Purpose, Timeline, & Tips for Awards & Scholarships Process

Purpose

The purpose of the IHSA Scholarships & Awards is to celebrate the successes of individuals involved with Head Start, support their efforts to further their education, and to promote Head Start programs to those not yet involved with Head Start.

EACH SCHOLARSHIP IS $1,000! Three awards have an accompanying scholarship:

1. Head Start Staff Scholarship

2. Head Start Alumni Scholarship, High School Junior or Senior

3. Parent Scholarship, Continuing Education

All applications are available in Spanish and the parent applications are available in Arabic.

TIMELINE

1. Sep 1, 2026 - IHSA Awards Cycle opens

2. Nov 30, 2026 - All applications are due in their entirety

3. Dec 18, 2026 - Scholarship & award recipients informed

4. Feb 9, 2027 - Recipients honored at 2027 IHSA Awards & Scholarships Breakfast at the Boise Centre East 9:00 am - 10:30 am

5. If needed, IHSA will provide transportation and lodging for parent and alumni scholarship & award winners

Tips

• If you are a former Head Start student or parent, please reach out to the Head Start program that you attended to inform them of your desire to apply.

• Start early and involve your whole program!  

• Discuss potential nominations and application statuses at staff meetings regularly. This is a chance to check in and support each other throughout the process.  

• Assign a lead person to spearhead the Scholarships & Award process at the program level.  

• Turn it into an opportunity for a program award! Have each location make nominations and create a committee to select the top nomination for a program award. 

• Have nominees complete their documents in electronic format. This makes it easier to submit AND make formatting corrections. 

• References and applications should all be submitted to IHSA in .PDF format. This solidifies the integrity of the document and allows it to be viewed without formatting changes.  

• Programs should maintain a relationship with high schools, informing them know of the scholarship opportunities.