Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Members of Congress Join Head Start Community at Hearing

Feb 04, 2003

Members of Congress Join Head Start Community at Hearing
U.S. Newswire
29 Jan 15:52
Members of Congress Join Head Start Community at Capitol Hill Hearing;
Call for Increase in Head Start Funding, Keeping Program In HHS
To: National Desk
Contact: Tyler Prell or Tracy Zimmerman, 202-518-8047,
both for the National Head Start Association
Web site: http://www.nhsa.org

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "You do important work
for this society under inadequate conditions and for insufficient
pay...We are lucky that you are willing to make such sacrifices,"
said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as he greeted a standing room only
gathering of the Head Start community on Capitol Hill this morning.
Rep. Frank, and other Members of Congress, took an in-depth look at
Head Start's effectiveness and called for increased support for the
program at a Capitol Hill hearing organized by the National Head
Start Association (NHSA). Head Start, the government's early
childhood development program that serves low-income children and
their families, comes up for Congressional reauthorization this
year.

"We are very happy to have such a distinguished, bipartisan
group of Members join us in expressing support for Head Start,"
said Sarah Greene, President and CEO of the National Head Start
Association. "Knowing that these Members are with us on important
issues like full funding, keeping the program in HHS and expanding
eligibility, is a great boost to the Head Start community gathered
today in Washington."

More than 300 Head Start teachers, parents, directors, alumni
and volunteers crowded a Senate caucus room to hear Members of
Congress talk about their support for Head Start. Speakers at the
event included: Rep. Barney Frank, (D-Mass.), Sen. George
Voinovich, (R-Ohio), Sen. Christopher Dodd, (D-Conn.), Rep. Judy
Biggert (R-Ill.), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Rep. Michael Castle
(R-OH), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.),
Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.), Sen. Thad Cochran
(R-Miss.) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.)

Senators Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Cochran (R-Miss.) drew loud
ovations from the crowd when they announced their opposition to any
plans to move Head Start from the Department of Health and Human
Services to the Department of Education. Senator Voinovich said of
Head Start: "leave it where it is...because kids are going to get
lost..." if such a switch is attempted. The National Head Start
Association opposes any effort to move Head Start out of HHS.

NHSA President Sarah Greene recognized Senator Christopher Dodd,
(D-Conn.) as a staunch supporter of Head Start. In his remarks,
Sen. Dodd lead the way in calling for expanded funding for Head
Start. "As we all know, Head Start does work," he said. "Head
Start does make a difference. The biggest problem today is not the
children Head Start serves, but the children who are left behind,
those who are not participating in the Head Start program."

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) shared the story of how Head
Start not only helped her and her sister, but helped her mother
learn to be a better parent. Based on her Head Start experience,
Rep. Sanchez's mother went back to school, got a master's degree
and is now a third grade teacher-and the mother of two Members of
Congress.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) also drew a strong ovation when he
said that Members of Congress should be voting for smart children
instead of smart bombs.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a former Head Start child, closed
the hearing by sharing her experience with the program and
expressing her support. Of the Bush administration's plans to
overhaul the program, she said, "We don't want anyone to tell us
what we should be when they don't know who we are or where we've
been."

The day concluded with a Capitol Hill rally where members of the
Head Start community held signs and shouted support for the
National Head Start Association's Principles for Reauthorization,
including:

1. Keep Head Start in the Department of Health and Human
Services.

2. Do not block grant Head Start.

3. Do not voucherize Head Start.

4. Fully fund Head Start.

5. Ensure local flexibility remains a hallmark of the program.

6. Increase the number of teachers with advanced degrees.

7. Create a loan forgiveness initiative to attract quality
teachers.

8. Allow Head Start to serve children prenatally through age
five.

9. Open the program to the working poor.

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) is a private
not-for-profit membership organization representing more than
923,000 children, upwards of 180,000 staff and more than 2,400 Head
Start programs in America. NHSA provides a national forum for the
continued enhancement of Head Start services for poor children ages
0 through 5, and their families. It is the only national
organization dedicated exclusively to the concerns of the Head
Start community.

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For more information or to receive a copy of the
National Head Start Association's Principles for Reauthorization,
please contact Tyler Prell or Tracy Zimmerman at 202-518-8047.

http://www.usnewswire.com
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/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
01/29 15:52

Copyright 2003, U.S. Newswire