The Osage Nation is improving education and childcare opportunities for Osage students and families by building a new Child Care facility on the government campus in Pawhuska, OK. On May 8, 2023, tribal government officials along with Wahzhahzhe Early Learning Academy (WELA) students and staff attended a groundbreaking commemorating the start of construction.
This new building is designed to improve the day-to-day lives of Osage educators, students, and families in the Pawhuska area. The facility will be 18,752 square feet, which includes eight classrooms, outdoor creative spaces, a kitchen, two indoor gross motor skills classrooms, a teacher training room, and office space for Wahzhazhe Early Learning Academy administration and Pawhuska Wahzhazhe Early Learning Academy Staff.
Jennifer Holding, the Nation’s director of Child Care and Development, said “I know [WELA staff and teachers] going to love this new building. We know it’s going to be a beautiful building with absolutely everything that the children and the teachers need. We anxiously await to see the finished facility for the 2024 school year.”
Read more about the project here.
