CELEBRATING HEAD START ON CHILD CARE PROVIDER APPRECIATION DAY!
This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and today is Child Care Provider Appreciation Day! We want to share a heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful early learning teachers who make child care, preschool, and pre-kindergarten such wonderful experiences for so many little ones. Thank you for showing up each day with your full hearts and unparalleled expertise.
We also want to specifically shout out Head Start, which celebrates its 60th birthday this month! In that time, Head Start has provided comprehensive care and education to 40 million children from across the United States, including about 15,000 Washington kids this year alone. Head Start is a federally funded, locally administered early learning program that works to holistically serve children and their families with low incomes through age five. Head Start provides children with a strong, holistic foundation through early learning that prepares them for kindergarten, wraparound services that support their healthy development, and whole-family supports—like diapers and reliable child care—that help parents return to work or school.
Head Start plays a pivotal role in Washington’s early learning landscape. To hear more about Head Start experiences in our state, we connected with Katrina, a Head Start parent in Spokane. In this blog post, we are excited to share her experience, which highlights the full arc of support, from home visiting in pregnancy through pre-K graduation.
Head Start in Pregnancy and Early Childhood
Head Start has excellent preschool classrooms, but that’s just the beginning. Katrina shared that her experience in Head Start began with home visiting in pregnancy, giving her personalized support from pregnancy until age three for her oldest children. Katrina’s home visitor supported her as she taught her babies to crawl, walk, and potty train. In addition to helping parents through developmental milestones, Head Start home visiting also focuses on the little moments that often make family time so special. Katrina's Head Start home visitor encouraged her to share her love of singing with her children, an activity that is now a shared source of joy for her family.
“One of the big things she taught me that changed my life is that it’s okay to sing…I was afraid my voice wasn’t good enough…she very gracefully taught me that it’s okay to sing….That changed my life a lot because now my youngest loves music, she probably knows the lyrics to over 500 songs and she’s only three...That wouldn’t have happened if my home visitor hadn’t gotten me over the fear when my twins were young…That’s one of the biggest things she taught me is it’s okay to be silly with kids” -Katrina, Head Start Parent
Early Head Start
Katrina also noted that there’s a misconception that Head Start doesn’t have infant classrooms- it does, beginning at six weeks! When Katrina decided to go to school for her associate’s degree, Head Start was there to help, providing a safe, nurturing environment for her child to learn and play for six hours each day. Head Start also provides formula, diapers, and other essentials; it’s intended as an all-inclusive early learning program that provides holistic support to families. With support from Head Start’s classroom and wraparound services, Katrina graduated with her Associate of Arts degree last summer!
“A lot of people think Head Start is just a day care. It’s so much more than that. They have wraparound services.”
Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT)
One of the many wonderful things about Head Start is that its staff can work with parents to identify potential developmental delays and help them access the support they need to help their children thrive. Katrina shared that she didn’t know early intervention (known as ESIT in Washington) existed until her Head Start coordinator submitted a referral. In addition to helping her access holistic ESIT services, Head Start’s early learning professionals partnered with Katrina to support her child’s strength exercises at school too.
Learning and Growing with Head Start Preschool
From preschool dance parties to reading at circle time, Head Start makes learning fun and engaging for kids every day. Children get to spend time with peers in a safe environment led by dedicated teachers. Katrina’s Head Start classroom is so much fun that her youngest child’s older siblings love opportunities to come by to play with their sister. Head Start is alumni-approved!
The preschool level of Head Start also continues to support families by working with children on potty training and other developmental milestones, as well as providing all necessary pull-ups, food, and other needs.
“From the time you drop off to the time you pick up, everything is provided.”
Head Start is comprehensive with its purpose to help children access the early learning resources they need- and it doesn’t stop there. Head Start is known for providing wraparound services, which means that the program helps families meet needs outside of the school day too.
“Family service coordinators help with resources and talk with you, make sure kids have well child and dental visits. They help you find a doctor, find transportation, find schooling – it’s wraparound.”
Thank you, Head Start teachers!
The heart and soul of Head Start begins with its teachers. Parents know that better than anyone, so we want to share a couple of things Katrina shared about her children’s teachers:
“They work really, really hard. Man, I could tell you stories all day long. They have to manage the preschool classrooms, fifteen kids between two people making sure they’re going potty, they’re eating, making sure they’re following their cues... I just love them, they’re great.”
What’s Next?
There is a lot of work to be done in the weeks and years ahead to ensure that every child has access to high-quality child care. You may have seen our previous post about funding risks to Head Start, and as Congress considers future funding, we are closely monitoring budget discussions that impact Head Start. This vital program is a cornerstone of our communities, and we urge lawmakers to maintain sustainable funding and ensure timely distribution.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
While this blog post highlights Head Start, we also extend our heartfelt gratitude to all educators across the early learning landscape. As the 2024-2025 school year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to celebrate the many people and programs that make early learning so impactful—especially those who make Head Start such an integral part of our communities. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!