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East Saint Louis, Illinois

Head Start and Early Head Start in East Saint Louis, IL

5 open Head Start and Early Head Start locations in East Saint Louis, from the federal Office of Head Start.

Head Start and Early Head Start

Discovery Center for Little Scholars

601 James R Thompson Blvd Building D, Room 1027, East Saint Louis, IL 62201

Run by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Early Head Start

Home Base Option

East Saint Louis, IL 62201

Run by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Head Start and Early Head Start

Jackie Joyner Kersee Head Start

101 Jackie Joyner Kersee Cir, East Saint Louis, IL 62204

Run by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Early Head Start

Uni Pres Kindercottage

564 Veronica Ave, East Saint Louis, IL 62205

Run by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Who can enroll

Head Start serves children ages 3 to 5 (ask the center about its birthday cutoff date). Early Head Start serves pregnant women, babies and toddlers under 3. Both are free for families who qualify.

Families usually qualify when household income is at or below the federal poverty guideline for their family size, or when the family gets public assistance such as TANF or SSI, the child is in foster care, or the family is experiencing homelessness. Programs may also enroll some children from families just above the guideline, and each program sets its own application steps and waitlist, so ask the center.

Official HHS poverty guidelines (current year) · Head Start's own center locator

Also in East Saint Louis

Licensed child care and after-school programs in East Saint Louis · Youth nonprofits in East Saint Louis · Illinois program rules

Source: Head Start Service Location Dataset, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Head Start (CSV file), file dated November 8, 2026. The information is reported by each Head Start grant recipient and can be out of date, so call the center to confirm its address, hours and openings. Locations the program lists as closed are left out. Home-based locations show city and ZIP code only. A listing is not an endorsement.