Locations

Champaign County Head Start / Early Head Start

1776 East Washington, Urbana, 217-328-3313

The Brookens Administrative Center is the central office for the Champaign County Head Start / Early Head Start program. Many years ago, this building was used to serve Junior High School students within Unit 116's Brookens Junior High School, but now serves the community in another way. Several agencies including Urbana Park District, Senior Services, Planning and Zoning, Auditors Office, Mental Health Board, Circuit Clerk and County Board rent office space in order to meet the community’s needs.

Champaign County Head Start is a program of the Regional Planning Commission located in Pod 100 of the Brookens Administrative Center.

Champaign Head Start

809 N. Neil, Champaign, 217-384-1200

The Champaign Head Start center is located at the Champaign Early Childhood Center. Families from Champaign or Urbana can enroll their child at the Champaign Head Start center.

In addition to Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms, this center provides families with access to many agencies within the building and in walking distance. These agencies include Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department, WIC Services, Environmental Health, Central Association for Special Education (CASE) and Unit 4’s Early Childhood program.

The Champaign Early Childhood Center was created in 2003 by renovating the old Sunbeam Bakery building. The center’s walls and foundation maintain the heart of the bakery. The architects designed an accessible building that highlights the original features of the bakery and includes a multipurpose room, play houses for screening and therapy, child-sized bathrooms in each classroom and a kitchen.

The Champaign Head Start program offers full-day services to children 6 weeks to 5 years of age. There is also a 6-hour classroom for children 6 weeks to 3 years of age. Any children age 3 to 5 years eligible for special education services can receive therapies on-site through the Champaign Unit 4 Pre-kindergarten program. Any children under 3 who has a delay or disability can receive disability services on-site through Child and Family Connections.

Rantoul Head Start

104 Nightinga le Court, Rantoul, 217-893-0886

In 2003, the Rantoul Head Start program moved to a renovated building on the former Air Force base on Illinois Route 45. Architects designed a child and family-friendly facility serving families in Rantoul and surrounding rural areas. In addition to eight classrooms, the building has a multi-purpose room, a kitchen, offices, a conference room and a library. In a ddition, the center has a courtyard for the infants and toddlers as well as a playground specifically designed for children 3 to 5 years.

The program offers full-day, school-day and part-day classes for children 3 to 5 years of age. For children under 3 years, full-day and 3 1/2 hour sessions are available. Transportation is provided for the preschoolers enrolled in school-day and part-day classes.

Head Start collaborates with the Spectrum Early Childhood program to provide disability services at the center and off-site to any children with a delay or disability. In addition, Child and Family Connections works with Head Start to bring services on-site to any children with a delay or disability who are under 3.

Savoy Head Start

310 West Church Street, Savoy, 217-384-1252

Savoy Head Start has been located for about 25 years in a building owned by the Village of Savoy. This building was a small elementary school with eight classrooms that lends itself wonderfully to preschool programming. Savoy Head Start is surrounded by a large fenced playground and the park district’s sports fields and is two blocks from Illinois Route 45. Savoy Head Start houses the program’s transportation office.

Programming at Savoy Head Start consists of school-day and part-day classes for children 3 to 5 years of age. Additionally, the home-based program for the southern half of Champaign County has offices at this building.

Families living in Urbana, Champaign, Savoy or the immediate vicinity can enroll at Savoy. Savoy Head Start is the only Champaign/Urbana center where transportation is available.