John Monfredo: Head Start Worcester Cuts Will Hurt 200+ Children

Saturday, May 18, 2013

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester Education Contributor

Due to sequestration in Worcester, 230 children will not be able to attend Head Start.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela –

Studies have shown that a child’s earliest years of development are the most critical. There’s a reason for all the emphasis on early childhood education in public policy. Data compiled by the Rauch Foundation found that 85 percent of the brain is developed by the time a person is five years old. However, only 14 percent of money for public education is put into these early years.

Yet, across the nation and in the city of Worcester Head Start Programs are being cut. Our most vulnerable children, children of poverty, will be deprived of educational services. Due to sequestration in Worcester 230 children will not be able to attend Head Start. The enrollment reduction will be reduced from 730 to 500. There will be 22 staff positions eliminated and they will be forced to close the Millbury Street site which held seven classrooms. The cut will amount to $306,104.

How shortsighted can Congress be? They did prioritize traveler convenience, but what about Head Start opportunities for the children? Of course, the children don’t vote and let’s be sure to not have anyone stuck at the airport. I am appalled that this is allowed to happen and every citizen who knows enough about early education should be up in arms. As a nation, we talk about closing the achievement gap in education but before the achievement gap there is a readiness gap that needs to be addressed. In Worcester we are in an uproar about having “Slots” in our City but I haven’t heard anyone getting upset about the loss of service to our Head Start children!

The case for Head Start

Studies document a wide gap between lower- and higher- income children before they enter Kindergarten. When children begin school behind, they tend to fall further and further behind. High-quality early childhood education can help close this gap. The school readiness skills gained in early childhood go well beyond the transition to Kindergarten. They provide the foundational skills for the child’s success in life.

Programs like Head Start have attempted to tackle the problem. Low-income families are given access to the service for their children leading up to the first year of formal education. It operates as a day care, health service, and educational pre-school for children of low income families. In Worcester we have a very effective Head Start program and there is much reaching out to the parents, involving parents in the educational process and assisting them with the resources that they need in order to help their child.

Prevention is essential in the development of the child. We, as a city, and as a nation don’t have enough prevention programs. We as a society will pay the price of ignoring the needs of our children for as a society we prefer to do remediation rather than prevention. The gateway out of poverty has to start and end with education.

Head Start in Worcester

The Head Start Program in Worcester is uniquely different from other early education programs. Head Start offers high-quality evidence based classroom curricula that focus on school readiness skills for young children. The program provides comprehensive services for families in each building and in the family home. A full time social worker, nurse, dental hygienist, nutritionist, special education staff /mental health services/supports and family engagement/outreach worker work with not only the child but with the entire family. The program has part day and full day options and offers a small summer program

As a member of the Head Start Policy Council I was complaining last year that we needed more than the 730 slots allocated for the Head Start by the budget. The reason behind that statement was because we have many more children in need of early education for they need to begin their formal education with the necessary readiness skills.

Head Start in Worcester reaches out to parents who are preoccupied with a daily struggle to ensure that their children have enough to eat and are safe from harm may not have the resources, information, or time they need to provide the stimulating experiences that foster optimal brain development.

Head Start deals with infants and children who are rarely spoken to, who are exposed to few toys, have little opportunity to explore and experiment with their environment may fail to fully develop the neural connections and pathways that facilitate later learning.

The ripple effect on families

Parents’ lives have been enriched from the program as one former parent Cate Thomas, a Head Start mom several years ago and now a member of the Head Start Policy Council, stated, “I am extremely concerned about the impact that the sequester will have on the Head Start program here in the city of Worcester. We are a great city that is rich in diversity, culture and committed people who care deeply about quality educational experiences for our most vulnerable, our children. Preserving this phenomenal program is paramount in the success of our communities as it impacts whole families. There will be a significant reduction in the number of children and families who will be reached at one of the most critical stages of their human development.”

Head Start exposes parents and children to the world of literacy and puts books into the hands of parent and child. Unlike many other Head Start Programs, Worcester’s Head Start has taken advantage of grant opportunities and has had several special projects. They received one of the thirty two Early Reading First grants in the nation. The three year grant in partnership with the Education Development Center helped to enhance early education services by implementing a new literacy; curriculum based on scientifically-based reading research. The grant also supplied valuable professional development to the teaching staff. Early Reading First results showed that over 86% of the preschool age children attending Head Start and who participated in Early Reading First demonstrated age appropriate oral language skills. In addition, instructional and assessment practices of teachers improved in 4 key areas – oral language, phonological awareness, knowledge of concept of print and alphabet knowledge through coaching and mentoring and professional development opportunities

Just recently, WPI in their newsletter spoke about their partnership with Head Start for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education Center collaborated with Head Start teachers on a program tying in the STEM approach to reading.

Teachers identified problems in children’s books, brainstormed solutions, narrowed down the solutions, sketched and built prototypes, provided feedback to one another, and presented their designs that solved the book’s problem. One group of teachers engineered the story There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer. This group’s innovative ideas include a variety of devices to help the little boy in the story get to his bed without being eaten by the alligator. They ranged from a Pogo Stick, a set of stilts, a rope swing between the bed and the door, as well as a special alligator trap.

These are just samples of the good work that goes on in Head Start, but now 230 less children will not have that opportunity because government is playing a game with the lives of children in poverty… how sad!