BETHEL -- A new Head Start early education center is on track to open in Bethel on June 2.

The Sharon Wilson-Cox Early Learning Center -- also known as Sharon’s Place -- will give up to 40 children aged six weeks to five-years-old the skills needed for success in school, according to Jim Martin, chief executive officer of Community Concepts.

Community Concepts offers social services in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties and administers Head Start, an early education program that promotes school readiness, and which last year assisted 525 children.  

Twelve instructors will work at the center that includes three classrooms and a fenced-in playground.  

The center is named for Sharon Wilson-Cox, who worked for 45 years with Head Start, and who died from cancer in 2023. 

At an unveiling of the center last week, Wilson-Cox was remembered as a woman who dedicated her life to education.

“There’s no words to describe what this means to me, I’m just thankful we have this to remember my mom’s legacy,” Sean Wilson, Wilson-Cox’s son, said on Thursday. “I know my mom is smiling down on us because we’re able to educate more children with this new center, and that’s all she ever wanted to do.”

The opening of the center comes as Community Concepts and Head Start marks 60 years in western Maine.

“Sharon’s passion, warmth and unwavering belief of every child’s potential has left a profound impact on generations of families here in this community,” said Martin. “Early childhood education has been at the heart of that mission all along. Research shows that high quality learning yields lifelong benefits, and Sharon’s Place is a reflection of that.”