As part of his War on Poverty, and his visionary effort to create a Great Society, Pres. Lyndon Johnson launched the Head Start preschool program in 1965. That program is designed to meet the early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent education needs of many of our poorest children and families. Fortunately, Head Start was on the list for a significant increase in funding in the recent 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, just passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.
President Franklin Roosevelt said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth but we can build our youth for the future.” This is exactly the mission of Head Start, which provides a foundation for children and families to develop essential skills for their success in life. However, I nearly had a heart attack when I recently asked Nadine Wilkens, the Manager of Program Operations, the qualifying income for a family of four.
Nadine told me the families must earn no more than 100 percent of the United States “poverty” guidelines. I waited for the annual income number that qualifies a family of four here in Silicon Valley—and when Nadine told me it was $20,650, I almost ended up pushing up daisies. How can anyone live in this valley on an income of $20,650? Why is the qualifying income not indexed for regional cost of living variances?
As part of my duty as a board member with the Santa Clara County Office of Education, I had a wonderful opportunity last week to participate in a Head Start self-assessment in one classroom in the Alum Rock School District, in preparation for a new federal review. Seventeen beautiful three- and four-year- old children were present for the morning of instruction, with learning centers as well as song, and movement activities. It was an uplifting morning for me, especially in the midst of all the recent horrendous headlines.
More than 2,600 infants and toddlers were served in 2007-08 in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. The Santa Clara County Office of Education’s Head Start Program is the gold standard for a quality comprehensive program, having received the Gold Certificate for Excellence after an on-site federal review a year ago. The comprehensive services provided to every Head Start or Early Head Start child include a nutritious breakfast, snack and lunch (I was told for many students lunch is their most complete and nutritious meal of the day), developmental assessments, vision and hearing screenings, referrals for health, dental, and follow-up care, support for children with special needs, and parent education.
Building on emerging abilities, all Head Start preschool children receive instruction in language, literacy, mathematics, science, arts, physical and social development. My rave goes out to all the staff members, parents and children who make up one of the best Head Start programs in the United States, right here in Santa Clara County. And note: Head Start and Early Head start account for 7 percent of the $300 million annual SCCOE operating budget.
I urge the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to seriously consider indexing the qualifying income for regional variances with the $2.1 billion dollar increase to Head Start funding in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Let’s hope our County gets to hire hundreds more teachers, aides and other support staff for our neediest children while helping stimulate the economy now and creating the Great Society LBJ envisioned 44 years ago.
2 – Is there anything you can be positive about or do you oppose everything? There must be something you like.
Joseph, thanks for your insightful posts!
My thought at the moment is that we, that is, the City of San Jose, “OUR VILLAGE” is very clear in it’s intent to only deal with the results of the neglet that has occurred 20 + years ago. A divided Village will always fail.
I find it curios that here in the new age of communication, we have a Latino Peace officers association, Los Bomberos, the DA’s office has been concealing evidence since God knows when.
I became involved with children with high blood lead, and the labs were reluctant to give the families results without the threat of an attorney. My attorney brother Fernando was able to honor my commitment to these poor families in the Sal Si Puedes, wrote letters and was able to get results for the families that had children that suffered from symtoms of High Lead poisioning. The testing goes on. Class action? It’s going to happen!
If we are to be successful with our new president, we must root out every secret bastion of denial. I’m even ready to take on a subscription for the Mercury News, not because of Scott or Rodriguez, but for the support I must give the guys and girls that broke open the DA’s and the medical groups obious colusion. In this day and age , who do we trust?
The Hispanic publication in our valley that have survived the Nuevo Mundo, have in my opinion not shouldered their responcibilities to their readers, when it comes to the health issues that confront our Village, past and present.
In the morning , I am going to contact Nora Compos and ask what her role is in this blood lead related issue. Why? Because she is a mother and if she could lead the charge, she could become the next alcalde de San Jose De Gudalupe. President Obama Cares!
The Village Black Smith
That’s great, Di Salvo. That’s wonderful. Hire hundreds of new teachers. Help out thousands of “needy” families. Spend and spend and spend. What’s to stop you? You’ve got your Obama. You’ve got the Senate. You’ve got the House. You’ve got the State Senate. You’ve got the State Assembly. What do you care that I object to having more of my sweat equity spent on the things that YOU consider important.
Go nuts. Who’s gonna stop you?
I am going to contact Nora Compos and ask what her role is in this blood lead related issue.
Nora had the opportunity to be a leader for this community in regard to the lead poisoning of East San Jose residents by Reid-Hillview, and she did nothing.
All she had to do was call a news conference and state the lead particles she was inhaling daily from RHV aircraft exhaust were being absorbed into her blood, that blood was being transferred to her fetus, and could be causing irreversible brain damage to her child. Yet she did absolutely nothing. She has lost my vote for any future office.
Gil,
I would really like to see you write, and submit an article on lead poisoning to SJI. I’m embarrassed to admit I know little to nothing about it. I think an article would help educate us all on the dangers here in SJ.
I know Cindy Chavez took a powerful stand on cleaning up a playground that had toxic chemicals in the dirt. (I’m not sure but I think that is what it was.) Have you gone to Cindy for help? I think she’d do anything she could to help children.
Also, President Obama has dedicated a large sum of money to stop lead poisoning. Stay on top of State and City officials to ensure they actually DO what they are supposed to with it.
For taxpayers who don’t expect much bang for their buck, Head Start is a program worth getting excited about. As reported by the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies in, “Lasting Effects After Preschool,” spending hundreds of billions of dollars on preschool programs will result in:
(1) reducing the number of children assigned to special education classes.—What this amounts to is simply the moving of lines within the gray area that differentiates the classification of retarded from that of the severely slow-minded. Actual value to society can be measured in pocket change.
(2) reducing the number of children retained in grade.—In light of the horrors we’ve witnessed thanks to the advocates of social promotions, this achievement is meaningless.
(3) increasing children’s math achievement scores at fourth grade—They chose to highlight the achievement level at the 4th grade because the math ability degrades steadily after that, all but disappearing by adulthood.
(4) increasing IQ scores at least up to age 13.—Gee, what do you think the data indicates happens after that? If you wonder what an IQ looks like as it declines in adolescence, visit your local juvenile hall.
(5) influencing aspects of children’s and mothers’ achievement orientation.—Wow! Not only are we left to wonder what the hell “achievement orientation” means, but then we have to try to figure out what is meant by “influencing,” and exactly to which particular “aspects” they refer?
This is a truly pathetic list, but notice what’s not listed: scholastic achievement. Preschool programs fail to do what taxpayers expect them to do, but that’s alright with professional educators, because programs like Head Start expand the educational system’s authority (into the toddler years), increase its ability to redistribute wealth (in the form of food, health care, and child care), create lots of teaching and administration positions, yet demand nothing in the way of results.
I agree that Head Start is something worth getting excited about being a parent of a Head Start student. And I think that our children are the most important issue to consider when spending money anywhere. I mean come on why are we here in the first place to see to it that everyone has money in their pocket over and above of what they need to survive or are we here to see to it that our children have a chance at a good and happy life and reep any and all the benefits possible to see to it that they grow to be the best they can be for the children after them and so on . So that someday this society thing can actually be a much better place for everyone.
How can we think that the children should ever be left out of anything good my God that is what life is all about . THE KIDS and giving them what we may not of had.
I am not saying that people should go hungry or not be allowed to have a comfortable life and be able to keep some for themselves I just think that if we all chipped in a little and the ones who had more had to pitch in more then that then we could reach that place of happiness for everyone someday after we are gone because that is what we say we want.
sincerely
Donna Redcross
John #2-
I agree that there are plenty of government programs that we could eliminate. Some are about as effective as spitting into the wind.
But I don’t think head start falls into that category. It gets children used to the routine of a school, and helps them be ready for kindergarten.
That said, I do wonder whether we could help more than 2600 kids with 21 million dollars per year. If the cost were lower, we could help more kids.
Just Wondering writes, “Is there anything you can be positive about or do you oppose everything?”
A reasonable question, JW. Another reasonable question might be, “Has Mr. Di Salvo ever written an article for this site that wasn’t a solicitation for more tax dollars?”
What I “just wonder” about is when will people ever open their eyes and begin to figure out that these legions of public servants who are continually bombarding us with pleas for more money, are really just salesmen. Di Salvo is the well dressed, earnest sounding car salesman who has got you convinced that you just have to have that Lexus and he’s made you forget that what you came in for, and all you really need or can afford, is the Civic.
John Galt,
The cost to our state for those students who drop out of high school is tens of billions of dollars per year. Early Head Start and Head Start provide readiness skills for low income children to become more prepared as learners when they enter kindergarten (80% of those students incarcerated in their teens read two or more years below grade level).
The data demonstrate that those children who have quality Head Start programs graduate high school at a significant rate higher than low income children that do not have this intervention.
In other words, I am advocating for programs that will save us all money in the end. According the research with which I am familiar, for every dollar spent early, as in Head Start, we reap a savings of $4 later. I hope I am selling prudent solutiions to the problems we are encountering as a declining society.
Joseph Di Salvo
Over the years, many politicians like Mr. Di Salvo have worked hard to shift our communities toward collectivism, causing everyone to bear the cost of each other’s decisions, slowly stripping away the foundations of merit, work ethic and individual responsibility.
These same groups of people then put forth the argument, year after year, that if the community as a whole pays for this good idea or that good idea, it will save us from the collective costs down the road.
Just maybe, having the group bear the cost of individual decisions is the actual problem that needs to be addressed, not the lack of funding for whatever current good idea may be on the table.
Greg #12- Your point in this particular case of Head Start is valid and well taken.
However, as John #11 implied, we’ve seen this too many times before. Experience tells us that the primary beneficiaries will probably be the same as those in the other programs that have come before.
Although I have no doubt the 4 year olds will see some benefit, their benefit and well-being will be secondary.
The primary purpose and ultimate beneficiaries will always be the same; the benefit and advancement of the administrators, the unions, the politicians who sold it and the public education establishment.
Gosh. One would think that we Californians would all be swimming in money by now after all the programs that have been pitched to us by special interest politicians using the tired old “Savings to Society Argument”.
No, I’m sorry. I’m skeptical of your studies and especially of the conclusions drawn from your studies. I’m more inclined to believe the study that showed that every dollar spent to educate people to be skeptical of the results of studies by politicians who want your money, would be returned to society a thousand fold. Even if your study’s analysis is right, which it isn’t, that’s WAY better than your measly 4 to 1 return.
Joe Average, Good post!
Joe-
All true. However, the primary beneficiaries in this case are 4 years old. They can’t provide for themselves.
you are all right ok but instead of cutting each others opinions to shreds how about doing a bit of problem solving together and stop just blowing hot air in a firing order to make the better point.
And by the way this is something taught in the “head start programs”. Problem solving on their own and how to be a productive self reliant confident empathetic healthy happy human being.
You know someone who will solve the problems of this world rather than talk and complain about them or create them .
What did you learn in school? I know your opinion is yours and you have the right to it but can we please get something in here about LEAD POISONING and WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT!!!!
Head Start is not the only thing children need . They need parents that care and know how to care for them in a positive healthy environment . And Head Start does this for the children and the families by helping to set the tone on a routine day of a child and all the things that go into helping your child to grow to be all that they can be. Parents are learning how to be better parents and so much more. If you have all these things to say about head start then perhaps you need to spend some time speaking with some parents too before you make your final decision to eliminate.
I am a college graduate and still IO have learned some crucial info on children and how they change year to year and how to design a proper environment which is age appropriate. Too much to explain.
I’d be interested to know of the education each of the people commenting here have had and what if you didn’t receive it. Are you a better person because of it? Well these children deserve what you had too because their parents will never afford to send them anywhere. And the fact that these parents connect their children to head start says alot for why the kids are there. TO LEARN !!