| “Father
Of Head Start” Warns of Dangers of Dismantling Head Start
Edward
Zigler, Ph.D., the man widely known as the “father of Head Start,”
was recognized recently with an award at the National Head Start
Association’s 30th annual national training conference. In accepting
the honor in recognition of his four decades of pioneering work
in early childhood education, Dr. Zigler cautioned that White
House and Capitol Hill proposals to dismantle Head Start and turn
it over to the states are “ill conceived and unjustified.”
Dr. Zigler is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Psychology and director
of the Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University.
Professor Zigler is often referred to as the “father of Head Start”
due to his leadership role as a member of the National Planning
and Steering Committee of Project Head Start. Dr. Zigler’s talk
emphasized “that Head Start is clearly successful in achieving
its primary mission, which is to prepare at-risk children for
school … There is a real and palpable danger to children if you
throw out the comprehensive services, parental involvement and
community focus of Head Start in trade for an exclusive, cognitive
and literacy focus. Learning is not a purely cognitive exercise;
to learn, children need to have good physical and mental health
and have families whose needs are met.”
Dr. Zigler added: “I see none of the needed focus on these non-literacy
issues in the ill-conceived proposals now being circulated to
hobble Head Start. Instead, I see a waiving of standards in exchange
for the promise that such standards will be instituted within
two years, which is an astonishing approach to stewardship of
federal tax dollars. I have researched the question of whether
or not the states can do a better job of running Head Start. We
compared state-run preschools to Head Start as it exists today
and found the latter a clear winner in almost every category.
At this time, Head Start will be a better program if it is in
the federal government rather than up to 50 other places. Quality
improvements have become a major reality in recent years and the
effect of the improvements is increasingly visible. One example
of the improvements is the recent thrust to improve pre-literacy
skills through curricula and teacher training.”
National Head Start Association President Sarah Greene said, “Edward
Zigler occupies a special place in the pantheon of America’s outstanding
system of early childhood education. Among his many other accomplishments,
he founded Head Start, helping the program to get up on its feet
and grow. But he also has been a demanding father, refusing to
simply give the program he helped to create a ‘pass.’ This dual
role as Head Start’s father and its toughest critic has deepened
and enriched the contribution made by Dr. Zigler to the betterment
of the lives of literally tens of millions of children over the
last 38 years. We salute him and vow to redouble our efforts to
make certain that his outstanding legacy is not destroyed by this
Congress.”
The National Head Start Association warned last week that a House
bill introduced in May 2003 to dismantle Head Start, would cause
serious damage to the program by turning it over to states, of
which only three have any track record with providing Head Start’s
comprehensive services. Such proposals would make a “dead end”
of Head Start in five years or less, due, in part, to the plan’s
reliance on budget-deficit crippled states that currently are
slashing funds for early childhood development and education.#
Education
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