U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced her resignation last week, prompting widespread assessment of her work during the flawed rollout of the Affordable Care Act.
But Ms. Sebelius also leaves behind a substantial legacy in the early-childhood arena.
The office of Head Start is a part of the Health and Human Services Department, and during her tenure, the federal early-education program for children from low-income families started requiring some of its organizations to compete for money in a bid to increase provider quality.
Ms. Sebelius also served as a tag-team partner with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in promoting a proposal from the White House to boost state-run preschool programs with $75 billion over 10 years from the federal government.
They both visited child-care centers and made other joint appearances to talk up the proposal.