It will be exciting to have children back in that building again,” he said.
Contact staff writer Patrick McCreless at 256-235-3561.
