Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to celebrate the 54th anniversary of Head Start and the 25th anniversary of Early Head Start on May 18. We know that in January of 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared the War on Poverty in his State of the Union Address. Sargent Shriver, who was the then-Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, assembled a panel of experts to develop a comprehensive child development program to help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children. It resulted in Project Head Start's launching in the summer of 1965. Over 50 years later, Head Start and Early Head Start have served hundreds of thousands of children with high-quality, comprehensive early learning and wraparound services. Just to give the Senate a reminder of what Head Start is in terms of the ages, Head Start serves children who are ages 3 to 5. Early Head Start serves children who are up to the age of 3--so under the age of 3. We know that these early learning experiences provide children with the tools they need to develop and succeed in school. When children learn more earlier in life, they earn more later in life. It is not just a rhyme. All the evidence and research show that there is a direct connection between early learning and later earning. A study of Head Start children in Harrisburg, PA, found that they had higher scores in the fifth grade than a control group on all academic and executive functioning outcomes. These benefits stay with children through adulthood.…”