[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 72 (Thursday, May 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IMPROVING HEAD START ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 2, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1429) to 
     reauthorize the Head Start Act, to improve program quality, 
     to expand access, and for other purposes:

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1429, The 
Improving Head Start Act of 2007. As a key initiative in President 
Johnson's ``Great Society,'' Head Start has been one of our Nation's 
most important educational programs. Since its creation in 1965, Head 
Start has served more than 20 million children and has focused and 
redefined its approach to assisting disadvantaged children in their 
social, physical and educational growth.
  As one of two remaining Members of the House who helped pass the 
original Head Start bill, I am pleased that after 4 years of deadlock 
between the House and Senate this program finally will be reauthorized. 
Democrats are once again showing the American public that Congress is 
back at work addressing our Nation's critical domestic needs.
  Americans know what a huge difference early childhood education can 
make in a child's development; they understand that early childhood 
education needs to be a national priority. Evidence of this can be seen 
in the congressionally-mandated Impact Study that found that after less 
than one school year, Head Start narrowed the achievement gap by 45 
percent in pre-reading and by 28 percent in pre-writing. The long-term 
impact of these programs is also clearly demonstrated in the high 
percentage of low-income children who participated in Head Start and 
were subsequently more likely to be developmentally on par with their 
peers in kindergarten, to behave well in class, succeed in school and 
ultimately to graduate.
  By passing H.R. 1429 today, we will also increase classroom and 
teacher quality and make use of the latest science to strengthen Head 
Start. The new teacher qualifications in the Improving Head Start Act 
require that 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide have a 
minimum of a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education or a 
related field by 2013. It also directs the majority of new funds in the 
bill to program improvement activities, including significant new funds 
to increase teacher salaries. Furthermore, this reauthorization will 
require that all Head Start programs use research-based practices to 
support the growth of children's pre-literacy and vocabulary skills and 
improve professional development and classroom practices to better 
support children's cognitive, social and emotional development.
  Our Nation has long recognized that education should be a universal 
right to all, regardless of race, religion or socioeconomic status. I 
am pleased to stand with Chairman Miller, Subcommittee Chairman Kildee 
and Subcommittee Ranking Member Castle in improving America's education 
system by voting for H.R. 1429.

                          ____________________