[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H3797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CELEBRATING 54TH ANNIVERSARY OF HEAD START

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support and celebration 
of the 54th anniversary of the Head Start program and the 25th 
anniversary of the Early Head Start program.
  As a former Head Start teacher, I know how vital the program is to 
over 100,000 low-income children in California and the more than 1 
million families across the country who rely on its essential services.
  I began my journey at Head Start as an assistant teacher and later 
became the supervisor of parent involvement and volunteer services, 
helping parents participate and contribute to their children's 
educational experiences.
  Head Start services include health screenings, nutritional education, 
and social support for families with children in the program. Early 
Head Start provides services like home visits to children at birth. 
Head Start even funds research and functions as a laboratory for early 
learning innovation.
  From the moment I became involved with Head Start, I saw the 
potential it had to empower and uplift children and their families. 
Since then, I have worked hard to improve and expand Head Start so that 
this potential is realized and more families have an opportunity for a 
better life.
  My role as supervisor of parent involvement and volunteer services 
provided me with insights into the unique and pivotal role parents play 
in the Head Start community.
  I am so appreciative of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs 
in my home district in California. These programs basically provide 
resources and referral services, and research innovative new programs 
in the areas of childcare, development, and family well-being.
  These programs serve tens of thousands of low-income children and 
their families, usually in communities like South Los Angeles, Gardena, 
Hawthorne, Inglewood, and Lawndale, and demonstrate Head Start's 
transformative potential.
  I will continue to strengthen Congress' relationship with Head Start 
and parents and encourage more Members and families to become involved.
  Since President Johnson first announced Head Start in the spring of 
1965, the program and its services have reached over 32 million 
children. Study after study shows that providing early childhood 
education to children is transformative to their future academic 
success.
  Children who joined Head Start graduated high school and attended 
college at higher rates than their siblings who did not participate in 
the program. Head Start participants consistently show substantial 
improvements on test scores early in life. Adults who participated in 
Head Start in their youth are less likely to be charged with a crime or 
become a teenage parent.
  These programs are so much more than federally funded preschool 
programs for the youngest Americans. They are a lifeline for vulnerable 
communities and provide future generations a chance to succeed.
  This critical program is our national pledge that every child, 
regardless of circumstances at birth, has an opportunity to achieve and 
excel in school and in life. There is perhaps no greater purpose for an 
elected official than working toward the realization of that pledge. I 
will never stop.
  In addition to my support here in making sure that the funding 
continues and that it grows, I also focus on the oversight, 
supervision, and management of Head Start programs.
  In the greater Los Angeles community, many of our delegate agencies 
are overseen by LACOE. This is a county organization.
  I want LACOE to get more involved in keeping Head Start programs 
rather than shutting them down. I believe there must be a strong 
component that works with compliance and works with training to make 
sure that the programs meet all the requirements because our teachers, 
our assistant teachers, and our volunteers are doing the very best job 
they can do. Many of them need that kind of support. I am not so sure 
they are getting all of it, but I am going to pay even more attention 
to LACOE in the greater Los Angeles area to ensure that they are 
providing the kinds of services that strengthen Head Start programs and 
do the kind of outreach in the communities to make sure that our 
families know the availability of the Head Start programs.
  I believe that Head Start has been one of the most significant 
programs of the overall poverty program, and I am one of its greatest 
supporters.

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