Homeschooling
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In 1964, in the midst of the civil-rights era and the War on Poverty, the United States (U.S.) federal government asked a panel of child-development experts to propose a program aimed at serving preschool children living below the poverty line. In 1965, Project Head Start came to fruition as a result of this initiative, and began as a federally funded summer preparatory program for preschoolers. Its initial aim was to promote children’s readiness for school in an effort to break the cycle of poverty. Over time, Head Start has developed into a comprehensive preschool program for children from birth to age 5 and their families from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories.
Description Today, Head Start is housed within the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and has served over 23 million children and their families since it began in 1965. It comprises two programs: (1) Early Head Start (EHS), which serves children prenatally to age 3, pregnant women, and their families; and (2) Head Start (HS), which serves children of ages 3–5 and their families. As of 2003, 39% of the Head Start agencies were within private and public non- and for-profit sectors, 32% in community agencies, 17% in school systems, and 12% in government agencies and Native American reservations. Of the total number of Head Start agencies, 49% were full-day, 42% were part-day, and 5% were home-based programs. In 2005, enrollment consisted of 906,993 children in HS, of whom 31% were Black or African American, 33% were Hispanic or Latino, and 35% were White. Also during that year, there were a total of 1,604 grantees, serving 19,800 Head Start centers around the country. During the 2004–2005 Head Start year, 12.5% of the Head Start enrollment consisted of children with disabilities, which met the minimum 10% requirement. The most recent reauthorization occurred in 1998 and included revised Program Performance Standards for successful implementation of program goals and
objectives. This reauthorization emphasized enhancing the quality of Head Start programs by promoting the professional development of teachers. Most importantly, the 1998 reauthorization shifted the historical emphasis from improved social competence for Head Start children to a focus on more specific academic readiness skills, particularly literacy and numeracy. Despite the relatively new focus on academic readiness, the program continues to embrace an approach to comprehensive services. These span the areas of medical, dental, and mental health, nutrition, parent involvement and community partnerships, early learning and literacy, and disabilities services. In addition, Head Start is dedicated to providing services that are responsive and appropriate given developmental, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity. In addition to its comprehensive services, Head Start is unique among early childhood programs because of its two-generational focus, aimed at serving both pr
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