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Prime Time Head Start officially cut the ribbon on its newest center located at Holy Rosary Institute on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Prime Time, an initiative of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, added four classrooms at Holy Rosary Institute at the beginning of the school year, expanding its classroom capacity to serve more 3- and 4-year-olds while also helping to bring life back to the historic campus.  Located less than a mile from Prime Time’s Lafayette campus at Immaculate Heart of Mary, the location allows Prime Time to leverage the family services and other resources on the IHM campus at the Holy Rosary satellite site as well. 

“We’re thrilled to open our Holy Rosary campus, welcoming 56 children and their families as an extension of our Immaculate Heart of Mary site,” said Dena Thomas, Head Start Director for Prime Time Acadiana. “This opening holds special significance, as Holy Rosary is a cherished historic location deeply rooted in the hearts of many within our community.”

Several community leaders were in attendance, including Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet, state Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, state Rep. Tehmi Chassion, Parish Council members, and Holy Rosary Redevelopment Corporation Board President Dustin Cravins, who spoke about the significance of having young people back at the site.

During the ceremony, Chassion showed off a shirt he had made as a Head Start student, crediting the program with giving him the foundation he needed to be successful as a doctor and legislator.

Prime Time Head Start provides free preschool services to children six weeks to five years old at four locations in Lafayette and Iberia parishes. Last year, it expanded its classroom space at its Immaculate Heart of Mary campus in Lafayette to increase enrollment at that site to around 300 students.

Founded in 1913, Holy Rosary Institute began as an early vocational and technical school for African American females. In 1947, it began admitting males and provided an education to the Black community which would not otherwise have been available during that time. The main school closed in 1993 and efforts soon began to revitalize the campus. The Holy Rosary Redevelopment Corporation was created in 2010 with the goal of restoring the 40-acre site and returning it to a place of prominence in the community as a center for educational, economic, social, cultural and spiritual development.  

In addition to Prime Time Head Start, a library and economic development center are currently planned for the site.