The Swinomish Head Start Program Caroline Edwards
What came out of the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) otherwise known, as the “War on Poverty” in 1964 was a group of programs, the program that I would like to focus on as part of the 50th Anniversary of the qyuuqs News (Kee Yoks) is the Head Start program. The Head Start program was launched as an eight-week summer program by the Office of Economic Opportunity. According to the Salt Lake Head Start website it, “Was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs.” (Saltlakeheadstart.org)
Swinomish Head Start Program
Swinomish children began attending the Head Start program in La Conner in the late 1960s but just a few years prior to that, a preschool program began here on the reservation. The Swinomish Nursery School began in 1966 and was started by VISTA volunteer Anne Lubell. It was housed in the old American Hall and in one of the first editions of The Seagull (the original name of the qyuuqs), it was noted that the name change shortly afterwards: Barb Holmgren changed the nursery school to preschool because “nursery school" connotes a play school, where as a preschool prepares the child for the 1st grade.” Except for a medical checkup and an afternoon hot lunch, the daily school has the same objectives and structure of a Head Start.” (The Seagull, 1967)
SWINOMISH PRESCHOOL WITH VISTA TEACHER, BARB HOLMGREN Jack Willmoth Collection Swinomish Tribal Archive
That same year, 10 youngsters graduated from the Swinomish Community Preschool. According to The Seagull, “The Swinomish Community Center Preschool has given each child a wider experience of the outside world, so near yet so far because of barriers. Train trips, beach walks, zoo excursions and other field trips were standard activities in their weekly curriculum.” (The Seagull, 1967) By the late 1960s the Swinomish preschool program had transitioned to the Head Start program held in La Conner in the basement of the Methodist Church. In 1973 Head Start moved to Swinomish where the preschool was open to all disadvantaged children in the entire La Conner community, not just on the reservation. Ever since the first publication of The Seagull, the Swinomish Head Start has been an integral part of the newsletter, it was used to inform the community about the updates of the Head Start Program. It was the VISTA volunteers who started both of these necessary departments for Swinomish.
Locations of the Swinomish Head Start/ Preschool: HEAD START
SWINOMISH NURSARY SCHOOL-1966 Young Grads, Mount Vernon Herald Swinomish Tribal Archive
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Swinomish Reservation, American Hall 1966-1969 La Conner, Methodist Church Basement 1966-1971 La Conner, Building on 1st & Morris 1971-1973 Swinomish Reservation, American Hall 1973-1977 Swinomish, Old Andrew Joe House (Old Senior Center) 1978-1979 Swinomish Reservation, Social Services Building 1978-2006
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Swinomish Reservation, Susan M. Wilbur Early Education Center 2006 -Current year sw d bš qyuuqs News 15
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From Left, front row: Jimmy Smith, Danny Henning, Darlene Peters, Jennifer Peters, Lorna Brock. Back Row: Steve Edwards, Kevin Paul, Junior Brock, David Peters and Erin Henning. Not present was Brenda Bill.
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