Head Start

A multi-ethnic group of preschool students is sitting with their legs crossed on the floor in their classroom. The mixed-race female teacher is sitting on the floor facing the children. The happy kids are smiling and following the teacher's instructions. They have their arms raised in the air.
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Early Childhood As Head Start Quality Push Continues, Advocates Raise Red Flag on Equity
Inadequate federal funding forces Head Start providers to choose between quality and quantity, a new report contends.
Evie Blad, December 1, 2022
2 min read
The Supreme Court shown Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, in Washington. The Supreme Court is taking up two major Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation's vaccination rate against COVID-19 at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant.
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing two Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation's vaccination rate against COVID-19.
Evan Vucci/AP
Law & Courts High Court Appears Skeptical of Vaccine Mandate Covering Schools in Over Half the States
The Biden administration's OSHA rule applies to private employers with 100 or more workers, as well as school districts in 26 states.
Mark Walsh, January 7, 2022
4 min read
COVID face masks and gavel
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Law & Courts Federal Judge Blocks Biden's COVID Vaccine Mandate for Head Start Teachers
In a challenge by 24 states, the judge's preliminary injunction also blocks a mask mandate for Head Start students age 2 or older.
Mark Walsh, January 2, 2022
4 min read
Early Childhood Federal Watchdog Finds Risk of Head Start Fraud, Ranking Republican Seeks Hearing
Officials have not done enough to prevent fraud in Head Start programs, the GAO said. The findings prompted Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the ranking member of the House education and labor committee, to call for a hearing on the federally funded preschool program for low-income children.
Evie Blad, October 2, 2019
3 min read
Early Childhood Head Start Wants to Back Off Its Mandate to Lengthen Operating Hours
The federally funded preschool program for children from low-income families proposes ending a requirement that all center-based programs offer 1,020 hours of service per school year.
Christina A. Samuels, April 23, 2019
2 min read
Early Childhood New Reports Tout Role of Gathering Data in Creating Effective Head Start Programs
Bellwether Education Partners highlights five Head Starts programs and says that the very best are serious about data collection and use what they learn from it to improve their practices.
Marva Hinton, March 25, 2019
3 min read
Early Childhood 'Father of Head Start' Edward F. Zigler Dies at 88
Zigler was the last surviving member of the committee that developed the federal Head Start program, part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty.
Christina A. Samuels, February 10, 2019
2 min read
Early Childhood Practicing Kindergarten: How a Summer Program Eases Kids Into Learning
The start of kindergarten can be overwhelming for students, and for their parents. In Portland, Ore., a summer program is working to ease that transition.
Lisa Stark, August 15, 2018
1 min read
Lead teacher Melanie McLaughlin gets a hug from her student, Daleyza Gaona, 4, as Caidyn Smith, 4, works with “slime” in their classroom at Early Childhood Development Center Reed, a Head Start program in Tulsa, Okla. The center used statistical modeling to reduce the number of “no show” students from 38 in 2016 to 11 in 2017.
Lead teacher Melanie McLaughlin gets a hug from her student, Daleyza Gaona, 4, as Caidyn Smith, 4, works with “slime” in their classroom at Early Childhood Development Center Reed, a Head Start program in Tulsa, Okla. The center used statistical modeling to reduce the number of “no show” students from 38 in 2016 to 11 in 2017.
Brandi Simons for Education Week
Federal How Data Helped Head Start Centers Tackle a 'No Show' Problem
Getting a more accurate enrollment count for the start of the school year is just one way that Head Start centers use data to improve operations.
Christina A. Samuels, June 19, 2018
7 min read
Early Childhood Abuse Allegations Lead Ky. District to Drop Head Start Grant
Jefferson County schools in Kentucky gave up a $15 million grant after 30 years and instead will spend $8 million to start a district-run early-childhood program.
Christina A. Samuels, June 12, 2018
3 min read
Early Childhood Troubled Ky. School District Gives Up Head Start Grant After Abuse Allegations
The 101,000-student Jefferson County district, the state's largest, says it will start an early-childhood program of its own to serve Head Start-eligible children.
Christina A. Samuels, June 6, 2018
3 min read
Early Childhood New Report Details Role Head Start Plays in Country's Rural Communities
The report by the Center for American Progress found that Head Start plays a vital role in supporting families who live in rural communities, which are more likely to be child-care deserts.
Marva Hinton, April 11, 2018
4 min read
Early Childhood Trump Team May Make Head Start, CHIP a Hurdle for Green Card Applicants
The administration is pondering a rules change that would make it harder for people to get permanent U.S. residency if they're deemed a burden to taxpayers.
Christina A. Samuels, February 13, 2018
1 min read
Early Childhood Head Start Waiving Requirement to Offer Longer School Day and Year
The federally-funded preschool program was supposed to offer a longer program day to children, but department officials chose to put off the requirement rather than cutting slots.
Christina A. Samuels, January 22, 2018
1 min read