Editing Head Start (program) (section)

{{Short description|U.S. federal aid program for low-income childcare}}
{{For|the experimental Air Force program|Operation Head Start}}
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}
[[File:Washtenaw head start school superior township michigan.JPG|thumb|250px|right|[[Washtenaw County, Michigan]] Head Start school in [[Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan|Superior Township]]]]
{{Education in the U.S.}}

'''Head Start''' is a program of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] that provides comprehensive [[early childhood education]], health, [[nutrition]], and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. It is the oldest and largest program of its kind.<ref name="2020demingreplication">{{Cite journal |last1=Pages |first1=Remy |last2=Lukes |first2=Dylan J. |last3=Bailey |first3=Drew H. |last4=Duncan |first4=Greg J. |date=December 2020 |title=Elusive Longer-Run Impacts of Head Start: Replications Within and Across Cohorts |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0162373720948884 |journal=Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis |language=en |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=471–492 |doi=10.3102/0162373720948884 |s2cid=85530116 |issn=0162-3737}}</ref> The program's services and resources are designed to foster stable family relationships, enhance children's physical and [[emotional well-being]], and establish an environment to develop strong cognitive skills. The transition from [[preschool]] to [[elementary school]] imposes diverse developmental challenges that include requiring the children to engage successfully with their peers outside the family network, adjust to the space of a classroom, and meet the expectations the school setting provides.<ref name=Difference1>{{cite journal |author1=McWayne, C. M., Cheung, K. |author2=Wright, L. |author3=Hahs-Vaughn, D.L. |author4=Thomas, D. P#20306090#rt?|title=Patterns of School Readiness Among Head Start Children: Meaningful Within-Group Variability During the Transition to Kindergarten |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-15961-001 |url-access=subscription | date = August 2012 | journal = [[Journal of Educational Psychology]] | volume = 104 | issue=3 | pages=862–878 |format= PDF |doi=10.1037/a0028884}}</ref>

Launched in 1965 by its creator and first director [[Jule Sugarman]] and Bernice H. Fleiss, Head Start was originally conceived as a catch-up [[summer school]] program that would teach low-income children in a few weeks what they needed to know to start elementary school. The Head Start Act of 1981<ref name=FDAMemo>FDA. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061108073954/http://www.fda.gov/oc/mous/domestic/225-89-2000.html Memorandum of Understanding].</ref> expanded the program.<ref name= CFC>{{cite book |last=Gonzalez-Mena |first=Janet |title=Child, Family, and Community |edition=Fifth |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2009 |isbn=978-0135132302}}</ref> The program was revised and reauthorized in December 2007. {{as of|2005|alt= As of late 2005}}, more than 22 million children had participated. The current acting director of Head Start is Tala Hooban.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-22 |title=Office of Head Start Leadership {{!}} HeadStart.gov |url=https://headstart.gov/about-us/article/office-head-start-leadership |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=headstart.gov |language=en}}</ref>
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