In 1965, the Office of Economic Opportunity launched Project Head Start as an eight-week summer program. Head Start was part of the War on Poverty, which embodied a basic belief in education as the solution to poverty. Head Start was designed to help break the "cycle of poverty" by providing preschool children of low income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. At that time, part of the new government thinking on the nature of poverty and the uses of education, and born of the civil-rights movement, was that the government was obligated to help disadvantaged groups in order to compensate for inequality in social or economic conditions. The concept of "maximum feasible participation" represented a new philosophy in federal government that low income people should help plan and run their own programs. Education, child development specialists, community leaders, and parents enthusiastically received Head Start across the nation and recruited children age three to school entry age.

In 1969, Head Start was transferred from the Office of Economic Opportunity to the Office of Child Development in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. It has now become a program within the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Head Start serves many American Indian, migrant farm worker, urban and rural children and families in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Pacific Insular Areas.

Head Start has grown from the eight-week demonstration project to include full day/year services and many program options. Families with children birth to age 3 have been served in Head Start since at least 1967 by Migrant/Seasonal Head Start and Parent Child Centers, however in the mid-1990's, birth to age 3 services were formalized and expanded with the inception of Early Head Start.

My Head Start involvement has taught my daughter & myself there are many different people who care for us & share with us. People that teach us the good, not the bad. It's a wonderful program for children to learn to share, play with others, learn A-B-C & 1-2-3's. I know my daughter loves to come to school & looks forward to it every day.

--PACT Head Start Parent

 

 

 

Several unique aspects distinguish Head Start. The first is its flexibility. The original planners of Project Head Start realized that no one program design could meet the needs and build on the strengths of every child in every community. Head Start is an evolving concept upon which variations are made, tailored to the needs and strengths of the community the program serves. Flexibility, or local program design, is a requirement, not merely an option. In this way, children and families with diverse needs are assured of a place in their community's Head Start program. Underlying its flexibility, Head Start has a solid core of program policy, the Head Start Program Performance Standards, which unite the variety of local agency programs.

Secondly, Head Start is a comprehensive program, grounded in environmental enrichment, and including the fields of health, social services, and education. The delivery of services is similarly comprehensive, directed not only at the child, but at the child as a part of a family and a community. Believing that children develop in the context of their families, cultures, and communities, Head Start services are family centered and community-based. Head Start offers family members opportunities and support for growth and change, believing that people can identify their own strengths, needs, and interests and are capable of finding solutions. Head Start's focus on the whole child extends to a recognition of the importance of the family, not the institution, as the source of a child's values and behavior.

The third distinctive aspect of Head Start is the idea that parents should participate, both on administrative policy committees and in their children's education. Parent involvement in Head Start was truly revolutionary. It represented a new attitude on the part of the government towards the poor. Economically disadvantaged families were no longer seen as passive recipients of services, but rather as active, respected participants and decision makers.

"Intellectually, then, as well as politically and socially, Head Start was an idea whose time had come. And the report of the Head Start Planning Committee stands as one of The most significant historical documents Ever written concerning the needs of children. It pointed a direction for the nation, which Head Start has only begun to realize."

Dr. Julius B. Richmond, Head Start Founder

Myths and misconceptions about Head Start have prevailed over the years. Many have believed that Head Start has a single, standardized educational curriculum that every program uses. This has never been true. From the beginning, local programs have had flexibility in planning educational curricula that meet the needs of their children and communities.

Another misunderstanding is that Head Start was designed primarily to develop the cognitive capabilities and improve the IQ's of low-income children. Raising IQ scores has never been the objective of Head Start. From its inception, the Head Start focus has been to improve not only the cognitive abilities of young children, but also their physical well being, social skills, and self-image.

Yet another misconception comes from the idea that Head Start was intended as a program solely for children of families with incomes below the poverty level. While it was established to serve the "poorest of the poor," since 1965 Head Start has provided that up to 10 percent of the children in the program can come from families above the poverty line. The original Planning Committee's idea was that whenever possible Head Start should give children from different income groups an opportunity to learn from one another.

One of the most harmful myths that has plagued Head Start is that it can inoculate children against the ill effects of growing up in poverty. Common sense tells us that a year or two of preschool can't guarantee a high school diploma, good job, and end to poverty, any more than a good diet and relationship during the first year of life ensures good health in old age and solid trust development. Children and families do benefit in Head Start. To change lives, broader social changes are required, such as health care and adequate nutrition for life, safe neighborhoods, good schools and childcare, and positive role models.

 

 

"Felicidades a todas las maestras del programa, son eficaz y saben ayudar muy bien a los niHos a aprender, y gracias por cada d'a que hicieron felices a nuestros niHos."

IL Migrant Head Start parent

Head Start's innovation is another of its distinguishing characteristics. Since its creation, Head Start has developed new ways to serve children and families with varied needs and resources. Many times, Head Start has been the pioneer in this innovative programming. A small sampling of Head Start innovations is found below.

HEAD START INNOVATION YEAR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 1967 Follow Through Extended Head Start services to Head Start children when they entered kindergarten & elementary school. 1967 Parent & Child Centers Demonstration program offering Head Start services to families with children to age 3. Early Head Start replaced these Centers in the mid-1990's. 1972 Head Start Services to Children with Disabilities Implemented the 1972 Congressional mandate requiring at least 10% of Head Start enrollment slots be reserved for children with disabilities/special needs & special Head Start services be provided to meet their needs. 1972 Home Start Three-year demonstration program to provide Head Start services to children & parents in their own homes. Result: home-based became a program option. 1972 Child Development Associate Program Head Start's CDA program was initiated in 1972 to train workers in Head Start & day care centers and to help them achieve professional status in the child care field. 1973 Child & Family Resource Program Another family oriented Head Start project designed to make community services available to families with children from the prenatal period through age 8.

 

Collaboration with other community agencies has always been central to Head Start's mission and service delivery design. Head Start has never been funded to provide all its mandated services. Collaboration with the agencies that do provide those services, as well as with other educational, cultural, and advocacy organizations, is fundamental to delivering high quality Head Start services.

Probably the first formal national collaboration was in 1974 with the Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program (EPSDT). Federally, Head Start's commitment to collaboration has grown. In 1990, the Head Start Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services began funding Head Start State Collaboration Offices. Every state, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands now has a Collaboration Office.

Agencies make Head Start the central community institution at the local level. Head Start State Collaboration Offices work at the State level to bridge Head Start with the state entities that make decisions, set policy, and fund programs for low income children and families, i.e., the Head Start target population.

The State of Illinois funds Head Start programs in Illinois with a total of $10 million in child care subsidy money through the Department of Human Services. This funding is for collaboration to provide full day, full year services to Head Start children and families. Fourteen agencies participate in this program, called Partners in Care and Education.

"I am writing this letter as testimony that the partnership with Two Rivers Head Start & Sycamore School District is a positive & necessary means to bridge early childhood education. My daughter is a totally blind three year old child that has been integrated into the system the cooperation of Two Rivers Head Start & Sycamore School District. [She] is receiving early childhood and special education services that have allowed her to grow & develop as a child. With very little aid, [she] has learned to move about the classroom, has had social contact with other children, learned daily living skills and is receiving daily a firm foundation for learning that will prepare her for future academic years. The integrated staff work well together. The staff seems to fully realize that their mission is in providing quality education for the children that attend the program. The organizational design of the program is so unique & works so effectively with each person strategically placed to fulfill a key role. The bottom line is that my child is being equipped with valuable education tools every day that she attends the program."

Two Rivers Head Start Parent

 

 

Total Federal Funding (current)	Head Start	$226,507,787
	Early Head Start	$ 20,086,037
Total Funded Enrollment	Head Start	33,983
	Early Head Start	2,147
	Migrant/Seasonal	520
Total Head Start Families		32,802
Head Start TANF Families		12,807 (39%)
Head Start Children Diagnosed with a Disability		11%
Staff Who Are Current or Former Head Start Parents		23%
Number of Classes		1,739
Number of Centers		546
Number of Staff		7,046
Number of Grantee Agencies	Head Start	36
	Early Head Start	23
	Migrant/Seasonal	1
Early/Head Start Grantee Agencies with Delegates (City of Chicago, Ounce of Prevention Fund, Community & Economic Development Association & IDHS Migrant/Seasonal Head Start)		4

 

President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963 - 1969)
January 1964	January - February 1964	July - August 1964	November 1964	December 1964
President Johnson declares "War on Poverty" in his State of the Union message.	Sargent Shriver is named head of War on Poverty program by President Johnson. He convenes first task force meeting to plan legislation.	July 1964. Economic Opportunity Act passes Senate. August 1964. Economic Opportunity Act passes House and is signed into law.	Office of Economic Opportunity makes first grants to Community Action Agencies. Lyndon Johnson is elected President.	Mr. Shriver asks Dr. Robert Cooke, pediatrician at Johns Hopkins University to head a steering committee of specialists in all fields to discuss what should be done for young children.
January 1965	February 1965	May 18, 1965	Summer 1965	1965
Steering Committee convenes at the White House led by Mrs. Lyndon Johnson and Sargent Shriver.	Recommendations for the Head Start Program are issued by the Planning Committee in the Cooke Memorandum. OEO memo from Jules Sugarman announces initiation of Project Head Start.	President Lyndon B. Johnson officially announces the Head Start program in the White House Rose Garden.	Head Start is launched, serving over 560,000 children and families across America in an eight-week summer program.	American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs also began in 1965 with 43 grantees in 14 states.
July 1966	1968	a
Economic Opportunity Act is amended, requiring the Office of Economic Opportunity to operate a Head Start program.	Head Start begins funding a program that will eventually be called Sesame Street. It is a Carnegie Corporation Preschool Television Show.
top
President Richard M. Nixon (1969 - 1974)
1969	August 1972	1973	a
Head Start is transferred from the Office of Economic Opportunity to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and becomes a part of HEW's Office of Child Development.	Economic Opportunity Act is amended, calling for expansion of Head Start program opportunities for handicapped children. The legislation mandates that at least 10 percent of the national enrollment of Head Start consist of handicapped children.	Head Start home-based program option is added.
President Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)
October 1974	July 1975	a
Total number of children served since 1965 reaches 5,300,000.	Head Start Program Performance Standards are issued.
President Jimmy Carter (1977 - 1981)
1977	1977 - 1981	aa a
Bilingual and bicultural Head Start Migrant programs serve 6,000 children in twenty-one states.	Major expansion of Head Start, adding 43,000 children and families.
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President Ronald Reagan (1981 - 1989)
October 1984	a
Head Start budget exceeds the one billion mark and the number of children served since the beginning reaches 9,144,990.
President George Bush (1989 - 1993)
1992
Head Start funding is increased by $600 million. This additional funding extends services to another 180,000 children and families.
President William J. Clinton (1993 - 2001)
September 1995	November 5, 1996	October 1998	May 18, 2000
First Early Head Start grants are awarded to provide services for children birth to age three and pregnant women.	First major revision of the Head Start Program Performance Standards is issued.	Head Start Reauthorization Act includes mandate to expand full-day, full-year services.	Head Start celebrates 35th Anniversary and marks five-year period of significant expansion in services to children and families.
Copyright © 2000 Trans-Management Systems Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Online Link: http://www.hskids-tmsc.org/text/recruitment2/35thanniversary2/35timeline2.htm

 

Overall Goal

Head Start's original and ongoing overall goal is to increase the social competence of children from low-income families.

"By "social competence" is meant the child's everyday effectiveness in dealing with both his or her present environment and later responsibilities in school and life. Social competence takes into account the interrelatedness of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development."

--Source: Head Start Performance Standards; 45CFR, Introduction, page 1.

 

 

 

 

Head Start Founder's Seven Goals

Believing that children develop in the context of their families, culture, and communities, Head Start services are family centered and community-based. Head Start offers family members opportunities and support for growth and change, believing that people can identify their own strengths, needs, and interests and are capable of finding solutions.

Head Start's founders set forth seven goals in 1965, which are still the basis for the program's mission and values:

1. Improving the child's physical health and physical abilities.
2. Helping the emotional and social development of the child by encouraging self-confidence, spontaneity, curiosity, and self-discipline.
3. Improving the child's mental processes and skills, with particular attention to conceptual and verbal skills.
4. Establishing patterns and expectations of success for the child that will create a climate of confidence for future learning efforts.
5. Increasing the child's capacity to relate positively to family members and others, while at the same time strengthening the family's ability to relate positively to the child and his problems.
6. Developing in the child and his family a responsible attitude toward society, and encouraging society to work with the poor in solving their problems.
7. Increasing the sense of dignity and self-worth within the child and his family.

-Source: Project Head Start: A Legacy of the War on Poverty, Second Edition, page 137;
Zigler, Edward & Valentine, Jeanette; 1997.

Core Set of Values

To support its goal, Head Start embraces the following core set of values:

• Establish a supportive learning environment for children, parents, and staff. Value & promote the building of awareness, skills, & understanding.
• Recognize that the members of the Head Start community - children, families, & staff - have roots in many cultures. Work as a team and effectively promote respectful and proactive approaches to diversity.
• Families are empowered when families, governing bodies, & staff share the responsibility of program governance. Hear and respect the ideas and opinions of families.
• Embrace a comprehensive vision of health for children, families, & staff. Assure that basic health needs are met, encourage preventive health practices, and promote behaviors that enhance life-long well being.
• Respect the importance of all aspects of individual development, including social, emotional, cognitive, & physical growth.
• Build a community in which each child & adult is respected as an individual while still belonging to the group.
• Foster relationships with the larger community to build a network of partners that respects families and staff.
• Develop a continuum of care, education and services that allows stable, uninterrupted support to children & families before, during & after their Head Start experience.

--Source: Head Start Performance Standards;
45CFR, Introduction, page 1.

"We really enjoy the Head Start program here in Macomb. This is our son's second year with Head Start. Some of the highlights of Andrew's experience include the weekly trips to the library, and the bus ride to school. Another thing we like about Head Start is the knowledge our son is gaining through this school environment. Andrew has attended other [preschool] situations after his time with Head Start and I notice the difference in curriculum. I am an early childhood education major and I prefer the Head Start curriculum; it is not too strict and not too relaxed."

PACT Head Start Parent