National Head Start Awareness Month is dedicated to highlighting the important work of Head Start in serving children and families from economically disadvantaged backgrounds through quality education, health services, and family support. The observance is focused on raising awareness about the crucial role Head Start plays in empowering children with the opportunities and skills they need to thrive. It acknowledges the positive impact Head Start has had on low-income children and their families while inspiring continued support, advocacy, and investment in the future of our nation's most vulnerable children.
History of Head Start
Head Start was established as a key component of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty and authorized by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. At that time, new research on the effects of poverty indicated a need to support disadvantaged populations, and early childhood education was identified as an effective way to break the cycle of poverty. In response, Sargent Shriver headed a panel of experts to create a comprehensive child development program that would help communities serve the needs of low-income and marginalized preschool children. This founding team of experts determined that a child who is physically or mentally unwell would have difficulty learning, which inspired the health component of Head Start services. Additionally, they reasoned that a child who is hungry would not have the energy needed to fully participate in classroom activities, so nutrition was also included as an important aspect of the Head Start program. Most substantially, the experts recognized the critical role of the family in children's education and development, and they knew the significance of involving caregivers in all program decisions and supporting children and their families within the context of their own communities and cultures.
In the summer of 1965, the Head Start program was launched as an eight-week demonstration project. It gave children from disadvantaged families comprehensive services to meet their educational, emotional, social, health, and nutritional needs. More than just an early childhood innovation, Head Start was a substantial intervention designed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists and experts to end poverty by encouraging curiosity and instilling a love of learning within marginalized children and their families. In some regions of the United States, such as the deep South, Head Start was a crucial part of the struggle for civil rights and social justice. A particularly revolutionary aspect of the program was its goal of cultural responsiveness and community empowerment, ensuring that the voices of those being served were heard and influential in the programs' offerings, execution, and success.
In 1975, the Head Start Program Performance Standards, the regulations governing Head Start, were originally published. Developments in neuroscience that pinpointed infancy as the beginning of learning in the 1990s prompted the establishment of Early Head Start, which expanded the reach of Head Start programs to expectant families, infants, and toddlers. In 1998, the Head Start program was reauthorized to expand to full-day and full-year services, and the program was most recently reauthorized in 2007. Additionally, several provisions to strengthen the quality of Head Start services were introduced in the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007. In 2011, the Designation Renewal System (DRS) established five-year grant periods for all Head Start service awards, and in 2016, the Head Start Program Performance Standards were revised to incorporate findings from scientific research and reflect best practices and lessons learned from program innovation.
View an interactive timeline of key moments in Head Start history and explore archival photographs, videos, and more resources.
Overview of Head Start Services
Head Start serves infants, toddlers, preschool-aged children, and expectant families, and its mission is to promote school readiness of children from low-income families by investing in their full development. Not only does Head Start provide educational opportunities for participants, but it offers comprehensive services that encompass emotional well-being, social development, health, nutrition, and family and community empowerment as well.
To learn more about the comprehensive services that Head Start offers to children and families, visit this website.
Legacy and Lasting Impact of Head Start
To date, Head Start programs have served over 38 million children, and more than one million children and their families receive Head Start services each year in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and United States territories, including American Indian and Alaska Native and migrant and seasonal communities.
Research has shown that participation in Head Start programs has both short-term and long-term positive impacts on children, their families, and their communities. Children who attend Head Start programs demonstrate higher academic and social progress and are more likely to enter kindergarten ready to learn. In the long term, enrollment in Head Start programs improves educational outcomes, increasing the likelihood that participants will graduate from high school, attend college, and receive a post-secondary degree, certification, or license. Overall and especially among African American participants, Head Start also results in behavioral, emotional, and social development that becomes evident in adulthood measures of self-control, self-esteem, and positive parenting practices. The Head Start program has also been found to have an intergenerational impact, with the children of those who attended Head Start exhibiting a reduced teen pregnancy rate, lower level of criminal engagement, and higher educational attainment. Overall, Head Start provides opportunities for children and their families to improve their life circumstances, and the impact of such intervention services is long-lasting and spans across generations to empower low-income and marginalized communities.
View a report on the effects of Head Start participation.
Resource Links
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/about-us/article/head-start-timeline
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/ersea/article/getaheadstart-recruitment-resources
https://brookings.edu/articles/the-long-term-impact-of-the-head-start-program