New Head Start Facility Opens In Wymore

By Gordon HopkinsA ribbon cutting ceremony and open house were held the morning of Friday, November 14, for the new Head Start facility in Wymore. Head Start is a national program that provides free comprehensive early childhood education services in a classroom setting. The program serves children ages three to five and their families who fall within the poverty guidelines or other selection criteria. People who qualify may do so based on income, disability and a number of other qualifying factors.Wymore has already had a Head Start program in operation but for the last 31 years it was located in the basement of the United Presbyterian Church in Wymore. While those in attendance at the ribbon cutting expressed gratitude to the church, they also noted the location limited growth.Shari Weber, CEO of Blue Valley Community Action (BVCA), said, “We built this facility with the idea of growing our program.”Weber noted, “Blue Valley Community Action is a non-profit agency. We serve nine counties in Nebraska, full services, and we do an additional nine other counties, so a total of 18 counties. Last year, we served over 8,000 people. Our services are provided for low-income families to help them become self-sufficient over time. And so, this project really fits into our mission. Our mission is to help overcome poverty by meeting basic needs, which is what we do.”Weber explained the importance of the services they provide to children and families, which goes well beyond just preschool, “With our families, we do an assessment with them when we very first start working with them, to see what their immediate situation is. Are they trying to decide between food, putting food on the table and paying their utilities? If they are, we want to help them get that immediate need taken care of. Same thing with the children. When they come into the classroom, we want to assess them at whatever level they’re at. We do physicals, vision screenings, hearing screenings, developmental screenings, and so the child is struggling to hear or see, we want to catch that early so that we can help them be successful in the classroom.” The new facility was paid for with grants first announced in September of 2024. A total of $3.5 million was provided for the construction of Head Start buildings in Wymore and Geneva, with $1.6 million toward the new building in Wymore and $1.9 million going toward constructing a new Head Start building in Geneva, which is expected to open next year.Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock, who also serves as Vice President of the BVCA board, marveled at the speed in which construction occurred.“When we got that original proposal, I said, ‘No way can you have it done that fast,’ but here it is,” said Mark Schoenrock, who is vice president of the BVCA board. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m so grateful for this rising generation here, and we are going to have a great facility now to help provide them a very solid foundation.” The new 4,500-square-foot building features two classrooms, a conference room that also serves as a storm shelter, office space, a modernized kitchen and a fenced-in playground.There has been considerable uncertainty surrounding Head Start this year. Groundbreaking occurred April 15 of this year, just one day before a draft of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal was leaked to news media. That budget as proposed would eliminate funding for Head Start.More recently, a number of Head Start facilities around the country struggled to remain open, and some were forced to close, during the government shutdown that only ended last week.That fact was not lost on Kyanna Volkman, Children Services Director for BVCA, “The timing of this construction seemed a little ironic to some. We did get the question of, ‘Why build a building with uncertainty surrounding you?’ But the answer felt simple to us. We just simply believed. We believed in our staff and our families and the future of the children that we get to see every day.”Despite the obstacles, those attending the ribbon cutting remain optimistic.Weber talked about her hopes for the future, “Our dream with this facility is to expand services. It will take some funding, but if a grant becomes available, we will write to either expand another preschool classroom but, more than likely, our focus would be on bringing zero to three services. So, providing childcare for children ages zero to three in that second classroom.”

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