The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to strengthen the Head Start and Early Head Start programs as part of an Administration-wide effort to close achievement gaps and promote early learning through the first eight years of life for the nation’s most vulnerable children. These quality improvements respond to growing
evidence on what works in early learning policy and practice, and incorporates Congressional mandates from the 2007 reauthorization of the Head Start Act.
A Congressionally-mandated study on the impact of the 2002-2003 Head Start program was submitted to Congress on January 13, 2010. The study measured the cognitive and social/emotional development, health status and behavior of approximately five thousand 3 and 4 year olds who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that had access to a Head Start program. The study showed that at the end of one program year, access to Head Start positively influenced children’s school readiness. When measured again at the end of kindergarten and first grade, however, the Head Start children and the control group children were at the same level on many of the measures studied.
To strengthen the impact of Head Start, HHS is in the process of:
* raising program performance standards
* increasing program accountability by only renewing grants for high-quality, constantly improving programs
* improving classroom practices by providing higher quality training for classroom teachers, staff and program directors and improving technical assistance to grantees looking to improve their programs
* convening a research advisory committee to gather insights from the Head Start Impact Study and other relevant research
* partnering with the Department of Education to collaborate with early childhood education and ensuring continuity of quality programs
The Administration has begun to ramp up efforts to improve the quality of all early childhood programs, with a focus on those serving low income families. One key element to this integrated effort will involve the Early Learning Challenge Grant program now under consideration in Congress. The program, which would be administered jointly by HHS and the Department of Education, would challenge states to develop innovative models that promote high standards of quality in all early childhood settings – including Head
Start, child care centers and public and private preschools. Funds would be granted to states already making progress on reform and excellence, allowing them to bring their models to scale. Grants would also go to states that show promise, but need additional assistance to launch a standards-based, outcomes-driven system.
Established in 1965, Head Start promotes school readiness for children in low income families by enhancing their social and cognitive development through educational, nutritional, health, social and other services. Head Start, and the more recently launched Early Head Start, have provided services to 25 million children and currently serve nearly
a million children each year.
To read more about the Office of Head Start’s Roadmap to Excellence go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2010/head_start_roadmap.html