Head Start Is the Right Start

Since January of this year, when the congressionally-commissioned Head Start (HS) Impact Study was released (here), many people have been calling for an end to this $7B ‘colossal example of government waste’. I think they are wrong. The basis of these calls is the study’s finding that the benefits provided to three and four-year olds dissipate by the time they finish first grade.

Now raise your hand if you believe that any gains were permanent, minus other support? I thought the idea was to get disadvantaged kids up to the level of the average kid entering school, so they would have a better chance. Between what the kids and their parents learn, I ‘m sure some people hoped that the effects would be permanent, but should we be surprised that they are not? How much instruction and other support did the care givers actually receive? Should we just wipe our hands and say we tried? I don’t think so.

It is abominable that we have done so little for these kids in K-6, besides a HS boost, and yet expect so much in return. Early education should not be sink or swim, but rather swim or swim better. The needs of kids vary widely, starting with how well they match up physically and mentally to their grade, by age. There should be more latitude to place kids where they best fit emotionally and intellectually, regardless of their birthday.

It makes sense that whatever is disadvantaging the HS kids would not just disappear after kindergarten and first-grade. The better question is figuring out what is making early learners (K-6) fall behind and stay there. I will certainly bet that as much as Head Start is an intervention, when it stops, the benefits dissipate. Whether it is being read to, fed nutritiously, or given regular and mandated dental service, we can bet that these kids are not getting the full measure of what they need to flourish in school.

So, instead of clamoring for an end to Head Start as a waste, we should be asking ourselves, how to come behind it and not lose it’s gains. As a YMCA volunteer Board member and Head Start supporter, I would push for extending our current HS program to become a K-6 after-school/Sat. study/activity/meal program. I am confident - but willing to be measured - that greater support through the developmental years will set most of these kids on a deserving educational and positive social course.

James C. Collier

READ MOST RECENT POSTS AT ACTING WHITE...

Technorati Tags: Head Start Is the Right Start, Disparity, K-6, Poor, Education, Acting White