On April 14, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Education Reform held a hearing on model Head Start programs and how they achieve their success.
Chair Mike Castle (R-DE) stated, “Today, we’re going to hear from representatives of a few of the many high quality programs participating in Head Start. We’ve invited these witnesses to share their stories and help us to better understand what factors can help a program to succeed.” Describing Head Start as a “good program that can be made stronger,” Rep. Castle cited the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which highlighted financial abuses in the program, and voiced committee support for GAO’s recommendation of increased competition for grantees. He also said the committee has just created a website as part of an effort to seek input “from parents, teachers and other stakeholders in early childhood education” on how to strengthen Head Start.
Noting that the “vast majority” of Head Start programs are “high quality,” Ranking Member Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) said that more resources should be provided to Head Start. Rep. Woolsey affirmed the importance of input from those involved in the program during the reauthorization process and expressed her hope for a bipartisan reauthorization.
Jefferson County (Louisville, KY) Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Daeschner outlined the success of their Head Start program, stating that their Head Start students’ performance “exceeds both state and National Reporting Systems averages. Additionally, results on the nationally-normed Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills show our third graders progressing from the 46th percentile in 1999 to the 59th percentile in 2004. We attribute much of this gain to the long-term effect of our strong Head Start/preschool program.” Highlighting parent involvement as “absolutely essential,” Dr. Daeschner said that support for parents includes a “home/school contract that includes daily reading with their child and take-home activities;” the “nationally recognized Fatherhood/Male Initiative,” created to “ensure that more children are connected with a significant, positive role model;” a transition program to help students and parents as the children move on to kindergarten; as well as a “Parent Assistance Center and Family Resource Centers that help families with a variety of school programs and social services.”
Concerning the reauthorization, Dr. Daeschner criticized the requirement that “all vehicles transporting Head Start children” have seat belts, stating that compliance with this regulation would cost $5.8 million and “result in a reduced number of children served by Head Start.” He urged the committee to adopt language proposed by Rep. Anne Northup (R-KY).
Miami Valley (Dayton, OH) Child Development Centers Program Coordinator Scott Siegfried outlined their system of measuring child outcomes, and stressed the need for a comprehensive, flexible approach. The system includes assessment through individual portfolios. “Throughout the school year,” he explained, “children’s experiences with writing, alphabetic principles and counting are captured through anecdotal notes, work sampling and photography. Along with results from our more formal child assessment system, these concrete images of progress are shared with parents during home visits and parent/teacher conferences.” Noting the importance of strengthening “the role of families as the primary educator of their children,” Mr. Siegfried said that materials “to support the development of critical concepts” are sent home to parents on a regular basis.
Barbara Mainster, executive director of the Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) in Immokalee, Florida, explained the role of her organization: “Today we serve over 6,200 children in seventy programs including 1,704 in the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program, 343 in Early Head Start and 952 in Regional Head Start…In addition to being an Early Head Start and Head Start Grantee, RCMA is a delegate agency of East Coast Migrant Head Start.” She said that Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Programs (MSHS), begun in 1969, “were the first Head Start programs to serve infants and toddlers,” who now make up two-thirds of the children in the program. Focusing on the difficulties for migrant workers in rural areas, Ms. Mainster stated, “In most states, local childcare resources are not available at the times when migrants come into a community, especially for infants and toddlers…When childcare centers are not available, parents have no choice but to take the children to the fields where they are exposed to pesticides, hazardous equipment, extreme heat and other health dangers.” To assist these families, RCMA collaborates with school systems, local health centers and public health departments, as well as churches and the agricultural employers, she said, adding that former farm workers also play a key role: “Since they are trusted and respected by our families, they have the ability to create and instill awareness of the importance of education, both for the children and for their parents. Head Start has long recognized that unless very low income families were helped to change and develop new skills, and raise their own literacy levels, that long term gains for the children would not be sustained.”
Ms. Mainster pointed out that, according to a 2001 Head Start Study, “only 19 percent of the eligible migrant and seasonal children in our country were being served.” She said that RCMA proposes “that a funding floor of not less than 5% of the total annual Head Start appropriation be set aside for MSHS.”
Affirming that “Head Start is unique because it provides an opportunity to lift entire families and communities to better economic, educational, and personal lives,” Gayle Cunningham, executive director of the Jefferson County (Birmingham, AL) Committee for Economic Opportunity, said that their Head Start programs serve “1,431 preschoolers, and 148 pregnant women, infants, and toddlers.” Key elements of their success are: comprehensive Head Start Performance Standards, skilled teachers and staff, effective teaching support, and a broad community program. Ms. Cunningham stated, “We help families to assess their current situations, set goals, and take concrete steps to achieve them, be they more schooling, job training, better jobs, better housing, or more food in the house…We assure that each child has a medical home a provider that they go to regularly for check-ups and illnesses, and we assist parents to take care of any health or medical needs they might have while they are in Head Start. We provide dental and visual screening and then assist parents to obtain any dental services or glasses. We identify mental health problems and provide assistance to help parents and teachers address them. Our extensive collaborations with a wide range of medical, dental, psychological, and social services providers enable us to address these needs.” A support group for grandparents, called GEMS, also has been established due to the “growing number of grandparents raising young children,” Ms. Cunningham said.
Confirming the problem of long waiting lists, Ms. Cunningham noted that “more than 1,900 children” were on the waiting list for their Head Start programs, in addition to the 3,000 children on the waiting list for before/after school care vouchers.
