“In February of 1965, [Doctor Robert E. Cooke, Chief of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University], and his panel, proposed recommendations for the primary goal of the new Head Start Program. The panel recommended a comprehensive program which would concentrate on health, nutrition, education, and social services for children, and they emphasized the desirability of parent participation in this new program. This comprehensive approach is what has made ... Head Start ... such a nation-wide success. We must never let that creation be destroyed!”
Our Quote of the Week reminds us of the success of Head Start, the War on Poverty program that combines early childhood education, nutrition, health, and social services programs for children, while encouraging active parent participation. This two-generation approach both aids with child development and supports the skill building of parents.
October is Head Start Awareness Month, and this week, we are once again sharing some words from Sargent Shriver’s 2005 speech to the National Head Start Association. Shriver was 89 years old at the time and was dealing with Alzheimer’s, but he sent these remarks so that his words could be included in the program for the Association’s 40th anniversary celebration.
In his remarks, Sargent Shriver makes clear that the reason for which Head Start is so successful is that it takes a comprehensive approach to nurturing the well-being of young children.The program provides early childhood education for children at a critical time in their development. Programs vary from place to place, but the overall age range today is from birth to age five. The programs also serve children in other ways, by ensuring that their health care and nutritional needs are met. The program’s active engagement of parents includes involvement in daily activities and opens up volunteer as well as paid opportunities that strengthen leadership skills. As with all of the other programs of the War on Poverty, Head Start programs cater to the individual needs of the community in which they operate. There is no single blueprint for Head Start programs; each one addresses the distinct needs of its own community.
Head Start programs around the country are currently grappling with the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposed changes to Head Start. While the stated goal is to reduce bureaucracy at the federal level, the reality is that some of the proposed changes would make the programs less effective and less able to meet the needs of families in communities around the country. Among the changes proposed are the elimination of staff-to-student ratios, which will make classrooms more crowded and teachers less able to provide quality instruction; the elimination of medical, dental, and vision screenings; the elimination of the guarantees of inclusion for children with disabilities; and an English-only mandate, with the exception of Head Start programs that operate on tribal lands. In short, these changes go to the heart of what Sargent Shriver was warning us against when he spoke to the importance of safeguarding the elements that make Head Start effective.
The public comment period related to these changes has recently closed, but we can find other ways to support our local Head Start programs by:
- volunteering in a Head Start classroom;
- donating supplies and books;
- continuing to contact our local, state, or federal our to advocate for funding;
- inquiring about vacancies on local Head Start policy councils;
- lending our professional skills to benefit the program in your community (e.g., offering free tax expertise for parents or teachers; providing free medical screenings; helping with photography or social media)
We can all find a way to support these valuable programs in service of a more expansive future for the young families in our communities who are struggling with economic uncertainty. What will your way be?
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