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Vice Mayor Greg Stanton's
Arcadia News Column
September 2003
Head Start works!
Every child deserves a chance for a "head start" in life and in school. As chair of the City Council's education subcommittee and a member of the State School Readiness Board, I understand that children can get the most out of school if they begin their education ready to learn. An excellent program administered by the city of Phoenix that helps kids prepare to learn is Head Start. It is designed to help preschool children and their families living below the poverty line to break the cycle of poverty. Specifically, it gives them assistance with meeting their academic, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs.
Head Start works! And it works because it supports the whole family. It also works because it understands that a child who is physically and socially healthy is a child ready to learn. Pre-reading, basic math and other "school readiness" skills are central to Head Start, but so are physical health, social skills and improved parenting. Head Start has successfully done it all for nearly 40 years.
The overall goal of the Head Start Program is to help children of low-income families with cognitive and intellectual development, physical and mental health and nutritional needs. To help them reach these achievements, some of Head Start's focus areas are: encouraging self-confidence and self-discipline, establishing expectations for success and enhancing social skills. Not only do children learn how to adjust to their current home and school environments, but also prepare for responsibilities they will face later in life.
Head Start is one of the most researched and evaluated preschool programs in the nation. A wealth of studies have shown that Head Start children do better in school than their peers from similar backgrounds who did not attend Head Start. A 2001 survey concluded that Head Start graduates enter kindergarten "ready to learn." Other independent studies show that Head Start has lasting educational benefits and that Head Start children are:
- more likely to stay in school,
- more likely to graduate from high school,
- less likely to need special education,
- less likely to repeat a grade, and
- less likely to be charged with or convicted of a crime.
High quality programs like Head Start are a wise economic investment as well. Studies have indicated that their benefits exceed their costs by wide margins. A recent cost-benefit analysis revealed that for every $1 spent on the program, the community received $7 in future benefits.
While parents are their children's first teachers, many of them want and need an early education that can help prepare their children for school. And many school-age children need good after-school options to keep them safe and productive while their parents are at work. Whether it is child care, pre-kindergarten, or after-school activities for school-age children, many children and families are getting what they need because of good programs like Head Start.
As always, if you have comments or questions about this program or any other issue, please feel free to call my office anytime at 602-262-7491 or send e-mail to greg.stanton@phoenix.gov.
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