U.S. House Resolution H.R. 2210 awaits U.S. Senate action. It would jeopardize Head Start standards.

Last month, present and former Head Start parents held a press conference at the Coburn School in Lewiston to speak about the very significant impact of Head Start on their families and the importance of retaining the federal standards that have assured the quality of this program over time and from state to state.

Two parents, Tina and Jesse, spoke of the life-changing influence of Head Start on their children, children who had far surpassed the limited expectations that had been placed on them as children with “special needs.”

“If my kids weren’t coming home every day saying their ABCs or 1, 2, 3s, then they’d have a new song they’re singing. That, to me, is learning,” says Jesse.

Donna, another parent who participated in the press conference, explained how Head Start had enabled her, as a single mother, to return to school and work, thus allowing her to provide a stronger, more supportive environment for her child.

In all three instances, the one or two years of services provided to their children by Head Start had created a ripple effect that enriched these children’s families and enhanced their community. These personal testimonies and the countless others that could have been included in the press conference made it very obvious that Head Start works. And, as the old saying goes (as quoted by Rep. Tom Allen), “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Trying to “fix it,” though, seems to be the purpose of H.R. 2210, a U.S. House Resolution that, we feel, is a seriously misguided, although probably well-intentioned, plan to change Head Start.

This resolution, which passed the House this summer and is currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate, would remove some of the experience-supported federal guidelines regulating local Head Start programs by allowing these programs to be block-granted to eight states.

At jeopardy would be the standards found to lead to success stories, such as those recounted at the recent press conference at the Coburn School – program performance standards that ensure an efficient, yet maximally effective teacher-to-child ratio; standards that provide for up-to-date immunizations; standards that make available to all program participants mental and physical health screenings and that facilitate follow-up treatment when necessary; and, perhaps most important of all, standards that require parental involvement in their children’s education.

These time-tested federal guidelines assure maximum return to the community for every dollar invested in its children.

Our state and federal representatives have acknowledged this and have shown their strong support over the years for Head Start. Sen. Susan Collins, for example, when referring to Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care, acknowledged its “exceptional reputation” and its “tremendous impact on the region it serves.”

Sen. Olympia Snowe also has spoken of our local Head Start program in glowing terms, as “a comprehensive, holistic approach to parenting and child development services for economically disadvantaged families,” and has commended our program for “an outstanding reputation as a service provider, committed to quality education and child care.”

In a resolution passed last month in the Maine State Legislature, senators and House members alike urged the U.S. Congress “not to change what is currently a very successful program, to keep the Head Start funding system as it is.”

This state legislative resolution echoed what U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud said in July of this year: “Head Start is one of our nation’s great success stories, and it is dangerous to tamper with that kind of success.”

The congressman added that “the success of Head Start cannot be conveyed through the statistics alone, but rather through the stories of the people whose lives are touched by the program. There are faces to these numbers.”

And, indeed, there are. They are the faces of the children and families involved in our local Head Start program and in the other Head Start programs across the country – programs whose success is currently protected by the federal guidelines that regulate their quality.

We, the parents, staff and friends of Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care, greatly appreciate the respect and support that we have consistently received from our elected representatives, and we urge their continued support in the coming weeks against any efforts to weaken this program, a program that has worked so well for so many years.

We also need help from our community. H.R. 2210 is now under consideration in the Senate. We encourage our representatives to stay true to their convictions and to avoid any attempts to break up a program that is clearly not broken and is not in need of fixing.

Head Start is supporting legislation by Sens. Kennedy and Dodd, which is now in committee in the U.S. Senate. This bill would strengthen an already strong program; would allow Head Start to serve more children; and would fund the mandated education level of the teachers. At the same time, this bill would keep the funding at the local level and out of the hands of cash-strapped states that may not be as supportive as the state of Maine has been.

According to Tina: “Every one of us needs to work together to empower our children to be the best possible individuals they can be. We all have a voice and a vote if we choose to use them. Those of us who support Head Start strongly feel that now is the time to make that choice. Let’s use our voices to make sure our children have the best possible Head Start they can have.”

Patricia Lemaire is the chairperson of the AHSCC Board of Directors; Jesse Walker and Tina Hutchinson are

AHSCC parents.