The cornerstone of the War on Poverty, Head Start has been a federally funded program that comes under continuous scrutiny and its relevancy debated. Marred by mismanagement of funds, poor record keeping and mediocre results in academic achievement, the Obama Administration is seeking a major overhaul of the program. According to President Obama:
“too many children aren’t learning, and too many education programs
are mismanaged..we are not going to put money into programs that
The administration released a list of 132 Head Start programs across 40 states it has rated as deficient. Unlike past administrations, that gave low performing Head Start programs funding, the Obama Administration is going to make these programs compete for federal funding[ii]. The Administration believes that competition will raise the level of academic performance and increase accountability among the deficient programs.
Conservatives are calling for Head Start to be managed by the states or privatized in order to generate competition. Citing research from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, that argues for “new thinking” when it comes to early childhood education, they claim that state management or privatization will generate new ideas which will lead to better approaches that will benefit children. [iii].
While state management and privatization may sound like viable options for overhauling Head Start, the architect of Head Start, Edward Zigler argues that inadequate funding is responsible for the quality of Head Start. Zigler argues:
“…inadequate funding has hurt the quality of the Head Start program
more than anything else. It’s always a matter of money. It’s been a
matter of money for 46 years. With enough money, you can hire
good teachers and competent administrators, and pay for top-notch
health services and facilities[iv].”
Since funding has been a controversial topic that is fiercely debated each time Head Start funding comes for renewal, Zigler’s argument has merit. However, if fraud and mismanagement are resolved and strict accountability measures are in place, a small increase in funding may only be needed. As an incentive to keep programs competitive, additional funds could be given to programs that demonstrate innovation, producing results that exceed federal measurements in academic and social arena, or fiscal responsibility.
Head Start is vital to children and families who live in economically distressed communities. Head Start was supposed to equalize the achievement gap that divides the “haves” and “have not” when they began compulsory education. As with many programs aimed at economically distressed citizens, under-funding, mismanagement, waste and fraud become another obstacle to be removed in their journey to achieve the American Dream. We must not forget these are children who no fault of their own are in untenable situation and their only way to achieve the American Dream is through education.
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