Preschool children get more of a Head Start

The U.S. Department of Education recently allocated $290 million to Head Start and Early Head Start programs across the nation in an effort to ensure that all preschool-age children can go to full-day programs all year.
 
New standards require all such programs to offer these services by the end of 2021, and the department said that the money will help 655 programs reach that goal.

“Increasing the duration of Head Start programs is the right direction to help children, and it’s also more responsive to the needs of working families,” Mark Greenberg, acting assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), said. “The funding provided by Congress will help to take an important step forward in strengthening Head Start programs.”

Recent research has shown that giving children long periods off between school years can undermine the education gains they made in school.

“Strong and mounting evidence from research tells us when children attend high-quality programs for more days and longer hours, they are better prepared for school and have improved outcomes,” Linda Smith, deputy assistant secretary of ACF's Early Childhood Development, said. “We are pleased Congress has appropriated these funds for young children served by the Head Start program.”

The funds are part of an ongoing effort to work with communities and parents in designing the ideal programs to help children. The number of hours in a school day and the amount of time off between school years are just two items being considered in the government’s initiative.