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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: HEAD START CHILDREN NOT ADEQUATELY PREPARED Head Start children are not adequately prepared for school, and those who have been in the program still enter kindergarten lagging far behind the typical American child in skills needed for school readiness, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The gap between Head Start children and the general population of pre-school age children does narrow during the Head Start year on key components of school readiness. In addition, Head Start children do benefit from increased social skills as well as the comprehensive health and other benefits delivered through the program. But Head Start students still enter kindergarten with very low average abilities in areas known to predict future school success, according to the report, “Strengthening Head Start: What the Evidence Shows.” The report cites specific areas known to improve school readiness and says skills could be better taught, especially if already-existing resources were used more effectively. “Head Start needs to do better in helping children be ready to succeed in school,” HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. “Merely narrowing the readiness gap by a few points is not a real head start. These children are still too far from equal opportunity. All of us in the Head Start community need to set our sights higher.” He said President Bush’s plans for strengthening Head Start would bring about improvements preparing Head Start children for school. The proposals would enable states to integrate Head Start programs into their preschool preparedness efforts in order to make better use of total resources. These changes would build on efforts already underway to increase educational levels of Head Start teachers and hold each individual Head Start program more accountable for results, with technical assistance provided to programs that need improvement. Today’s report concludes that the 38-year-old program “is not eliminating the gap in educational skills and knowledge needed for school. Head Start is not fully achieving its stated purpose of promoting school readiness …. Indeed, these low-income children continue to perform significantly below their more advantaged peers in reading and mathematics once they enter school.” The report cites recent findings for children who entered the program in the fall of 2000, comparing them with the average (50th percentile) preschool child. In key areas that predict school success, the report says:
Today’s report synthesizes relevant research and cites specific areas that have been identified by the U.S. Department of Education as key component of school preparedness (basic literacy skills, being read to at least three times a week, numbers and shapes recognition, productive approaches to learning including task persistence and ability to pay attention, and good health). The report says Head Start can achieve better school-readiness for its children by specifying particular skills and abilities to be taught in pre-reading, language, mathematics, cognitive skills and social/emotional competencies. “Head Start provides important services to children and their families, but it needs to better target specific learning readiness areas to truly help disadvantaged children prepare for success,” said Wade Horn, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. “We know that children who develop good early literacy skills do well in school. We need to ensure that every teacher in Head Start has the latest science-based information on how children develop good early literacy skills so that Head Start can achieve better educational outcomes for children.” The report also cites the importance of coordinating existing programs to improve services for families and children, and to achieve better results with the resources already being used. According to the General Accounting Office, some 69 federal programs administered by nine different federal agencies and departments provided or supported education and care for children under 5 in 1999. Federal and state programs together already are providing $23 billion in funding for child care and preschool education, but they are not well-coordinated, today’s report says. “Historically, the system of early care and education in the United States has been fragmented. Child care programs and early education programs have existed separately and have separate goals,” the report finds. “Greater collaboration and coordination is needed among state and federal programs serving children ages 0-5 to ensure that all children entering kindergarten are ready to learn.” The administration’s proposal would authorize states willing to meet specific programmatic and financial requirements to take over administration of Head Start programs in their states, enabling them to better coordinate Head Start and other preschool efforts. States would be required to continue their Head Start programs without reductions in the number of children enrolled or comprehensive services, including health, social and parental services currently available. The states would submit plans to HHS for approval. “The President’s proposal would make possible new levels of improvement for school readiness in Head Start,” said Windy Hill, director of the Head Start program. “It would also fully maintain the accountability that we are demanding -- states would be held accountable wherever Head Start became integrated with state programs. And there could be no reduction in Head Start children or services as states made better use of their total resources.” The report is at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/StrengthenHeadStart03/index.htm ### Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press
materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news
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