Head Start & Early Head Start Preschool

Head Start & Early Head Start Preschool offers early childhood education through 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 services are offered in at least eight languages across seven sites, with parents fully engaged as part of their child’s success. Free language assistance, auxiliary aids, and accommodations are available upon request, and this institution is an equal opportunity provider.

• Ages: 0–5 years old

The Head Start & Early Head Start Preschool program is part of The Unity Council, which was founded as a 501(c)(3) in 1967 and has over 60 years of history in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. The Unity Council’s mission is to promote social equity and improve quality of life by building vibrant communities where everyone can work, learn, and thrive. The Unity Council provides holistic programs and services to more than 8,000 individuals and families each year, including critical financial assistance, resources, and coaching to low-income children, families, and immigrants, and its work now reaches across Oakland and into Concord. Leadership connected to this work includes Jennifer Escalante, Senior Manager of Health/Nutrition Services; Arabella Martinez, Founding Executive Director; Gilda Gonzalez, CEO shortly after the opening of the Fruitvale Transit Village in 2004; and Chris Iglesias, Chief Executive Officer since 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 May 13, 2026.