Head Start celebrates 60th birthday in Atlanta

Education

Head Start celebrates 60th birthday in Atlanta

The national Head Start program turned 60 on Monday, May 19, 2025. Providers, parents and advocates in the Atlanta area celebrated the milestone at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center.

Children in the Head Start program engage in indoor activities with lead teacher Genesis Lavanway at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, Atlanta, where providers, parents and advocates celebrated the 60th birthday of the federal Head Start program on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Children in the Head Start program are introduced to singing a couple of songs during a celebration of the federal program's 60th anniversary on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens greeted students who gathered to sing "Happy Birthday" to the federal Head Start program on the 60th anniversary of its inception, Monday. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Children in the Head Start program line up as they get ready to sing "Happy Birthday." (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens plays with early learners after they posed for a photograph during the 60th birthday celebration of the federal Head Start program at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Children in the Head Start program engage in indoor activities at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Children in the Head Start program engage in indoor activities with lead teacher Genesis Lavanway during the 60th birthday of the federal Head Start program on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

A child in the Head Start program plays outside with lead teacher Genesis Lavanway at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

A child in the Head Start plays inside with lead teacher Genesis Lavanway at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

A child in the Head Start program engages in indoor activities at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

A child in the Head Start program plays outside the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Chief Education Officer Andria McMichael gives Atlanta Mayor Dicken a tour of a classroom at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center on Monday, as the federal Head Start program celebrates its 60th anniversary. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Atlanta Mayor Dicken waves to a classroom at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center during a tour on Monday, as the federal Head Start program celebrates its 60th anniversary.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Children in the Head Start program play outside the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, where providers, parents and advocates celebrated the 60th birthday of the federal Head Start program on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

A child in the Head Start program engages in indoor activities at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

YMCA President and CEO Lauren Koontz, right, explains to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dicken all the programs run at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center during a tour at a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the federal Head Start program on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Children in the Head Start program engage in indoor activities with lead teacher Genesis Lavanway at the Arthur M. Blank Early Learning Center, Atlanta, where providers, parents and advocates celebrated the 60th birthday of the federal Head Start program on Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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