How Growing Futures gave one Johnson County family a fresh start

When Rhianna Schuetz was getting a fresh start in Johnson County after escaping a domestic violence situation, she had no way of knowing that a flyer would help write the next chapter of her family’s life.

At the time, she had one young child and another on the way, and nothing aside from what she had in her purse. Her focus, as she puts it now, was “working to rebuild.”

After her son was born, she was getting services through the Safehome women’s shelter and spied a flyer in the elevator advertising Growing Futures, a Head Start early childhood education center in Overland Park.

She reached out about enrolling her then 6-month-old son, Kohen, who was attending an in-home daycare, and, given her situation, her son was moved to the top of the waiting list.

Eventually, he was placed in an infant room, continued through the program until starting kindergarten and the whole family got pretty invested in the wider community around Growing Futures.

Now, several years later, her family is no longer eligible for the in-person Head Start program for Schuetz’s youngest son, 2-year-old Hayes, due to household income, but she still sings the praises of Growing Futures and programs like it for the services they offer.

“I think a lot of people probably aren’t aware that they really are there to help support the entire family, especially when they’re going through tougher times,” Schuetz said. “Although I can’t qualify for it now, it’s something I will always be passionate about, because it was really the support [we needed].”

And, Kohen, who is 10 now and in fifth grade at Overland Park Elementary, is “extremely smart, bright and friendly,” Schuetz said. He’s also among the top readers in the U.S. and is in the gifted program offered through the Shawnee Mission School District.

Schuetz, who now works in commercial real estate, believes that the quality education offered at Growing Futures, alongside the additional services, family support, and overall stability provided during a particularly uncertain time for her family, played a significant role in her son’s success.

“There was a lot of instability when he originally started there, because I was completely rebuilding as a low-income, single mom with two kids,” she said. “I think that the extra support was really helpful, and also it provided the consistency and reliability that I needed.”

Schuetz’s story is not unique; over the years, Growing Futures has helped an estimated 10,000 children and their families. Now, as the Head Start program prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, community members, staff, educators and donors are reflecting on its history and looking toward the future.

Looking back on Growing Futures

Established in 1965, Growing Futures was one of the country’s original Head Start programs. At the time, it was called Head Start of Shawnee Mission and began as a summer program that eventually grew into a full early childhood education program.

Today, it runs out of the former Overland Park Elementary School building at 8155 Santa Fe Drive, its home for around three decades, and serves infants to pre-K learners in its Early Head Start and Head Start programs.

Larry Lewis, executive director of Growing Futures, said the program offers “high-quality early educational experiences” completely free to families who might not otherwise be able to afford them. After all, in Johnson County, it can cost thousands of dollars a year to get child care, let alone enriching child care, which can be a significant cost burden.

“We nurture strong beginnings for children through a comprehensive early educational approach that supports and empowers families,” he said, recounting a new mission statement for the organization that rolled out with a refreshed brand this year.

The program serves around 225 students on-site, plus more families in home-based programs. It also has a waitlist that usually runs at least 150 potential students deep for in-person early education.

And the families who send their children to Growing Futures come from myriad different backgrounds and with a diverse set of lived experiences.

“Our families are brave, our families are courageous, our families are determined to make sure that their children have a better life than they had and have,” Lewis said.

Late last year, Head Start programs around the Kansas City region were squeezed by the potential of their funding running out during the record-breaking federal government shutdown.

While Growing Futures — which gets its grant from the federal government each year in July — wasn’t directly impacted by that concern, a halt to other government programs during that time did touch a lot of the families they serve.

Growing Futures offers more than childcare

Kenyatta Clay-Roberson, who goes by Miss Kiki in her classroom, teaches kids ages 1 to 3. In interviews with the Post, she and others stressed how Growing Futures goes beyond the typical child care some might assume it provides.

“We don’t treat it like child care; we treat it like school,” she said.

The school day starts around 7:15 a.m. and goes until 4:30 p.m. each day, and while they’re there, students get breakfast, lunch and a snack. Children in her classroom also get a nap. But through the structured play, circle time, small group and large group activities, they’re always learning.

“I love watching them just blossom from little caterpillars and form into little butterflies,” Clay-Roberson said. “From the very beginning, when they first come into my classroom where they’re beginning to walk and communicate, and then just watching them grow and flourish, it’s one of my biggest rewards.”

Lewis said the top priority is preparing kids for school as they graduate from their program and head off to kindergarten. And by one major metric, Growing Futures has seen success on that front — in the U.S., 64% of kids are ready for kindergarten, but heading into this school year, 96% of Growing Futures’ graduates were ready for kindergarten.

It goes beyond the classroom too. Growing Futures also offers resources for families who might need help in other ways, from utility assistance to food insecurity.

“It’s taking care of the families as a whole, and making sure that not only the kids, but the parents, have everything they need to be successful,” Clay-Roberson said.

They also offer a range of wraparound services for students, like speech language pathology, occupational therapy, health screenings and more, which Lewis views as a critical part of the mission of preparing kids for K-12 school.

Moira Holland, a Growing Futures board member, got involved with the Head Start program as a prospective donor at one of their philanthropy events. She’s been a regular financial supporter ever since.

“The value is just fulfilling the need for not only an incredible first start for education, but all the wraparound services they give to the families,” she said.

The gap of need persists

While some might assume Johnson County, the wealthiest county in the state of Kansas, doesn’t have a need for Head Start programs, Holland said those people would be mistaken.

“There is such a great need, and I don’t think people understand that in Johnson County, there’s a perception that we don’t have these needs,” she said.

In fact, an estimated 4,000 children between birth and 5 years old would qualify for Head Start programs in Johnson County based on household income. However, between Growing Futures and Olathe Head Start offered by the Olathe Public School system, only around 400 students are currently served.

That leaves quite a wide gap of need, Lewis said; one he hopes Growing Futures can chip away at in the future.

“Our vision for the next 60 years is to be able to meet the capacity and meet the true need to make sure that all children are getting a quality early education experience that prepares them to go into the school system,” he said.

At the same time, Lewis wants to see “the essence of Growing Futures stay the same” in the future.

“We’re not going to solve poverty in our lifetime, and so it will exist, and those families will need access to high-quality early education to prepare their children for the future,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure that we help this community understand the need that is right here, that they can then pour and invest into this community specifically.”

As for Schuetz and her family, they have seen the value of Growing Futures and the impact it had on their lives firsthand.

“It’s great for Overland Park and Johnson County, and I hope people continue to support it,” Schuetz said. “A lot of families are in need in ways outside of just basic daycare or preschool. I think that it serves a purpose that no other organization does.”

How you can support Growing Futures:

One of the best ways to support Growing Futures, Lewis and others have said, is through financial contributions. Find information about one-time gifts, regular giving or planned giving options here.

There are also regular philanthropic events that Growing Futures holds each year. This year, the nonprofit is also hosting a brand new event coming up later this month. All those events are:

• First, there is Mimosas and Melodies at 10:30 a.m. on March 28, at Chickn N Pickle in Overland Park. Ticket costs range from $60 to $90, and this event, hosted alongside the Johnson County Young Matrons, is new this year.
• Then, at 4:30 p.m. on May 2, Growing Futures will host the Run For Roses (a Kentucky Derby watch party) at Hallbrook Country Club in Leawood. Tickets start at $100.
• Finally, there will be the Harvesting Hope event at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, at Strang Hall in downtown Overland Park. More details to come later.

Holland also said another way people can support Growing Futures is with their time. There are group volunteering opportunities, as well as individual volunteer roles available. Find out more here.

Looking back: How Johnson County Head Start programs are weathering the federal government shutdown