Nicaa Head Start

Nicaa Head Start is a preschool in Freeport, IL, located at 537 W Pleasant St. It is operated by the Northwestern Illinois Community Action Agency (NICAA), a non-profit private corporation serving Stephenson and Jo Daviess counties in northwest Illinois. The preschool is one of three NICAA Head Start facilities, staffed with qualified educators and serving young children from low-income families in the area.

NICAA was established to focus private, local, state, and federal resources on enabling low-income families and other disadvantaged individuals to obtain the skills, knowledge, motivation, and opportunities to become stable. The agency's ultimate authority rests in its tripartite governing board, which includes public, private, and client sector representatives from both counties. Beyond Head Start, NICAA runs a wide range of community programs including utility assistance for gas, electric, and water, rental assistance through CSBG, the Golden Meals meal program for senior citizens aged 60 and over at four meal sites in Stephenson County, the Illinois Low Income Heating & Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), home rehabilitation assistance for single-family homeowners through HRAP, the Illinois Weatherization Program, and general outreach services. The Head Start program itself is described by the agency as a fun and engaging environment for children, with three facilities across the service area.

The preschool sits on W Pleasant St, about a third of a mile from Freeport City Hall and the Stephenson County Farm Bureau, and roughly 0.4 miles from the Stephenson County Sheriff's Office, the Soldiers' Monument, and the surrounding grid of West Douglas Street and West Clark Street.

Nicaa Head Start holds a rating of 5.00 based on the customers who have reviewed it. As part of NICAA's broader anti-poverty mission to help people identify and obtain the resources to achieve stability, the preschool supports Freeport families by giving their young children an early educational foundation.