Teachers and children stand in front of a Head Start poster
1 2022-03-02T20:23:33+00:00 Kate Flynn 7a93418b93b9db509597a67ae6311be88dcb38d6 530 1 Two teachers and two children stand in front of a poster that says "We got a Headstart!" This eight-week demonstration project at Luke O'Toole Elementary School in Chicago in 1965 was one of the first Head Start programs in the nation. Head Start was created as a comprehensive child development program that would help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children. plain 2022-03-02T20:23:33+00:00 Head Start program -- Chicago (Ill.) 16110711 In Copyright-Educational Use Permitted Mary Florence and Mary Jane O'Shea Collection 1965 Dominican University West Englewood, Chicago Kate Flynn 7a93418b93b9db509597a67ae6311be88dcb38d6This page is referenced by:
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A Head Start for Children in West Englewood
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Luke O'Toole Elementary School Leads the Way in 1965
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Southwest Side
As part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” the director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Sargent Shriver, assembled a panel of experts in child development to create educational programs to meet the needs of young children impacted by social and economic inequality. These efforts led to Project Head Start, a comprehensive child development program designed to help communities meet the needs of preschool children. The program began as an eight-week demonstration program launched in the summer of 1965 and included medical and dental care, education to prepare preschoolers for the classroom, and counseling services for parents.
One of these first programs was held at Luke O’Toole Elementary School in the West Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. The program was documented by the school’s principal, Mary Florence O’Shea. O’Shea donated a collection of 77 photographs from the 1965 program along with her papers donated to Dominican University Archives.
After a successful summer session, the Head Start began its first full school year in fall of 1966. The program continues today, serving over one million children and families each year with grants administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
