This embryonic program that emerged in the summer of 1965 has grown to become a major program influencing policies in this country and in other countries. That level of parent engagement had not been seen in elementary or secondary education. All this was very revolutionary at the time. Parents had a major voice and were majority stakeholders in policy councils. Child development was always important, but the program was deeply embedded in the fabric of poor communities. ![]() At the outset, it was seen as an anti-poverty program that delivered child development services. It was part of the country’s war on poverty: the desire to intervene in the lives of very young children as soon as possible with the goal of curtailing the corrosive effects of poverty. Head Start emerged out of a major social need. The fruits of its genius transcend the program itself. Head Start has spearheaded a revolution in American early childhood education. What does the 50 th birthday of Head Start mean to you? I fell in love with research because of the research element of Head Start: we carried out research that had a meaning, which had practical applicability. It also gave us an enormous respect for the role of research. It gave us a philosophy that accorded hegemony to parents and families, with incredible respect for parents as teachers of their own children. Head Start gave us a philosophy that really respected all domains of development. A lot of people who were involved in the beginning of Head Start would probably say the same about themselves. Head Start has been seminal in forming who I am. How has Head Started shaped your career and your thinking about policy and child development? In fact, her career in early childhood began as a Head Start teacher, the same year the program was created and she later became the Program Director in the Program’s early years. ![]() But Lynn also has a very special personal story that is closely related to Head Start. She is widely recognized in the world of early childhood policy for her contributions in the US and internationally. I had the enormous privilege of talking to Lynn Kagan, a professor of Early Childhood and Family Policies at Yale and Columbia Universities. ![]() The Program offers a range of service modalities and managed a budget of 7.6 billion dollars in 2013. The remaining 20% are pregnant mothers, infants and toddlers (0-2 years old) in Early Head Start. 80% of the children in Head Start are 3-4 year olds receiving preschool services. Grantees are required to match 20% of the funds they receive through cash or in-kind contributions and are in charge of the operation of services in the communities. Head Start operates through over 1700 community agencies, which act as grantees, receiving funds and oversight from the central program office. The program, called Head Start, serves over one million children each year and it provides comprehensive services (education, nutrition, health, and parenting) to low-income children and families. Last week, the largest US program for early childhood development turned 50 years.
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