Leaguers Inc

The Leaguers, Inc. was founded in 1943 and is the oldest incorporated African American social service agency in New Jersey. From our Newark headquarters on South 10th Street and centers in Irvington, Union Township, Roselle and Elizabeth, we run Head Start and Early Head Start programs for more than 1,100 children ages 3 to 5 and 400 infants and toddlers.

Our classrooms use The Creative Curriculum, a research-based framework that plans developmentally appropriate lessons in social and emotional, language, physical and cognitive skills, with attention to the different ways children learn, including children with disabilities. Each child is screened with the Early Screening Inventory-Revised within 45 days of enrollment, and families take part in planning from there. Our disabilities services support families of children with special needs enrolled in our programs.

Support extends beyond the classroom. Expecting mothers receive weekly home visits, group socialization and nurse visits through a partnership with Rutgers School of Nursing. Our Male Mentoring Program connects fathers and other men in children's lives with each other and with community resources, and our health services help families keep children well.