A Head Start Legacy

April 25, 2025 | By Pamela Clark, CASI Director of Health Programs

As an alumna of Clark County Head Start, I have seen firsthand how this program changes lives while growing up in the Claysburg Community in the 60s.

My father worked for the sanitation department in Louisville, KY, and my mother stayed at home to raise 10 children. Her days began early—cooking, cleaning, and ironing our clothes—during a time when it was incredibly hard to make ends meet .

When I was four years old, my mother enrolled me in Head Start at Gilt Edge Baptist Church in the Claysburg Community. I did not know I was part of a historic national initiative—the "War on Poverty". The program was designed for children like me. It was a safe space to prepare me for school and to develop social skills.

Not only was it a learning institution for me, but my mother worked under Head Start for seventeen years. I still remember Ms. Dottie Dicky was the Teacher and my mother was the assistant teacher. As I grew up, I would spend my time after school reading to Head Start kids.

Head Start was instrumental in helping our family become self-sufficient.

I truly believe that Head Start planted the seed for my future success. I went on to graduate high school and college, and founded my own non-profit to address health disparities in the Tri-County area. I have dedicated my career to serving families, especially children just like me growing up.

Today, I continue to support and partner with Head Start to address access to care, health education, lead testing, school immunizations and maternal health programs.

I’m thankful to be an alumna of Head Start!

Today, Community Action of Southern Indiana provides Head Start programming to 196 children and pregnant mothers in Clark County. Click here for more information.

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