Head Start is an essential early education and community program that strengthens local economies and supports young children’s early learning. School districts coordinate local funds and Head Start funding in order to provide early learning services in different settings, including in public schools or child care programs.
Head Start programs are a significant source of employment, and participating children see substantial and enduring benefits. To counter continuous attacks by the administration—including waging a federal funding freeze, threatening total elimination, and illegally withholding congressionally appropriated funding—Head Start advocates persistently highlight the crucial gap that the program fills in child care availability, particularly in rural communities, and the support it provides to prepare vulnerable young children to be successful in school and beyond.
This project would not be possible without the incredible work of Olivia Mowry and Toni Pandolfo and the voices and expertise of Amanda Schaufler, Michelle Heertje, and Donna Barrow.