Original Research by School Decision on The Bostic Head Start Center
The Bostic Head Start Center is a public preschool serving children in pre-kindergarten in Grove City. The program enrolls a small cohort of students with a demographic makeup that reflects the diversity of its surrounding community: roughly a third are Black, roughly a third are Hispanic, and the remainder are White, multiracial, or Asian, with one American Indian student. State testing does not apply to this grade level, and no graduation rate exists.
Head Start is a federal early-childhood program, and the Bostic Center operates as part of the South-Western City School District, which spans Grove City, Galloway, Urbancrest, Georgeshire, and part of Columbus. Grove City itself is one of the fastest-growing suburbs in central Ohio, experiencing substantial residential expansion driven largely by the Beulah Park mixed-use redevelopment on the former racetrack site. The city blends a historic, walkable Town Center along Broadway with newer suburban corridors and major distribution and healthcare employment. Housing values in the zip code are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and median rents are reasonable, making the area accessible to families at many income levels.
The district has undertaken meaningful capital improvements in recent years, including the completion of four new middle school buildings in 2022. However, the district has also moved in a direction that may concern families with children in special education or English language services. In April 2025, the South-Western City Schools Board voted to join professional organizations including the National School Board Leadership Council, an affiliation that prompted sustained public opposition from parents and educators. The NSBLC's stated positions include removing students with learning challenges from general education settings and treating English learners as an unacceptable taxpayer cost. The district reported serving students who speak dozens of different languages. More than a dozen families publicly stated they were considering leaving the district as a result of this decision. For families with children receiving special education services, or with English learners, this represents a concrete signal about the district's recent policy direction and educational philosophy, and warrants direct conversation with the school before enrollment.
A parent may want to look into the district's current special education and English learner programs, staffing, and placement practices directly with school staff. Information about preschool curriculum, teaching approach, and family engagement was not available in the data reviewed.
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