George Voinovich: “According to the experts, focusing on the earliest years of a child's life can make the greatest difference in that…”

“According to the experts, focusing on the earliest years of a child's life can make the greatest difference in that child's development and learning. One program we all know that makes a difference is Head Start. In my State, we think so much of Head Start, that when I left office as Governor, Ohio was the only State in the Nation where every eligible child whose parents wanted them to be in the program had a slot open to them. Unfortunately, Head Start programs typically have a hard time recruiting teachers with a bachelor's or a master's degree generally because of the pay differential between Head Start teachers and elementary and secondary school teachers. For example, in Ohio today, only 11.3 percent of Head Start teachers have a bachelor's degree. Nationally, it is 22 percent. That needs to change. The amendment Senator Feinstein and I have offered is designed to encourage college students working on a bachelor's or a master's degree to become a Head Start teacher. In exchange for a 5-year teaching commitment in a qualified Head Start program, a college graduate with a bachelor's degree or a master's degree could have up to $5,000 of their Federal student loan waived. President Bush has pledged to improve the cognitive components of Head Start, and to do that, we have to have better teachers. Hopefully, the $5,000 incentive in our amendment will help us reach the President's goal of no child left behind. I urge my colleagues to support our amendment.”