New Head Start facilities break ground in Portageville and Steele

Ground was broken Oct. 30 for a new Head Start facility in Portageville. Pictured from left are 149th District State Representative Donnie Brown; DAEOC board member David Blalock; DAEOC CEO Joel Evans,; DAEOC board member Christ Stinnett; Lyric Stotler with the CDBG; Tiffany Belcher, Bootheel Regional Planning Commission; Kristen Urhahn, Dille and Pollard; Doug Ellis, DAEOC board member; Brett Dille, Dille and Pollard; and Billy Heisserer, Sides Construction. (Jill Bock/Standard Democrat)

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — The Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation celebrated not one but two groundbreakings of new Head Start facilities in the Bootheel.

Ground was officially broken Wednesday, Oct. 30 for centers at Portageville and Steele. Each facility will cost $1,655,000 to build and provide space for up to 40 Head Start students, who range in age from 3-5.

Prior to the groundbreaking at Portageville, Joel Evans, president and CEO of DAEOC, addressed those attending. He pointed out some might say an investment of almost $1.2 million in a small building might not make economic sense.

Joel Evans, president and CEO of DAEOC, speaks about the impact of Head Start prior to the official ground breaking for the new center at Portageville. Evans called the new building an investment in the children of Southeast Missouri.(Jill Bock/Standard Democrat)

“But we are not investing in a building,” Evans said. “We are investing in the children of Southeast Missouri, particularly the children of New Madrid County and Portageville.”

According to Evans, a grant was sought in 2021 for construction of the two Head Start Centers with funding awarded in late 2022. Working with architects Dille and Pollard of Cape Girardeau, the buildings were designed and then in early October, the bids were awarded.

“It is amazing how quickly our contractors moved on these projects,” Evans said.

When completed, the identical 3,783 square-foot buildings will have two classrooms with room for up to 20 children per classroom. There will also be kitchen facilities, storage and administrative offices.

According to Evans, the Head Start preschool program not only ensures school readiness for children but also provides vision, dental and mental health screenings. If issues are found, Evans said the staff work with the parents and child to address and correct those issues prior to kindergarten.

Carla Bohl, Head Start director and head of DAEOC’s Department of Children’s Services, also spoke briefly.

Bohl said children who attend Head Start experience significant growth in language, literacy, math and cognitive development. This learning helps the Head Start student throughout their educational career, she added.

“This creates citizens who are prepared to build strong communities throughout the U.S. and the world,” Bohl said. “Having this new building offers a place for us to nurture our next generation of leaders by showing them that they are the most important investment of our time.”

Evans expressed his thanks to the many groups who brought about the new facilities.

Funding for the facilities was provided by a Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Economic Development. The Bootheel Regional Planning Commission is serving as the grant administrator.

For the Portageville Center, New Madrid County was the applicant for the project while the city of Steele was the applicant for the Steele Center. Sides Construction of Jackson is serving as contractor for the Portageville and Steele projects.

Evans also offered his thanks to State Representative Donnie Brown for his support for the new Head Start centers.

Brown noted he has always supported early childhood education. He said statistics show early childhood education provides a strong foundation for academic and social growth.

“This is great not just for Portageville, but all of our area,” he said.