Spend More on Head Start in This Economy: Is This a Joke?

No this is not a punch line to joke. This week New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof posted a piece about the value of early childhood education. He called for increased spending to combat the inequality that exists between rich and poor student. Head Start serves more than 900,000 low-income children a year. Those of us who work in or with Head Start programs know the many ways this comprehensive program supports vulnerable children and families. Yet the debate continues about whether this money is well spent if, as the Impact Study reports, the measured educational “gains” do not last beyond second grade. Some claim Head Start in its current form is a failure.

In an earlier New York Times article, Joe Klein called for “one program” under the Department of Education. In my mind this raises many new questions:

-How do you think moving Head Start into the jurisdiction of the Department of Education would impact how we define and deliver early education?

-Would their oversight improve the quality of care in early childhood?

-Have the Department of Education policies and oversight provided quality education in the K-12 world?

-Do you think all early care programs for the “rich” are the high quality?

-Can the Department Of Education understand the nuances that define high quality in early care programs?

-Can we continue to quote two studies done over 50 years ago with a small group of children and families who lived in a world that is vastly different from today?