María Elvira Salazar: “I rise to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Head Start Program. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched an…”

“I rise to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Head Start Program. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched an 8-week summer program he called Project Head Start. Initially, funding was modest, but the charge was significant and admirable. In order to break the cycle of poverty, Project Head Start would provide comprehensive services to low-income children and their families to help these children prepare for school. Project Head Start would ensure that low-income children were given the same opportunity to succeed in school that every child in America deserves. Since then, this project has evolved into a well-established national program that serves more than 1 million children across the Nation. Head Start is a wise investment in our future with lasting, real effects. Research has shown that Head Start helps to reduce crime as former Head Start students are less likely to engage in criminal activity than their siblings who do not participate in the program. In addition, students enrolled in Head Start have better self-esteem and motivation, and are less likely to be held back a grade than similar children not in the program. Most importantly, the recently released ``Head Start Impact Study'' found that Head Start nearly cut in half the achievement gap between low-income Head Start children and more affluent, non-Head Start children. Today in Colorado, close to 10,000 children attend the 62 Head Start and Early Head Start programs.…”