Discover the legacy that revolutionized early education
Stonewall Head Start, Inc. is the continuation of President Johnson and Lady Bird’s historic 1968 non-profit charter, championing equal opportunity access for children’s pre-primary education and essential services to quality child care.
About SHS - LBJ’s Legacy and Our Mission
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Introduction
Stonewall Head Start, Inc. was historically established by President Johnson in 1968 through non-profit preschool charter, in a mission to advocate for children’s education equality within early learning institutions, making essential services accessible for the first time. Johnson founded SHS, Inc. to specifically serve the children surrounding his and Lady Bird’s hometown residence.
Today, SHS, Inc. remains steadfast carrying forward the altruistic mission as a private 501 ©3 non-profit corporation, ensuring that every child has a right to education coupled with comprehensive services to support growth, development and family-stability.
What We Do
As a private non-profit corporation, Stonewall Head Start, Inc. operates through grants, community donations and volunteerism.
We offer three accredited Texas Rising Star community preschools - located in Fredericksburg, Harper and Johnson City - that are tuition-based, with tuition scholarship opportunity through CCS and quality nutrition meal programs through CACFP, partner providers.
We are an equal opportunity education institution, serving children of every background, and offer comprehensive services.
Our schools are unique to program center location, varying in levels of immersive curricula and activities supportive to the local community therein and licensing specific to its center.
Mission Framework:
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We advocate for the rights and development of children by supporting families across the local area through non-profit services, school resources and partner programs
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We recognize that true educational success is deeply connected to the health and well-being of family stability. Our goal is to break down potential barriers and offer families guided assistance, so that their children’s potential can be nurtured.
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We provide high-quality early childhood education that empowers children from all backgrounds. Our comprehensive programs are designed not only to prepare children academically but prepare them internally as confident, self-aware, independent and mindful students ready for the next road ahead.
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Core Values
Since its inception over fifty years ago, Stonewall Head Start’s steadfast dedication to nurturing the growth and development of children has remained unyielding. Our ability to adapt to the evolving needs of the community while maintaining our core objectives has been a fundamental aspect of our organization’s success.
Guiding Principles
Guided by core principles, we continue to foster an environment where each child has the opportunity to thrive and reach their fullest potential. Our commitment not only reflects the visionary ideals set forth by our founders but also aligns with the contemporary challenges facing families today, ensuring that we remain a vital resource within the Texas Hill Country.
Mission:SHS, Inc. is committed to offering a safe and developmentally appropriate environment, promoting interactive and engaging learning experiences that enrich children's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
Vision:The organization strives to equip young children with fundamental life skills, nurturing their confidence and independence for a promising future.
Values:Led by a dedicated executive team, SHS, Inc. honors the vision of its founders while continuing to adapt to the evolving educational landscape. The organization remains a vital resource, advocating for the rights and development of children and supporting families across the Texas Hill Country.
SHS, Inc. Innovative Leaders
SHS is led by a dedicated executive team committed to preserving the historical mission of our founders, while innovatively evolving our programs to shift and remain pillars of support for families in the community.
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CEO/CFO
From a long-term tenure of 34 years serving the financial communications industry for international capital markets, Paul Carlyle embarked upon a career transition into early childhood education. In 2011, Carlyle joined Stonewall Head Start as Chief Financial Officer, and in 2013 assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer. He enjoys the reward of helping children and their families carve a bright and positive learning future.
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Education/Executive Director
As a true local with ancestral history deeply rooted within the local area, Kimberly Porter knew her calling was to work with children. She began teaching at former SHS location - Stonewall Center - in 2002, and in 2005, received a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. After taking a few years off to raise her children, she came back to accept a position on the school board and then shortly after became Center Director in 2009.
About Our Founders: Mission for SHS, Inc. & Our Mission Today
The Establishment of SHS, Inc. 1968 Non-Profit Charter
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In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a compelling State of the Union Address, highlighting critical deficiencies in children’s education, showcasing significant disparities in access towards essential resources supportive to children’s learning opportunities and overall health and well-being during a most crucial time in their first years of development.
Feeling it was urgent to advocate for children’s rights, both Lady Bird and LBJ inspired two programs, back-to-back the next years following, which pioneered a breakthrough where so many children in America had been limited for too long.
The Johnson’s believed that nurturing the minds and mouths of future generations should be an inherent right to all, as opposed to a privileged few, and their vision laid the framework towards a more educated youth in society that we see today.
Their conviction fueled the creation of two programs that launched back to back, in 1965 and 1968, respectively. National Head Start, to serve at the national level and Stonewall Head Start, Inc. (SHS, Inc.) a 501 (c) 3, to serve their beloved hometown area. The Johnson’s intended the two programs to work alongside the other, to reach children at a wider-spread, comprehensive level.
Following the Articles of Incorporation of 1968 for Stonewall Head Start, Inc., schools were immediately built in Fredericksburg, Harper, and Johnson City, Texas.
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SHS, Inc. detached officially from National Head Start in 2016, in order to better serve families in the Texas Hill Country as a Sole-Member 501(c)3.
This decision allowed for more direct relations between school-board executives, teachers and children, in addition to preserving charter integrity and honorary namesake and avoid potential conflicts of interest.
SHS remains advocating for children the same as if LBJ and Lady Bird were still championing our program.
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In 1968, inspired from the vision articulated by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, Stonewall Head Start Preschool (SHS, Inc.) was established as part of the national effort to address educational inequities for underserved children in the Texas Hill Country.
President Johnson’s commitment to ensuring that every child—a right to education coupled with comprehensive health, nutrition, and family support services—laid the foundation for our mission.
At Stonewall Head Start, Inc., we carry forward this legacy by providing high-quality early childhood education that empowers children from all backgrounds. Our comprehensive programs are designed not only to prepare children academically but also to support their overall well-being, recognizing that true educational success is deeply connected to health and family stability.
By honoring the principles set forth through the establishment of SHS, Inc.’s Non-Profit Charter of 1968 in lieu of President Johnson’s notable State of the Union Address of 1964, Stonewall Head Start remains dedicated to breaking down barriers to education and nurturing the potential of every child in our community.
Timeline of Historical Events
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1964
President Johnson’s powerful State of the Union in 1964, inspired a new dawn of education opportunities and access for children’s services.
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1965 - 1968
National Head Start debuted for children nation-wide in 1965, while Stonewall Head Start, Inc. debuted only to serve children in his hometown area in 1968.
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1968-2016
Following Stonewall Head Start’s Certificate of Incorporation schools were immediately built in Blanco and Gillespie County.
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2016
In 2016, Stonewall Head Start, Inc. became a sole-member non-profit organization, to preserve charter integrity.
