Giving Needy Young Children a Real Head Start

When you ask parents what they want to accomplish in life, their answers always include opening doors of opportunity for their children, so they can grow up healthy and safe, graduate from high school and college, and achieve the American dream.

Head Start was enacted as part of the war on poverty 42 years ago. Its goal is to give disadvantaged children ages three to five the foundation they need for success in school and in life. It's based on the fundamental principle that education has the power to overcome the destructive forces of poverty, and that the earlier it begins, the better the results will be.

Since its launch in 1965, Head Start has helped more than 24 million children, including more than 900,000 now in the program. It's currently up for reauthorization by Congress -- and we're using this opportunity to improve it to help millions more.

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives approved our bill by a vote of 381-36, and the Senate approved it 95-0. It's now on President Bush's desk, awaiting his signature. The bill builds on the successes and the lessons learned from the current program, and it will enable Head Start to offer better services and reach more children.

Here's how it achieves those goals:

Stronger Support for Teachers: Head Start teachers currently earn only half the salary of public school kindergarten teachers, which makes it difficult to recruit and retain qualified teachers. The new legislation commits 40 percent of its new funding to increasing teacher salaries. It also establishes higher standards for teacher education, to ensure that Head Start teachers are well qualified.

Coverage of Additional Needy Children: Under the legislation, eligibility requirements would expand to include children in families up to 130 percent of the poverty level, which is $26,800 for a family of four. Head Start will also give priority to especially needy children for enrollment in programs, and provides additional outreach and services to children with special needs, homeless children, and those who are learning English as a second language.

Stronger Early Head Start: Children in high-quality early education programs are more likely to do well when they reach kindergarten, are less likely to be held back a grade in school, and are more likely to graduate from high school and go on to college. To help bring these benefits to even younger children, Congress created Early Head Start in 1995 to help children from birth to three years of age. The new legislation will enable it to serve an additional 8,000 children and guarantee them a full range of health and behavioral services. It will also designate specialists in every state to make sure the program meets the needs of infants and toddlers.

Accountability: Although the vast majority of Head Start programs provide quality services, some programs have serious deficiencies. The legislation will implement a new system for allocating grants and creates state advisory councils to give better direction for local Head Start programs. And if a local program is unable to meet high standards, the legislation allows others to take over in a manner that is transparent, fair, and more responsive to the local needs of families and children.

There's no question that Head Start works. Studies have found that it expands vocabularies, develops writing skills, strengthens social skills and improves behavior.

In this age of globalization, every citizen deserves a chance to obtain the skills to compete in the modern economy. We still haven't won the war on poverty, but thanks to Head Start, we're getting closer.

Comments

[TrickleUp]

WE LOVE TED!

[researcher]

"There's no question that Head Start works. Studies have found that it expands vocabularies, develops writing skills, strengthens social skills and improves behavior."

I forgot to mention that I have seen all of these benefits mentioned above in my three years of volunteer work with head start.

[researcher]

As a certified volunteer in head start it is a wonderful program for these young 3 and 4 year olds.

They are so loving. I get ten times more love than I give. I just wish once you could see what happens when I enter their classroom. I have twenty kids come running towards me to give me a hug and I have to brace myself down on my knees to be at their height but love every minute of it.

When we walk out to the playground I have 3 to 7 of these kids trying to hold my hand all at once. I have to do some funny walking to hold hands with that many kids but I enjoy every minute of it.

There are two highlights of my week one is seeing and playing with my grandchildren and the other is working with these kids at head start. As a retired university professor this is a treat after working with adults my entire life these kids are a delight.

[KindAndThoughtful]

Senator Kennedy,

Thank you for the post. I also think it would help if the government gives huge grants to online encyclopedias like Britannica, World Book, Wikipedia and The Citizendium. It would serve to make knowledge accessible to all.

[der Alte]

couple yrs ago, i worked for a term of Head Start & i was very impressed with what I saw at that time. since then I'm pretty sure the need has grown here, but it looked like a winner to me. (75 yr-old-guy.)

[Kungfublood]

Head start is a legitimate program that honestly attempts to help children, unlike baby butcher Bush's no child's behind left program.

[jenevieve]

I have no direct experience with the Head Start program, but, for about 30 years now, I have been hearing very positive comments about Head Start from persons who have had direct experience with the program. Consistently. Parents and children and teachers. The proposed upgrades seem modest but positive, and well worth the money. When children in poor families are faced not only with disadvantages associated with lack of resources and occasional financial panic (e.g., how do we pay the rent this month?), but also with the results of their parents' turning to drugs and alcohol for temporary relief from the endless strife of trying to survive without adequate means, and/or from their parents' mental illness, and/or from their parents' poor parenting skills, these children's chances of success are dismal. Pile onto these circumstances an economy that offers ever-diminishing prospects for decent jobs at decent wages, and it is no mystery that there are so many high school and life-long drop-outs. Ted Kennedy has always strived to pay back to the society that has rewarded him and his family with the advantages of wealth. I wish he could run.

[Stevelagain]

I'm really glad to hear the Democrat controlled Senate wants to spend more more more.

Hey, wait a minute.....didn't you folks tell us that the Republicans were spending too much? that they were spending our "children's future" and that you folks would stop it?

I must have missed your balanced budget bill.

A few other bills I would like you to consider after you get that balanced budget bill passed.

Fix Social Security.

Fix Medicare.

Secure the southern boarder and stop allowing millions of illegal cheap workers to come into this nation and displace working parents who have children you so care about to feed and cloth.

National Health Care. Not crappy kind foreigners have but actually WORK on this with the health care providers, hospitals, doctors, nurses, Medical companies, patient advocates and come up with a unique American system that doesn't become another social security or Medicare program heading for disaster that you refuse to fix.

[TRYKER]

Now can you take a hatchet to NCLB and help redeem education in K-12?

[Mormondude]

The real studies show that Head Start has very little if any long term impact on intelligence.

Your 'proof' is what? You put a 3 year old in head start for a year, and they get smarter? Don't ALL children get smarter over that same year, regardless of whether they are in free babysitting or not?

The fact that a program that has been in place for SO long and spent SO much more has borne SO little fruit boggles the mind.

We need to spend our precious education dollars on things that WORK, not feel-good snake oil.

[ecotopian]

Head Start is wonderful. I might be biased in my praise since I was in the program in the early 70's. Please do all you can to continue funding for this great program.

[nihilon x]

I went to Head Start as a kid and enjoyed it quite a bit.

When I started elementary school, the teachers wanted to skip me up two grades, but my mother was against it.

I don't know if Head Start was responsible for me doing so well in school from the very beginning, but I know it certainly didn't hurt.

[NoFactsJustTruth]

Thank you, Senator Kennedy, and 'congrats' to Congress.

This sort of work for OUR country IS appreciated by everyone, although I have justified concerns about conservative leadership that might rather see it funding bombs dropped on Iran.

And, while I think the preznutz will try to use what he can to strike back at dems for the Iraq occupation funding vote, this is probably NOT his tool of revenge. It has GREAT support from both sides of the isle and great enpowerment for a lot of worthy children.

A 'tip-of-the-hat' to all involved, sir!


Well, at least those that wish to deny further funding for occupying Iraq, anyway.

[moderationsmuse]

Head Start is glorified babysitting. If you want to help disadvantaged children, educate their parents. This program has been around for 42 years? And it works? Then WHY are we having this conversation now?
It doesn't work. Try something new. Educate the parents. Not babysitting. Night school. Weekends. On the job. Whatever.
Educate the parents, and they'll teach their own kids. It starts with a culture of learning. And that has to begin with the adults.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Hey, no spending OUTSIDE the federal budget.
If you wanna help kids, fine, but keep a
handle on the spending so they don't end up
working in a mine in China or something, there.
9 trillion, and counting...no pork, no giveaways
and lots of public accountability, matter of
fact upgrade that last to NO federal spending
PERIOD without full public accountability.
They were trying that 'its for the CHILDREN'
crap with the HMO giveaway thing...