Head Start Program Introduction - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Once approved the organizations will receive funding for 5 years to plan and conduct Early Head Start for children from birth till three years old focusing on developing a strong parental bond, empowering parents and developing building blocks for early learning success and Head Start programs focusing on reading and math skills for children 5 years and younger. Head Start Programs are regulated and their performances reviewed annually by the US Department of Health and Human Services/ Administration for Children and Families to ensure that the organizations are performing to the outlined standards.
In addition, Head Start does more than just provide a platform for our children’s didactic learning success. Head Start also funds research for building strong healthy families and marriages. Children being raised in a single parent home does not condemn a child to academic failure, however studies show studies that children of divorce experience more behavioral problems, earned lower grades (Cherlin, 1981) and twice as likely to not graduate from high school than their peers who benefit from living with parents who did not divorce. (Zill, 1993) With marriages of the children of divorced parents at a much higher rate of divorce than the marriages of children from intact families, the cycle of potential low academic success and the poverty often associated with individuals not graduating from high school will likely continue. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the program is quite controversial. Will studies do show that participants are happy and well, there is no significant evidence showing that they are any better off than regular public school students (Klein 2011). Economic issues also plague the program.
The national deficit, already crowed schools, and inefficient schooling sites limit the program’s effectiveness. For example, the state ...Download file to see next pagesRead More