Mazie Hirono: “As we commemorate the Week of the Young Child, I rise today in strong support of quality early childhood education, and…”

“As we commemorate the Week of the Young Child, I rise today in strong support of quality early childhood education, and tonight, in particular, for increased funding for Head Start and the Child Care and Development block grants, two Federal programs supporting our youngest children. Congress got it right when it created Head Start 43 years ago. This is an example of a government program that families depend on every day and that really works, thanks largely to the many talented and dedicated teachers throughout our Nation. I want to take a moment to commemorate the life of one such teacher, Mrs. Leona Stevens, who served as the lead teacher at several Maui Head Start centers for over 15 years. She passed away unexpectedly recently and will be deeply missed by all of us. Mrs. Stevens was known for valuing students' creativity and continually asked them, ``why do you think that'' and ``what do you think will happen?''”