Head Start’s New Start: From Uncertainty to a $2.25M Lifeline

A year ago this week, Kristina Foster, supervisor of the Southampton Head Start Center, received some unwelcome news. During construction to expand the center at 271 Flanders Avenue in Riverside, the building was found to be structurally unsound. With less than a month before the start of the school year, the 88 children attending the free preschool education program had nowhere to go. Also at risk were the free meals and other services Head Start provides to low-income families throughout Southampton Town. Foster scrambled and, with help from other organizations, cobbled together classroom space for 30 pre-K children during the 2024-2025 school year. However, she was not able to accommodate younger children, and the future of the center was unclear. But earlier this week, Foster received some good — and totally unexpected — news. During a press conference and visit to the Southampton Head Start site, State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced that the state has pledge $2.25 million toward the building of a new Head Start facility in Riverside. Foster joins the editors to talk about the challenges, the victories and the local Head Start’s new name.