The Cherokee Nation is celebrating the grand opening of a new early childhood care center in Nowata.

A ribbon cutting took place on Tuesday at the new Head Start Center in Nowata, which is a $7.3 million investment in the community. The center is a 9,300-square-foot facility that will provide comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent-involvement services to low-income families with children ages 3 and under. The new facility features a storm shelter, commercial kitchen, new early Head Start classrooms and a playground with a shade structure and an eco-green roof.

Funding for the Nowata Head Start Center was provided by the Verna D. Thompson Early Childhood Education Act, which was reauthorized by Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. with support from the Council of the Cherokee Nation earlier this year. The legislation doubled the tribe’s investment in Head Start construction from $40 million to $80 million to replace or rehabilitate all of the tribe's Head Start centers with new, state-of-the-art facilities.