Knox County Head Start Programs
Fredericktown Head Start, 790 Fairgrounds Road, Suite 200, Mount Vernon, OH 43050
About
Knox County Head Start Programs offers Early Head Start for infants and toddlers, Head Start Preschool for children ages 3–5, home-based options, school age services, and a school age summer camp. The program also offers parenting training courses, training seminars for expectant parents and parents of infants and toddlers, healthy relationships training called “Conscious Couples,” and parenting training for students in the GRADS program.
• Ages: 0–5 years old
• Schedule: A minimum of two six-week parenting training courses are offered each year
Knox County Head Start Programs states its mission as “Providing high-quality early education and family engagement services since 1965.” Knox County Head Start (KCHS) has served Knox County since 1965 and was founded in 1965 as Kokosing Day Care Centers. KCHS added full-day, full-year child care programming in 1998 and was awarded an Early Head Start grant in 2009 to provide Early Head Start services to infants, toddlers, and pregnant women in Knox County. Since 2005, KCHS has provided a minimum of two six-week parenting training courses a year, along with three training seminars for expectant parents and parents of infants and toddlers annually. In 2011, KCHS piloted a six-hour healthy relationships training “Conscious Couples” and piloted a parenting training for students in the GRADS program at the Knox County Career Center. KCHS serves 500 children annually through Federal Head Start and Early Head Start funding, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services child care subsidy, and child care services.
The agency’s employment has grown to nearly 100 employees, with the majority holding an associate or bachelor’s degree. All classroom preschool teachers hold a minimum of an associate degree, with 79% holding a bachelor’s or master’s degree. All infant and toddler teachers hold at minimum a Child Development Associate’s credential, with 80% holding at least an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field.
All six Knox County Head Start Centers have received quality star ratings under the Step Up to Quality program, administered by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services – Bureau of Child Care Development. KCHS received one of the 10 National Head Start Center of Excellence grants and exceeds the Head Start Act of 2007 standards for classroom quality in terms of the education and professional development of teachers. KCHS has been providing trainings throughout the National and Ohio Head Start communities and at the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children (OAEYC) annual conferences. KCHS recognizes that parents are the first and most important teachers of their children and works in partnership with parents.
Head Start centers are operated in partnership with the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Danville American Legion, Centerburg Local Schools, Kenyon College, and the Village of Gambier. Support from the United Way of Knox County, The Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County, The Energy Cooperative Foundation, AEP, the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund, and community donations provide additional support. The Knox County Head Start website is supported by Grant Number 05CH012793 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.
Parent testimonials describe individual experiences with Knox County Head Start Programs. One grandparent from Centerburg, Ohio, reports changes in her grandsons over time and notes that both boys “needed help in different areas.” A parent from Mount Vernon, Ohio, describes how a hearing screening at enrollment led to further evaluation and diagnosis of total hearing loss in one ear, and states that her children “learned the skills to create that foundation at KCHS.” Another parent from Centerburg, Ohio, shares that her child came home with “wonderful stories” and that staff were helpful to her on a personal level. A parent from Mount Vernon, Ohio, states that her son attended for three years and expresses that she “almost hate[s] to see him leave to go into kindergarten.”
Last updated June 29, 2026.
• Ages: 0–5 years old
• Schedule: A minimum of two six-week parenting training courses are offered each year
Knox County Head Start Programs states its mission as “Providing high-quality early education and family engagement services since 1965.” Knox County Head Start (KCHS) has served Knox County since 1965 and was founded in 1965 as Kokosing Day Care Centers. KCHS added full-day, full-year child care programming in 1998 and was awarded an Early Head Start grant in 2009 to provide Early Head Start services to infants, toddlers, and pregnant women in Knox County. Since 2005, KCHS has provided a minimum of two six-week parenting training courses a year, along with three training seminars for expectant parents and parents of infants and toddlers annually. In 2011, KCHS piloted a six-hour healthy relationships training “Conscious Couples” and piloted a parenting training for students in the GRADS program at the Knox County Career Center. KCHS serves 500 children annually through Federal Head Start and Early Head Start funding, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services child care subsidy, and child care services.
The agency’s employment has grown to nearly 100 employees, with the majority holding an associate or bachelor’s degree. All classroom preschool teachers hold a minimum of an associate degree, with 79% holding a bachelor’s or master’s degree. All infant and toddler teachers hold at minimum a Child Development Associate’s credential, with 80% holding at least an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field.
All six Knox County Head Start Centers have received quality star ratings under the Step Up to Quality program, administered by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services – Bureau of Child Care Development. KCHS received one of the 10 National Head Start Center of Excellence grants and exceeds the Head Start Act of 2007 standards for classroom quality in terms of the education and professional development of teachers. KCHS has been providing trainings throughout the National and Ohio Head Start communities and at the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children (OAEYC) annual conferences. KCHS recognizes that parents are the first and most important teachers of their children and works in partnership with parents.
Head Start centers are operated in partnership with the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Danville American Legion, Centerburg Local Schools, Kenyon College, and the Village of Gambier. Support from the United Way of Knox County, The Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County, The Energy Cooperative Foundation, AEP, the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund, and community donations provide additional support. The Knox County Head Start website is supported by Grant Number 05CH012793 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.
Parent testimonials describe individual experiences with Knox County Head Start Programs. One grandparent from Centerburg, Ohio, reports changes in her grandsons over time and notes that both boys “needed help in different areas.” A parent from Mount Vernon, Ohio, describes how a hearing screening at enrollment led to further evaluation and diagnosis of total hearing loss in one ear, and states that her children “learned the skills to create that foundation at KCHS.” Another parent from Centerburg, Ohio, shares that her child came home with “wonderful stories” and that staff were helpful to her on a personal level. A parent from Mount Vernon, Ohio, states that her son attended for three years and expresses that she “almost hate[s] to see him leave to go into kindergarten.”
Last updated June 29, 2026.
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