Head Start & Early Head Start Preschool
Yazmin Jara Center, 1900 Fruitvale Ave, Ste 1A, Oakland, CA 94601
About
Head Start & Early Head Start Preschool offers early childhood education using a play-based curriculum. The program offers both center-based and home-based care, depending on the needs of families, location, and availability. Teachers make every effort to speak with children and their parents in their home language, and parents are fully engaged and part of their child’s success.
• Ages: 0–5 years old
The early childhood education program uses a play-based curriculum designed to meet each family where it is on the path to school readiness and meeting each child’s full potential. Services are offered in at least eight languages throughout seven Head Start and Early Head Start sites, and The Unity Council’s programs and services reach more than 8,000 individuals and families annually in five languages. The Unity Council employs a diverse workforce of more than 308 people who reflect the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic identity of the communities served.
The Unity Council was founded as a 501(c)(3) in 1967 and has over 60 years of history in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. Its mission is to promote social equity and improve quality of life by building vibrant communities where everyone can work, learn, and thrive. The organization is a non-profit Social Equity Development Corporation whose work now reaches across Oakland and into Concord, and it has invested over 100 million dollars in community assets, including affordable housing and community benefit developments like the Fruitvale Transit Village. Its programs include early childhood education, youth mentorship and leadership development, employment services, career readiness training, housing and financial stability, senior citizen services, affordable housing and neighborhood development, and arts and cultural events.
The Unity Council’s leadership has included Founding Executive Director Arabella Martinez, CEO Gilda Gonzalez (from the 2004 period), and Chief Executive Officer Chris Iglesias (from 2013. This website is supported by Grant Number 09CH012456 from the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Last updated March 20, 2026.
• Ages: 0–5 years old
The early childhood education program uses a play-based curriculum designed to meet each family where it is on the path to school readiness and meeting each child’s full potential. Services are offered in at least eight languages throughout seven Head Start and Early Head Start sites, and The Unity Council’s programs and services reach more than 8,000 individuals and families annually in five languages. The Unity Council employs a diverse workforce of more than 308 people who reflect the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic identity of the communities served.
The Unity Council was founded as a 501(c)(3) in 1967 and has over 60 years of history in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. Its mission is to promote social equity and improve quality of life by building vibrant communities where everyone can work, learn, and thrive. The organization is a non-profit Social Equity Development Corporation whose work now reaches across Oakland and into Concord, and it has invested over 100 million dollars in community assets, including affordable housing and community benefit developments like the Fruitvale Transit Village. Its programs include early childhood education, youth mentorship and leadership development, employment services, career readiness training, housing and financial stability, senior citizen services, affordable housing and neighborhood development, and arts and cultural events.
The Unity Council’s leadership has included Founding Executive Director Arabella Martinez, CEO Gilda Gonzalez (from the 2004 period), and Chief Executive Officer Chris Iglesias (from 2013. This website is supported by Grant Number 09CH012456 from the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Last updated March 20, 2026.
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