Stress Head Start Quality, but Spotlight 0-3, Panel Says

By Deborah L. Cohen

WASHINGTON--Members of a panel plotting a strategy to revitalize Head Start will urge that the bulk of new funding go toward improving quality and expanding services, but that a small share be set aside for a pilot program for children under 3.

"There seemed to be broad agreement about the priorities and direction for building a new, exciting Head Start,'' Mary Jo Bane, the Health and Human Services Department's assistant secretary for children and families, concluded last week after the panel met here.

Head Start, the popular anti-poverty program designed to give needy 3-to-5-year-olds an educational and social boost, has expanded significantly in recent years, but has faced increased scrutiny...